Privacy Policy & Data Handling
Last updated: 7 July 2026
Carthage Dispatch (vatcarthago.com) is a flight-planning tool for VATSIM pilots flying to and from Tunisia. This page explains what personal data the site handles, why, and what your rights are. It is available to everyone before logging in. Carthage Dispatch is an independent community project and is not an official VATSIM service.
1. Who operates this site
Carthage Dispatch is an independent, non-commercial community project run by a single VATSIM member — a pilot and controller with the Maghreb vACC. It is a personal hobby tool made to help pilots and attract traffic to Tunisia events. It is not an official VATSIM service and is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, VATSIM, VATSIM Middle East & North Africa, the Maghreb vACC, or any official division or vACC.
Data controller and point of contact. The person responsible for the personal data processed by this site (the “data controller” under the EU GDPR) is Oussama Msalmi. For any privacy question or to exercise your rights, contact him at contact@vatcarthago.com.
2. What data we collect
When you sign in through VATSIM Connect (the official auth.vatsim.net login), VATSIM shares the following with us, with your consent on the VATSIM consent screen:
- Your VATSIM CID (member ID)
- Your full name as registered with VATSIM
- Your email address
- Basic VATSIM details such as your registered country, rating, and division
We never see or ask for your VATSIM password. Authentication happens entirely on VATSIM's official pages.
We do not use analytics trackers, advertising cookies, or fingerprinting.
3. Why we collect it
- CID and name — to identify you as a VATSIM member, keep the service members-only, and enforce moderation (e.g., access revocation for abuse).
- Email — to contact you about your account if needed (e.g., moderation notices). We do not send newsletters or marketing.
- Login timestamps and login count — basic account records for administration.
4. Legal basis for processing
Under Article 6 of the GDPR, we rely on the following lawful bases:
- Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)) — you choose to share your VATSIM data with us on the official VATSIM Connect consent screen when you log in. You can withdraw this at any time (see your rights below).
- Legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f)) — running a members-only community tool, keeping the service secure, and preventing and investigating abuse. We balance these interests against your rights and only process the minimum data needed.
5. Where and how it is stored
Your CID, name, email, and login timestamps are stored in a private database on our own server, which is hosted within the EU/EEA. The database is not publicly accessible, is excluded from backups shared with third parties, and is only readable by site administrators. We keep your account data within the EU/EEA; we do not transfer it to a third country.
6. Service providers we rely on
The site loads some resources from third-party services. Because your browser fetches these directly, those providers receive technical request data (such as your IP address and the page you are on). None of them receive your VATSIM account data (CID, name, email) unless noted:
- VATSIM — authentication (VATSIM Connect) and the public live-traffic feed. VATSIM is the original controller of your account data and shares it with us only with your consent.
- Our hosting provider (EU/EEA) — runs the server that stores your account data, acting as our processor.
- CARTO — map background tiles.
- Google Fonts — web fonts.
- unpkg & jsDelivr — the Leaflet and Three.js libraries (content delivery networks).
- Daisycon — airline logos shown next to aircraft.
- Wikimedia — destination photos in the flight-offers strip.
- Cesium ion — 3D terrain and imagery, loaded only if you open the Tunis 3D view.
- SimBrief (Navigraph) — used only if you dispatch a flight through the SimBrief feature; your SimBrief username and the flight-plan details you request are exchanged with SimBrief.
Some of these providers may process the technical request data outside the EU/EEA under their own privacy policies. We do not control their processing.
7. Cookies
The site sets a single session cookie that keeps you logged in. It contains no personal data itself and expires when your session ends. It is strictly necessary for the site to work. No advertising, analytics, or third-party cookies are set.
8. Public VATSIM data
The map and flight suggestions use the public VATSIM data feed (live pilot and controller positions), which VATSIM itself publishes. This data is displayed as-is and is not combined with your account data.
9. Sharing with third parties
We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data. Beyond the service providers listed in section 6, data may only be disclosed if required or permitted by law, or by VATSIM policy (e.g., cooperation with VATSIM staff on abuse cases).
10. Data breaches
If a personal-data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will investigate it, take steps to contain it, and — where the GDPR requires — notify the competent supervisory authority within 72 hours and inform affected users without undue delay.
11. Retention and deletion
Your account record is kept while you use the service and for as long as needed to meet our legal obligations. You can request a copy of your data or its complete deletion at any time by emailing contact@vatcarthago.com from your registered address, or by including your CID. Deletion requests are honoured within 30 days.
12. Your rights under the GDPR
If you are in the EU/EEA, the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) gives you the following rights over the personal data we hold about you:
- Right of access (Art. 15) — to obtain a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification (Art. 16) — to have inaccurate or incomplete data corrected.
- Right to erasure / "right to be forgotten" (Art. 17) — to have your data deleted.
- Right to restriction of processing (Art. 18) — to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
- Right to data portability (Art. 20) — to receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
- Right to object (Art. 21) — to object to our processing of your data.
- Right to withdraw consent (Art. 7) — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time, and you control what VATSIM shares with us on the VATSIM Connect consent screen.
- Right to lodge a complaint (Art. 77) — to complain to your national data protection supervisory authority. EU/EEA residents can find theirs via the EDPB members list; residents of Tunisia can contact the INPDP.
To exercise any of these rights, contact the data controller, Oussama Msalmi, at contact@vatcarthago.com. We respond to rights requests within 30 days.
13. Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, the "last updated" date above will be revised. Significant changes will be noted on the login page.