Effective from 19 October 2026
Lachez is a tracking service for hot air balloon events. During a flight, the pilot shares the position of their balloon so that the ground crew can locate the landing site and spectators can follow the flight on a map. This policy describes what personal data is processed about the pilot and how it is handled.
Colegio Solutions s.r.o., company identification number (IČO) 24792161, registered office at Na Paloučku 21, 250 84 Sibřina, Czech Republic.
Contact address for data protection matters: info@lachez.eu
When a pilot starts sharing their location, whether in the application or on the website, a single record is transmitted approximately every ten seconds, comprising:
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Text entered by the pilot, typically the pilot's name or the name of the balloon |
| Balloon code | An identifier for the balloon chosen by the pilot, for example its registration |
| Position | Latitude, longitude and altitude obtained from the GPS module of the mobile phone |
| Time | The moment at which the record was captured |
| Event and flight code | Identification of the event and flight to which the record belongs |
Together with the position record, technical device data is also stored for diagnosing application errors: the application version, the operating system version, the device type (model) and a random application-installation identifier (stored with each position record). The app sends the same identifier with requests in which a pilot or crew code is entered (viewing a briefing, links, looking up an event) as protection against code guessing; for invalid code attempts the server stores it together with the IP address, and otherwise does not store it for these requests. For a pilot's own space, the type of device from which the pilot transmits is stored as well. This is not the IMEI, serial number or an advertising identifier. We do not process pilots' telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, contacts or photographs; the exception is the contacts an organiser lists in an event briefing (see section 5).
If a member of the ground crew starts sharing for a chase vehicle, the vehicle name entered by the crew, the balloon the vehicle is following and, for the duration of sharing, the vehicle's position (latitude and longitude), speed, heading and time are stored.
Feedback. You may optionally add an e-mail address to a message sent from the application. We use it solely to reply to your message; it is stored for at most 180 days and then deleted. The e-mail address is not passed to third parties. Earlier deletion can be requested at info@lachez.eu.
Exclusively for the period during which the pilot activates sharing using the "Start sharing location" button, and until they end it using the "Stop sharing" button. The application requests location permission before first use; without that permission, no data is shared.
Sharing continues while the application is in the background or the phone is locked. Without this, sharing would end the moment the pilot puts the phone in a pocket. On Android devices a permanent notification is displayed throughout; on iPhone devices, the location indicator remains visible in the status bar.
Sharing does not end automatically upon landing. Until the pilot ends it, the application continues to record the position, including any journey from the landing site. We therefore recommend ending sharing once you have landed.
The purpose of processing is to support the running of a balloon event. The ground crew needs to locate the landing site, which cannot be determined in advance because it is dictated by the direction and strength of the wind. Spectators and the organiser gain an overview of the event as it unfolds.
The legal basis for processing is the legitimate interest of the organiser and the operator in running the event, comparable to a published start list or the live tracking of competitors at sporting events. Sharing a location is at the same time always voluntary and entirely at the pilot's discretion, as they activate and end it themselves.
Technical device data (application version, operating system and device type) is visible only to the event organiser and the operator; the public map does not display it.
Event briefing. The organiser may store a briefing with an event: contacts of people (name, telephone number and role), a QNH note and a PDF document. The briefing is shown in the app and on lachez.eu only to the event's pilots and crews who enter the pilot or crew code, and only once the event is paid; the public map and the event list do not display it. The organiser is responsible for the listed people agreeing to the publication of their contact. The app stores the briefing PDF in the app's private storage on the phone when you start sharing your position or when you tap the PDF button (only the latest version per event). The app also keeps the briefing text (contacts, QNH note) in the app's private storage on the phone each time you open the briefing, so that it can be shown even when the app cannot reach the server, including before takeoff and offline during a flight (only the latest version per event). Neither copy is included in backups. A copy on the phone is deleted as soon as the app, on its next contact with the server, finds that the briefing or the event no longer exists (at the latest the next time you start sharing or open the briefing), otherwise when the app is uninstalled; the phone may also delete it on its own when storage runs low.
We do not sell the data, we do not disclose it to advertisers or data brokers, and we do not use it for profiling.
Individual recorded positions are deleted no later than 90 days after they were captured. The exception is flights that the pilot or the event organiser explicitly marks to be kept (so that the flight card, profile and track remain available); this mark can be removed at any time, after which the flight is deleted under the normal retention period.
Technical device data and chase-vehicle data, including vehicle positions, are retained for no longer than 90 days; records of invalid code attempts (the random application-installation identifier and the IP address) are retained for no longer than 1 day; for a flight marked to be kept, the flight's technical data is retained for as long as that protection applies. The list of devices of a pilot's own space (the random application-installation identifier and the device type) is deleted 90 days after the device last transmitted in the space, and always when the space is deleted.
After that period, only material from which no individual person can be identified is retained in relation to the event:
This material serves as a record of the extent to which the Lachez service has been used.
A pilot may also request the event organiser to delete their flight at any earlier point, including during the event itself.
The event briefing (contacts, QNH note, PDF) is deleted together with the event; the organiser can edit or remove it at any time.
| Recipient | Scope of access |
|---|---|
| Active24 (hosting) | Operates the server on which the data is stored. Standard operation includes technical access logs, namely the IP address, time and the address of the requested page. |
| OpenStreetMap | The map background is retrieved from their servers (on the live map and in the event cards on the home page and in the event list). They thereby obtain the IP address of the person viewing the map and the map area being viewed, but not the position of the balloon. |
| unpkg (Cloudflare) | The map rendering library is loaded from here on the website. The scope is identical, namely the IP address of the visitor to the page. |
| Google Play, App Store | Distribution of the application. Processing is governed by their own privacy policies. |
Under the GDPR you have the right of access to your personal data, the right to its rectification or erasure, the right to restriction of processing, the right to data portability and the right to object to processing. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority, which is the Czech Data Protection Authority, Úřad pro ochranu osobních údajů (uoou.gov.cz).
Please send your requests to info@lachez.eu. Kindly state which event and which balloon the request concerns, so that we are able to identify you within the data. We will confirm the handling of your request within 30 days.
The service is not intended for children. Location sharing is initiated by the balloon pilot, who is the holder of a pilot licence.
Should this policy be amended, the effective date stated in the header will be updated. Event organisers will be informed of any substantial changes.
The application and the website are operated by Colegio Solutions s.r.o. Individual events are created by their respective organisers, who also distribute the links to them.
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