PlanesChat is built for working pilots — people who already live by a checklist. We hold our infrastructure to the same standard. This page is the plain-English version of how we protect your account, your messages, and your operational data.
Every PlanesChat account is tied to a real FAA airman record. Verification is matched against the official FAA Airman Inquiry by legal name and certificate type. Accounts without a verified match never appear in directory results.
All client ↔ server traffic enforced by Firebase Hosting + HSTS.
Firestore and Cloud Storage encrypt data at rest using Google-managed keys (AES-256).
2-year HSTS with includeSubDomains and preload — no downgrade attack window.
Strict Content-Security-Policy, X-Frame-Options, X-Content-Type-Options, Referrer-Policy on every response.
Every read and write is enforced server-side by Firestore Security Rules — not by the client. A user cannot escalate privileges by editing JavaScript in their browser.
createdBy / senderId / ownerUid to request.auth.uid on writesProduction traffic is protected by Firebase App Check (reCAPTCHA v3) so requests from headless browsers, automated scripts, and unverified clients are rejected at the Firebase edge — before they ever reach Firestore or Storage.
Group and direct messages are stored encrypted at rest. Message bodies are size-validated server-side (10 KB hard cap) and rate-limited via Cloud Functions to prevent abuse. Deletion removes the document and prevents further retrieval, though copies that exist in operational backups roll off on the standard Firebase retention window.
PlanesChat does not store payment card data. Subscription billing is handled by Stripe; we receive only the customer ID and subscription status webhook events.
Production dependencies are scanned continuously via npm audit. Critical and high-severity vulnerabilities are patched within 48 hours of disclosure. The current production dependency tree reports zero known vulnerabilities.
Account holders can export or delete their data from the Settings page. Deletion removes the user document, hangar profile, marketplace listings, and DM threads. Group messages authored by the user are anonymized (sender name replaced with "Deleted Pilot") to preserve thread continuity for other members. See the Privacy Policy for full details.
security@planeschat.com with a description and reproduction steps. We aim to acknowledge within 48 hours and to triage within 5 business days. We commit not to pursue legal action against researchers who follow this process in good faith.We do not currently run a paid bug bounty, but we publicly credit reporters in our changelog with their permission.
Vulnerability reports: security@planeschat.com
General questions: support@planeschat.com