CallSign Check — Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 15, 2026

CallSign Check (“the app”) is developed by Andrew Murphy (“we”, “us”). This policy explains what information the app handles and where it goes. The short version: we don’t run accounts, our usage analytics are anonymous and never include the callsigns you look up, and the only personal data leaving your device relates to ad serving by Google AdMob.

Information we do NOT collect

• No accounts. The app has no sign-up, login, or user profiles.
• No analytics profile of you. We measure anonymous usage counts (see Analytics below). Events are never linked to an account, an advertising identifier, or the callsigns you search for.
• Your location never leaves your device. If you grant location access, your position is used solely to compute the distance and beam heading to a station, on your device. It is never transmitted anywhere.
• Your lookup history and favorites stay on your device. They are stored locally and can be erased at any time from Settings → Clear Data, or by deleting the app.

Callsign lookups

When you search for a callsign, the callsign or search terms you typed are sent over an encrypted connection to the data services that answer the query:

• callook.info — US license records from the FCC Universal Licensing System (ULS)
• callsigncheck.com — prefix suggestions, advanced search, availability checks, and DX (worldwide) lookups
• hamqsl.com — HF band conditions (this request contains no search data)

As with any internet request, these servers receive your IP address as part of normal operation. We do not associate lookups with you, and the queries contain no identity information beyond what you type.

The license information the app displays (names, addresses, license classes) is public record published by the FCC and equivalent international sources. CallSign Check displays this public data; it does not create or contribute to it.

Advertising (Google AdMob)

The app is supported by ads served by Google AdMob. To serve and measure ads, Google may collect device information such as advertising identifiers (IDFA, where you permit it), IP address, and ad interaction data.

• On iOS, the app asks for App Tracking Transparency permission before any use of the advertising identifier. If you decline, you still get ads — they’re just not personalized.
• In regions covered by GDPR, a consent form is shown before ads load, and you can decline personalized advertising. You can change or withdraw that consent at any time from Settings → Advertising Privacy.

Google’s use of this data is described in Google’s Privacy Policy and How Google uses information from sites or apps that use our services.

Analytics (PostHog)

We use PostHog to understand how the app is used — for example, how many lookups happen, and how many people who see the “Remove Ads” option go on to buy it. This is first-party analytics: the data is ours, and it is not sold, shared with advertisers, or used to target ads.

An analytics event contains:

• A random identifier generated on your device, not tied to your Apple Account, your advertising identifier, or any callsign
• The event name (for example, lookup_performed or paywall_viewed)
• Coarse properties, such as which lookup mode was used and whether a record was found
• Standard context: app version, OS version, device model, and locale

An analytics event never contains:

• The callsigns you search for, or any name, address, or grid square from a result
• Your location
• Any email address, account identifier, or advertising identifier
• Screenshots or screen recordings

We do not enable PostHog’s automatic interaction capture or its session replay feature, both of which could otherwise record on-screen callsigns.

Children

CallSign Check is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Data retention and deletion

The developer operates no servers that store your data. The one exception is the anonymous analytics described above, which are retained by PostHog on our behalf; because those events carry no identifier we can trace back to a person, we cannot look up or delete an individual’s events on request.

On-device data (history, favorites, settings) is under your control and is removed when you clear it in Settings or uninstall the app.

Changes to this policy

If this policy changes, the updated version will be posted at this URL with a new effective date.

Contact

Questions about this policy: andrewmurphy479@gmail.com