Privacy Policy

Plain English, like everything else here. Last updated: 8 September 2026.

This policy covers ultimatesimguide.com, run by UltimateSimGuide. Questions or requests: support@ultimatesimguide.com.

The short version

Most of this site needs nothing from you. If you create an account we store the minimum needed to run it — name, email, credits, session summaries — and nothing else. We never sell your data, never share it for marketing, and you can have everything deleted with one email.

Tools that run in your browser

The checklist, calculators, METAR decoder, MCDU guide, airport directory, and the free ATC Trainer run entirely on your device. Your checklist progress and loaded SimBrief flight live in your browser's local storage — they are never sent to us. Weather (METAR) and SimBrief requests pass through our server only to work around browser restrictions; we don't log their contents or tie them to you.

If you create an account (AI Radio Sandbox)

You can sign in with Google or Meta, or create an account with an email and password. Either way, this is everything we store about you: your name, email address, credit balance, subscription status, and your practice-session summaries (route, number of calls, corrections, phase reached). From a social sign-in we receive only your name and email — we don't access your contacts, posts, or anything else, and we can't post on your behalf. Passwords are stored only as a salted cryptographic hash, which means we cannot read them.

Account data is stored with our database provider, Upstash, and the site is hosted by Netlify. Sign-in state is kept in a single secure, signed cookie (usg_session) — that cookie is essential to the service and isn't used for tracking.

Your voice in the Radio Sandbox

When you use push-to-talk, your speech is converted to text by your own browser — the audio itself never reaches our servers, and we store no recordings. The resulting text of your radio call is sent to our AI providers to generate the controller's reply: Anthropic (the controller's words) and OpenAI (the controller's voice). They process it to provide the service, not to build a profile of you. The text of your exchanges is kept only within your active session and in the session summaries described above.

Payments

Payments are handled entirely by Stripe. Your card number never touches our servers and we never see it. We store only your subscription status, credit balance, and a reference ID that lets Stripe tell us your payment succeeded. Cancelling is self-service through the link in your Stripe receipt email.

Analytics & cookies

We use Google Analytics to see which tools get used and how the site performs — aggregate statistics, not profiles. Google Analytics sets its own cookies; you can block them with any cookie or ad blocker and every part of this site keeps working. Beyond that and the essential sign-in cookie above, we set no cookies and run no advertising or tracking pixels.

Forms

The book launch list and the feedback form are processed by Netlify Forms. What you submit is used only to reply to you and to announce the book — no newsletters you didn't ask for.

Who we share data with

Only the service providers needed to run the site, each receiving the minimum for their job: Netlify (hosting and forms), Upstash (account database), Stripe (payments), Anthropic and OpenAI (AI responses in the Radio Sandbox), Google (analytics, and sign-in if you choose it), and Meta (sign-in if you choose it). These providers are based in the United States, so your data may be processed there. We never sell personal data and never share it with anyone for advertising.

How long we keep it

Account data is kept while your account exists. Session history keeps only your 50 most recent summaries. If you ask us to delete your account, everything goes — name, email, credits, history — and only anonymous aggregate statistics remain.

Your rights

Email support@ultimatesimguide.com from your account address to see a copy of everything we hold about you, correct it, or delete it entirely — we'll action it within days, wherever you live. If you're in the EU/UK, this is how you exercise your GDPR rights (our legal basis for processing account data is performing the service you signed up for); California residents have equivalent rights under the CCPA.

Children

Accounts are for users 13 and over. The free tools have no age restriction because they collect nothing.

Changes

If this policy changes in any way that matters, we'll update the date at the top and say so on the site — no silent edits.