Are they listening?Privacy policy
Are they listening?, by Headway Tech LLC. Last updated September 30, 2026.
The short version. There's no account, no advertising and no analytics, and we run no servers that receive your data. Detection happens on your phone. A few features have to ask an outside service when you use them; each one is listed below with exactly what it receives.
What the app does on your phone
Are they listening? looks for devices near you that can hear, see or track you, and explains what each one does. It listens to what devices broadcast on their own over Bluetooth, briefly connects to Bluetooth devices it can't name to read what they call themselves, and asks devices on the Wi-Fi you have joined to identify themselves. It doesn't pair with, record from or take control of anything it finds.
What we collect
Nothing. Headway Tech LLC does not collect, receive or sell personal information. We can't see your sweeps, your location, your routes or the devices around you.
Outside services, and what each one receives
These are used only when you use the feature named, and only for that feature.
| Service | When | What it receives |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Maps | Any map in the app, and drive mode when you search for a place or plan a route | The area of the map on screen, what you typed, and the start and destination of a route, as in Apple's own Maps app. Governed by Apple's privacy policy. |
| adsb.lol | Overhead, while that screen is open | Your location rounded to about 1 km (0.6 mi), every 20 seconds, to get the aircraft nearby. |
| OpenStreetMap (Nominatim) | Plate readers, when you type a place | The place or address you typed. |
| OpenStreetMap (Overpass) | Plate readers, when you tap "Check the live map" | The location being checked, once. The plate reader map is otherwise built into the app, so looking up readers near you doesn't leave the phone. |
| RevenueCat | When the app starts, to check whether you own the unlock and get its price, and when you buy or restore it | An anonymous purchase ID, the purchase record from Apple, and the device model and app version. No name or email. |
| Expo | When the app checks for an update | The app version and platform, and your IP address as with any internet request. |
| Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps | When you choose one in drive mode | The destination you picked is passed to that app, which then works under its own policy. |
The live map check goes to one of three public Overpass servers: overpass-api.de, overpass.kumi.systems or overpass.private.coffee.
Links you open to other sites, such as an aircraft's flight track, the FAA registry or DeFlock, open in your browser under those sites' policies.
Permissions, and why
- Bluetooth: to notice nearby glasses, recorders, trackers, skimmer parts and drones by what they broadcast, and to ask the ones it can't name what they are, over a brief read-only connection.
- Local Network: to ask devices on the Wi-Fi you have joined what they are.
- Location: for Plate readers, Overhead and drive mode. Drive mode can keep warning you with the screen off or another app in front; iOS shows the location indicator whenever it does, and it stops when you end the drive.
- Camera: for the Lens finder and Infrared check, which use the live camera view. No photos or video are taken or saved.
- Notifications: for drive alerts while another app is in front.
What stays on your phone
The app keeps only what you would want to find again, only on the phone, and deletes it on these schedules:
- Devices you mark as yours, until you clear them.
- A log of your sweeps, the last 100.
- Trackers seen in sweeps, for 7 days, so one that keeps turning up can be flagged.
- Rough places where a tracker or wearable was seen, for 30 days, so one that follows you from place to place can be flagged.
- The sky log and the drive log, for 30 days.
- Spots you report as unmapped plate readers, and your last few route searches, until you clear them.
- Your settings, and the last error message if the app hit a bug.
"Forget everything" in Settings clears all of it at once, and deleting the app removes everything.
Sharing
When you share a report, a log or a spot, the app hands it to your phone's share sheet. Where it goes from there is your choice; the app never sends it anywhere itself.
Children
The app isn't directed at children under 13, and it collects no personal information from anyone.
Changes
If this policy changes, the new version will be posted here with a new date.
Contact
Headway Tech LLC · support@headwaytech.app