Last updated: 10 March 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Emirates Virtual ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you use our ACARS tracker and pilot dashboard. It does not cover any other Emirates Virtual services or third-party websites.
Emirates Virtual is a non-commercial virtual airline operated by flight simulation enthusiasts. We operate an ACARS (Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System) tracker and a pilot dashboard that connect to your vAMSYS account via the vAMSYS Pilot API using OAuth 2.0, allowing you to log flights and view your personal statistics.
We are committed to protecting your personal data and being transparent about how we handle it. When you authorise our application, you explicitly grant us access to certain data from your vAMSYS account. We store only the flight data (PIREPs) and position reports generated during your flights. We never store your name, email address, or other identity details.
For the purposes of applicable data protection law — including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), UK GDPR, and comparable international frameworks — Emirates Virtual acts as the data controller for personal data stored in our systems.
vAMSYS, the platform powering your pilot account, is an independent data controller for data held within their platform. Please refer to the vAMSYS Privacy Policy at https://vamsys.io for information about how they handle your data.
We store only the following data in our own systems. All stored data is linked to your vAMSYS pilot account ID, which acts as a pseudonymous identifier.
When you complete a flight using our ACARS tracker, the following flight record is stored:
| Data Field | Description |
|---|---|
| PIREP ID | Unique identifier for the flight report (from vAMSYS) |
| Booking / Route ID | The booked route associated with the flight |
| Aircraft ID | The aircraft type used for the flight |
| Callsign & Flight Number | The callsign and flight number used |
| Departure & Arrival Airport | Airport IDs for origin and destination |
| Departure & Arrival Time | Actual take-off and landing timestamps |
| Block Time & Flight Time | Duration of the flight in minutes |
| Distance Flown | Distance in nautical miles |
| Fuel Used | Fuel consumed in kilograms |
| Landing Rate | Vertical speed at touchdown in feet per minute |
| Online Network | Network used (e.g. VATSIM, IVAO, Offline) |
| PIREP Status & Type | Approval status and flight type (e.g. scheduled, repositioning) |
| Points & Score | Points awarded for the flight |
| ACARS Software Version | Version of the ACARS client used |
| Timestamps | Record creation and update times |
During a flight, our ACARS tracker periodically records your aircraft's position to enable real-time tracking and post-flight analysis:
| Data Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Latitude & Longitude | Geographic position in decimal degrees |
| Altitude | Aircraft altitude in feet |
| Ground Speed | Speed over ground in knots |
| Magnetic & True Heading | Aircraft heading in degrees |
| Flight Phase | Current phase of flight (e.g. climb, cruise, descent) |
| Online Network | Network active at time of position report |
| Timestamp | When the position was recorded |
Note on future expansion: We may expand the types of data we store in the future, for example pilot profile statistics or badge data. If we do so, we will update this Privacy Policy and notify you before any new data collection begins.
When you connect your vAMSYS account, our systems temporarily access the following data from the vAMSYS Pilot API in order to display your pilot dashboard. This data is fetched in real time and is never written to our database. It is discarded once your session ends or your screen is rendered.
| Category | Data Accessed | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| User Identity | First name, last name, email address, platform user ID | Display your name in the dashboard |
| Pilot Profile | Username, rank, hub, location, join date, preferences | Display profile information |
| Network IDs | VATSIM ID, IVAO ID, POSCON ID | Show online network details |
| Social & Discord | Discord username and display name, Twitch and YouTube handles | Profile display only |
| Pilot Statistics | Flight time, PIREP counts, points across various time periods | Display statistics on the dashboard |
| Rank & Badges | Current rank, badge names and earn dates | Display achievements |
| Bookings | Active and past booking details (route, aircraft, flight number) | Show upcoming and recent flights |
| NOTAMs | Notice titles, content, and read status | Display airline announcements |
| Activities & Rosters | Event registrations and personal roster data | Display participation on the dashboard |
We use the data we store for the following purposes only:
Providing the ACARS and dashboard service: Your PIREP and position report data are used to show you your flight history, live tracking maps, and flight analytics within the pilot dashboard.
Service improvement: Aggregated, anonymised flight statistics may be used to improve our tracking algorithms, identify bugs, and optimise dashboard performance. No individual pilot is identified in this analysis.
Platform integrity: Stored data may be reviewed if we need to investigate a technical issue, a disputed flight report, or a violation of our community rules. Access in these cases is limited to administrators.
We will never use your data for advertising, sell it to third parties, or use it for any purpose not listed above.
Consent (GDPR Art. 6(1)(a)): When you authorise Emirates Virtual to access your vAMSYS account via the OAuth 2.0 flow, you provide explicit consent for us to access and display your pilot data. You may withdraw this consent at any time by revoking our OAuth access in your vAMSYS account settings.
Contract performance (GDPR Art. 6(1)(b)): Storing PIREP data and position reports is necessary to deliver the core ACARS tracking and flight logging service you have signed up to use.
Legitimate interests (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)): We have a legitimate interest in storing flight records to maintain an accurate logbook and to resolve any disputes about flight data.
Even if GDPR does not apply to you directly, we apply the same data protection standards to all pilots worldwide as a baseline. Pilots in California (USA) may additionally have rights under the CCPA — please see Section 10.
We retain stored PIREP and position report data for as long as your pilot account is active with Emirates Virtual, or for as long as required to provide the service.
If you request deletion of your data (see Section 10), we will delete your stored PIREPs and position reports within 30 days. Certain anonymised aggregated statistics may be retained for service improvement purposes even after individual records are deleted.
If you revoke our OAuth access via vAMSYS, we will stop collecting new data immediately. Previously stored flight data will be retained until you request its deletion.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data. We may share data only in the following limited circumstances:
Within Emirates Virtual: Authorised administrators and staff may access flight records for the purposes described in Section 5, such as dispute resolution or technical investigation.
Legal obligations: We may disclose data if required to do so by applicable law, regulation, or court order, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Emirates Virtual, our members, or the public.
Service providers: We may use hosting or infrastructure providers who process data on our behalf. These providers act as data processors and are contractually required to handle data securely and only for the purposes we specify.
Public leaderboards: Aggregated, non-identifying flight statistics (e.g. total hours flown, total flights) may be displayed on public leaderboards within the dashboard, associated with your vAMSYS pilot username. You can opt out of leaderboard visibility by contacting us.
We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data. All data is transmitted exclusively over HTTPS/TLS. OAuth 2.0 access tokens and refresh tokens are stored securely and are never exposed in URLs or logs. Access to stored data is restricted to authorised personnel only. We follow the security recommendations in the vAMSYS API specification, including PKCE enforcement and token validation.
While we take security seriously, no method of electronic storage or transmission is completely secure. If you believe your account has been compromised, please revoke our OAuth access immediately via your vAMSYS account settings and contact us.
Depending on where you are located, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data. To exercise any of these rights, contact us at the address in Section 14.
We will respond to all verified requests within 30 days. In complex cases we may extend this by up to an additional 60 days and will inform you if so.
Session cookies: We use strictly necessary session cookies to keep you logged in to the dashboard. These cookies contain no personal information and expire when you close your browser or log out.
OAuth tokens: Your vAMSYS OAuth access token (valid for 1 hour) and refresh token are stored securely on our server, not in your browser. They are used solely to make authorised API requests on your behalf and are discarded when you disconnect your account.
Preferences: We may store lightweight preference data such as dashboard theme or unit preferences in your browser's local storage. This data is purely functional and contains no personally identifying information.
We do not use tracking cookies, advertising cookies, or any third-party analytics cookies that collect personal data.
vAMSYS: Emirates Virtual's ACARS tracker and dashboard are built on top of the vAMSYS platform (https://vamsys.io). When you authorise our application, data is retrieved from vAMSYS servers subject to their own privacy policy. We are not responsible for how vAMSYS processes your data on their platform.
SimBrief: If you use SimBrief integration within the dashboard, operational flight plan data may be fetched from SimBrief's API. This data is displayed to you only and is not stored by Emirates Virtual.
Online networks (VATSIM, IVAO, POSCON): If you fly on an online network, your network ID may be recorded as part of your PIREP. Emirates Virtual does not access or store additional data from these networks directly.
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, particularly if we expand the types of data we store. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page and post a notice on the pilot dashboard. Where required by law, we will request fresh consent from you before new data processing begins.
We encourage you to review this page periodically. Continued use of the ACARS tracker and dashboard after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, wish to exercise your data rights, or want to report a security concern, please contact us:
Emirates Virtual — Privacy Contact
Email: [email protected]
Please include "Privacy Request" in your subject line along with your vAMSYS pilot username so we can verify your identity and process your request efficiently.
Emirates Virtual — Privacy Policy — Version 1.0 — 10 March 2026. Emirates Virtual is a non-commercial virtual airline for flight simulation enthusiasts and is not affiliated with Emirates Airline.