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Privacy Policy

Last updated: 2026-06-23.

What we collect

  • Account. Your email address and a password, which we store only as a salted one-way hash — never the password itself. We email you a link to confirm the address.
  • Phone number. Confirmed with a one-time code (OTP) sent by text message. Together with your confirmed email it is what lets you post a review; your number is never shown publicly.
  • Profile. Your real first and last name, collected after sign-up. We use it to attribute reviews to a real identity (which discourages fake reviews) and to verify instructor claims.
  • Reviews & responses. The reviews you write and the responses you post about flight instructors. These are attributed to your account.
  • Server logs. IP address, user agent, and request paths, kept up to 30 days for security and abuse prevention.

Instructor names and certificate information shown on RateMyFlightInstructor come from public FAA airman records — that is public data we display, not personal information we collect from you.

How we use it

To run the review platform, attribute reviews to real identities, verify instructor claims, and prevent abuse and fraud. We do not sell personal data, show third-party advertising, or use your data to train AI models.

Who we share it with

  • Self-hosted infrastructure — we host the app and store your data on servers we operate. Your data is not handed to a third-party database, authentication, or hosting provider.
  • Email provider — your email address is sent to a third-party email provider to deliver your address-confirmation link.
  • SMS provider — your phone number is sent to a third-party SMS provider to deliver your one-time verification codes.
  • Product analytics — a third-party analytics provider records anonymous usage events and sets an analytics identifier; it is not used for advertising.
  • Error monitoring — when the app hits an error, a diagnostic report (stack trace and request context) is sent to a third-party error-monitoring provider so we can fix it.

Cookies & analytics

RateMyFlightInstructor sets an HttpOnly cookie for your signed-in session. Our analytics provider (above) sets an analytics identifier (in local storage and a cookie) to count visits and measure feature use. We do not use cookies for advertising or cross-site tracking.

Your rights (GDPR / CCPA)

You can view and update your profile and delete your reviews in the app. To request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data, . EU residents may also lodge a complaint with their local supervisory authority.

Children

The service is intended for adults and is not directed to children under 13 (or the applicable age of digital consent). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.