Last updated: 28 August 2026
Welcome to BalloonSpotters. By using our website or our mobile app, you agree to be bound by these terms. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the service.
In these terms, “the service” means both the BalloonSpotters.net website and the BalloonSpotters app for iOS and Android.
You must be at least 13 years old to use BalloonSpotters. By using the service, you confirm that you meet this age requirement.
You are responsible for keeping your password secure and for everything done through your account. Provide accurate information when you register, and tell us promptly if you believe someone else has access to your account.
You may delete your account at any time from your website profile (Delete Account), from the app (More → Settings → Account → Delete Account), or by contacting us. What happens to your data when you do is set out in our Privacy Policy.
What we collect, why, who else sees it and how long we keep it are all set out in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms. If you would rather not disclose the location of a sighting or a photo, mark it private — the choice is yours on every log and every image.
We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use the app on devices you own or control, for your own non-commercial balloon spotting. You may not copy, modify, reverse-engineer, resell or redistribute the app, or use it to build a competing service.
This licence ends if you stop using the app, if you delete your account, or if we terminate it under section 11.
You keep ownership of the photos and text you upload. We do not claim your copyright.
By uploading content and marking it public, you grant BalloonSpotters a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to store, reproduce, resize, add a credit bar to, and display that content as part of the service — on balloon pages, in the gallery, on the map, and in the app. This licence exists so we can actually show your photo; it does not let us sell your work or license it on to anyone else.
You confirm that you took the photos you upload, or otherwise have the right to upload them, and that doing so does not infringe anyone else’s rights.
Content you mark private is stored but not displayed publicly. If you delete a photo, we remove it from public display; see the Privacy Policy for what survives account deletion and how to have it removed.
BalloonSpotters is a shared historical record, and it is only as good as what goes into it. You agree to log honestly — the correct registration, the real location, the actual date and time, and images that genuinely show what you say they show.
Deliberately recording false registrations, locations or dates, or uploading misleading images, undermines the record for everyone and may result in your content being removed or your account being suspended.
There is no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive behaviour on BalloonSpotters. The following are prohibited:
Uploaded photos are screened automatically before they appear publicly, and anything flagged is reviewed by a person.
If you see something that breaches section 8, please report it. Every photo in the app has a report option, and you can also contact us directly.
We aim to review reports and act within 24 hours. Acting may mean removing the content, removing the user who posted it, or both. We will not tell you the outcome of a report about someone else’s content, but we do read every one.
We may remove or hide content that breaches these terms, with or without notice. If you believe a decision about your content was wrong, contact us and a person will review it again.
We may restrict, suspend or terminate an account at our discretion, including for breaching these terms, repeatedly posting content that breaches section 8, providing false information, or behaving abusively towards other users or towards us.
Where an account is terminated for abuse, we may refuse to allow that person to create a new one.
We work to keep the service running, but we do not guarantee it will be available without interruption. We may change, suspend or discontinue any part of it, and we may stop supporting older versions of the app.
The content on BalloonSpotters is provided for information only, and much of it is submitted by other users. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or reliability of any of it. The service is provided “as is”, without warranties of any kind so far as the law allows.
Balloon spotting takes place outdoors and often near roads, fields and airfields. You are responsible for your own safety and for respecting private property and landowners’ wishes. Nothing in the app should be taken as permission to enter anywhere, and you should never use the app while driving.
So far as the law allows, BalloonSpotters is not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential loss arising from your use of the service. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
The app is distributed through the Apple App Store and Google Play. Your use of it is also subject to those stores’ own terms.
This agreement is between you and BalloonSpotters, not with Apple or Google. Neither is responsible for the app or its content, and neither has any obligation to provide support for it. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these terms and may enforce them against you. Any claim about the app — including product liability, a failure to meet legal requirements, or a claim under consumer protection law — is our responsibility and not Apple’s or Google’s.
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you live elsewhere, this does not deprive you of the protection of any mandatory consumer law in your own country.
We may update these terms from time to time. The date at the top shows when they last changed. Where a change materially affects your rights, we will tell you rather than only posting it here. Continuing to use the service after a change means you accept it.
If you have any questions about these terms, please contact us.
By using BalloonSpotters, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these terms. Thank you for being part of the community.