Why celebrities and billionaires like Elon Musk get annoyed by flight trackers
- Groups that piece together the flight paths have faced pushback from the wealthy and the Tesla boss even offered money to close a Twitter account that tracks his jet’s movements
- But flight following websites say the core data is legally available and open to anyone with the right gear
How to upset Russian freight companies, Elon Musk, Chinese authorities and Kylie Jenner in one go? Track their jets.
Flight following websites and Twitter accounts offer real-time views of air traffic – and sometimes major news like Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip – but that exposure draws pushback ranging from complaints to gear seizures.
Whether Russian air freight firms, Saudi Arabian plane owners or others, Dan Streufert said his group gets dozens of “requests” each year to stop posting flights’ whereabouts.
“We have not removed anything so far. This is all public information. And I don’t want to be the arbiter of who’s right and who’s wrong,” added Streufert, founder of the US-based flight tracking site ADS-B Exchange.
Limits do apply in some cases, but groups that piece together the flight paths note that the core information source is legally available and open to anyone with the right gear.
US rules require planes in designated areas be equipped with ADS-B technology that broadcasts aircraft positions using signals that relatively simple equipment can pick up.