Within Rules
Why Some Aircraft Disappear From Public Feeds
FAA flight-data privacy programs show why UAP stations should avoid exposing aircraft identities unless a case truly requires it.
On this page
- LADD and filtered public display
- Privacy ICAO addresses
- What UAP stations should publish instead
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Introduction
Automated UAP monitoring stations often benefit from comparing observations against aircraft movements, but they should be cautious about republishing aircraft identities. The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has spent years developing privacy programmes that acknowledge a simple reality: even when aircraft broadcast information for safety, there are legitimate reasons to limit how easily that information is redistributed to the public. Those programmes offer a useful governance model for UAP projects. Rather than treating every detected aircraft as information to be permanently published, UAP networks should separate scientific verification from public disclosure and publish only the level of aviation data needed to explain an event.
Why Some Aircraft Disappear From Public Feeds
A common misunderstanding is that if an aircraft broadcasts Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast (ADS-B) signals, every public tracking website must display its identity. The FAA’s privacy programmes demonstrate that this is not the case.
ADS-B transmissions are designed to improve air traffic awareness and safety. However, the FAA recognises that unrestricted redistribution of aircraft identities can create privacy and security concerns for business operators, private owners and other legitimate users. In response, it introduced mechanisms that reduce public exposure without preventing safe air traffic operations. [Federal Aviation Administration]faa.govFederal Aviation AdministrationADS-B Privacy22 Mar 2025 — The PIA program enables interested aircraft owners to request an alternate, tem…
For UAP investigators, the lesson is straightforward: receiving aviation data does not automatically justify publishing every aircraft identity associated with an investigated event.
LADD and Filtered Public Display
The FAA’s Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) programme focuses on how FAA-supplied flight information is redistributed rather than on stopping aircraft from flying or communicating.
Under LADD, participating aircraft owners can request that flight information be filtered from FAA data feeds distributed through the System Wide Information Management (SWIM) network or removed from public display by participating flight-tracking services. Vendors receiving FAA data under agreement must honour those restrictions. [Federal Aviation Administration]faa.govFederal Aviation AdministrationLimiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD)1 May 2025 — The LADD program provides aircraft owners the ability…
An important limitation is equally instructive.
LADD does not stop ADS-B transmissions from being broadcast over the air. Anyone with an independent ADS-B receiver can still receive those radio signals directly. The programme therefore limits the redistribution of FAA-derived information rather than preventing reception altogether. The FAA explicitly distinguishes this limitation from other privacy measures. [Federal Aviation Administration]faa.govFederal Aviation AdministrationADS-B Privacy22 Mar 2025 — The PIA program enables interested aircraft owners to request an alternate, tem…
For UAP stations, this distinction matters because a network that operates its own ADS-B receivers is making an editorial decision when it republishes aircraft identities. The fact that data can be received independently does not mean it should automatically be published.
Privacy ICAO Addresses Reduce Easy Identification
The FAA later introduced the Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) programme to address another problem.
Every ADS-B-equipped aircraft normally broadcasts a unique 24-bit ICAO address that can often be associated with a specific aircraft registration. Because inexpensive receivers can collect these broadcasts, simply blocking FAA data feeds was insufficient for operators seeking greater privacy.
The PIA programme allows eligible aircraft to use an alternate, temporary ICAO address that is not linked to the owner in the public Civil Aircraft Registry. This makes immediate identification significantly more difficult while preserving required ADS-B safety broadcasts. The FAA also notes that ADS-B transmissions remain receivable with ordinary receivers even when a Privacy ICAO Address is being used; the programme reduces straightforward identification rather than making an aircraft invisible. [Federal Aviation Administration+2Department of Transportation]faa.govFederal Aviation AdministrationADS-B Privacy22 Mar 2025 — The PIA program enables interested aircraft owners to request an alternate, tem…
The distinction is important because it reflects a policy preference for limiting unnecessary attribution instead of attempting to conceal aircraft operations.
What UAP Stations Should Publish Instead
FAA privacy policy suggests that UAP projects should distinguish between operational analysis and public reporting.
During internal analysis, investigators may legitimately compare observations with aircraft position, altitude, speed, heading and timing in order to eliminate conventional explanations.
Public reports rarely require all of that information. In many cases, publishing the following is sufficient:
- Confirmation that a known aircraft was or was not consistent with the observation.
- Time difference between the detected object and nearby aircraft.
- Approximate separation distance or altitude.
- Aircraft type or broad operational category where relevant, such as commercial airliner, helicopter or general aviation aircraft.
- The data source and confidence level used during identification.
By contrast, many reports do not need to publish:
- Registration numbers.
- Owner details.
- Full historical flight tracks.
- ICAO hexadecimal identifiers.
- Persistent identifiers that allow long-term tracking of individual aircraft.
This approach preserves the scientific value of the investigation while avoiding unnecessary exposure of aircraft operators who are unrelated to the reported UAP event.
A Practical Policy for Automated UAP Networks
FAA privacy programmes illustrate a broader governance principle rather than a uniquely American legal rule. They recognise that safety information and public attribution are not identical concepts.
A well-designed automated UAP network can adopt a similar publication policy by:
- retaining complete aviation correlation data internally for verification and audit;
- publishing only the information necessary to explain why an event was identified or ruled out;
- avoiding searchable archives that associate individual aircraft with every reported sighting;
- documenting circumstances under which fuller identification may be justified, such as regulatory investigations, accident inquiries or requests from competent authorities.
Such a policy improves scientific transparency while reducing unnecessary privacy risks. It also helps prevent UAP databases from becoming unintended aircraft-tracking archives, keeping the emphasis on evaluating unexplained observations rather than cataloguing the routine movements of identifiable aircraft.
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Endnotes
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Source: faa.gov
Link: https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/technology/equipadsb/privacySource snippet
Federal Aviation AdministrationADS-B Privacy22 Mar 2025 — The PIA program enables interested aircraft owners to request an alternate, tem...
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Source: faa.gov
Link: https://www.faa.gov/pilots/laddSource snippet
Federal Aviation AdministrationLimiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD)1 May 2025 — The LADD program provides aircraft owners the ability...
Published: May 2025
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Source: transportation.gov
Title: privacy icao address program
Link: https://www.transportation.gov/individuals/privacy/privacy-icao-address-programSource snippet
Department of TransportationPrivacy ICAO Address ProgramDec 23, 2019 — The FAA created the Privacy International Civil Aviation Organizat...
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Source: faa.gov
Link: https://www.faa.gov/ -
Source: adsbperformance.faa.gov
Link: https://adsbperformance.faa.gov/PIA/Application.aspxSource snippet
ICAO Address Application: Checklist - Equip ADS-BThe FAA Program Office provides this automated tool in order to assist aircraft owners a...
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Source: faa.gov
Link: https://www.faa.gov/media/91986Source snippet
PIA Articles of UseLimiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) list and aircrafts with Privacy International Civil Aviation Organization (ICA...
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Source: nbaa.org
Title: Privacy ICAO Address (PIA)
Link: https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/security/privacy/privacy-icao-address-pia/Source snippet
Aircraft OperationsThe FAA has created the Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) program, which allows operators to use alternate, ICAO aircraft add...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Federal Aviation Administration
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Aviation_AdministrationSource snippet
Federal Aviation AdministrationThe Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a US federal government agency within the US Department of...
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Source: faasafety.gov
Title: Safer Skies Through Education
Link: https://www.faasafety.gov/Source snippet
FAA - FAASTeam...The AMT Awards program encourages AMTs and employers to take advantage of initial and recurrent training by issuing awa...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/%40FAAnews/featuredSource snippet
Federal Aviation AdministrationWelcome to the official YouTube channel of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Our mission is simpl...
Additional References
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Source: nbaa.org
Link: https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/security/privacy/ads-b-privacy-faq/Source snippet
ADS-B Privacy FAQThe FAA's Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) and Privacy ICAO Address (PIA) programs offer privacy protections in t...
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Source: cs.ox.ac.uk
Link: https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/files/13229/flying-in-private-mode.pdfSource snippet
and Improving the Privacy ICAO Address...by G Michel · Cited by 3 — In order to track aircraft enrolled in the FAA PIA program efficient...
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Source: interactive.aviationtoday.com
Title: faa privacy icao program gains foothold but extent limited thus far
Link: https://interactive.aviationtoday.com/avionicsmagazine/october-november-2020/faa-privacy-icao-program-gains-foothold-but-extent-limited-thus-far/Source snippet
Privacy ICAO Program Gains Foothold, But Extent...The PIA program provides a layer of privacy for aircraft operators who seek to anonymi...
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Source: youtube.com
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyWtIcz8UNASource snippet
DEF CON Safe Mode Aerospace Village - Gui Michel - Breakdown of the FAA Privacy ICAO Address Program - YouTube DEF CON Safe Mode Aerospac...
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Source: jetstreamlaw.com
Title: how to block your aircraft tail number from public tracking
Link: https://jetstreamlaw.com/how-to-block-your-aircraft-tail-number-from-public-tracking/Source snippet
Jun 20, 2025 — The FAA now has two programs that enable aircraft owners to block or limit access to their ADS-B data: the Limiting Aircra...
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Source: nbaa.org
Link: https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/security/privacy/limiting-aircraft-data-displayed-ladd/Source snippet
ress (PIA) program, which allows operators to use alternate...Read more...
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Source: nbaa.org
Title: faa expands privacy icao address availability
Link: https://nbaa.org/aircraft-operations/security/privacy/faa-expands-privacy-icao-address-availability/Source snippet
Feb 6, 2024 — PIA began in January 2020, with the mandate for ADS-B Out. NBAA requested early on that PIA be available for offshore and G...
Published: January 2020
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Source: reddit.com
Link: https://www.reddit.com/r/flying/comments/1ef9ks7/does_ladd_prevent_your_address_from_showing_on/Source snippet
my home address, and I’d rather not have this info public. LADD seems...
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Source: pilot-protection-services.aopa.org
Title: If you would like to track your own aircraft
Link: https://pilot-protection-services.aopa.org/news/2021/december/01/flight-tracking-and-privacySource snippet
Tracking and Privacy - Legal & Medical Services (PPS)Dec 1, 2021 — The LADD Source Blocking option offers enhanced privacy by limiting th...
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Source: ainonline.com
Title: faas privacy program aircraft goes live
Link: https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-12-23/faas-privacy-program-aircraft-goes-liveSource snippet
FAA's Privacy Program for Aircraft Goes Live | AIN23 Dec 2019 — For now, the FAA is administering the PIA program, assigning an alternate...
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