Is Earth Realtime free?+
Yes — the free tier is a genuinely useful live tracker with one layer at a time plus basic weather. Advanced ($4.99/month or $39/year, works on 2 devices) unlocks all layers together, and Premium ($9.99/month or $79/year, works on 3 devices) adds recording, time travel and the emergency toolkit. There's a 7-day free trial of full Premium — built into the app, no card required.
Do I need API keys?+
Many core feeds work out of the box. Some data sources (certain aircraft, transit and mapping providers) use your own free API keys, which you paste into Settings. Keys are yours and stay on your machine — Earth Realtime is a client tool that connects on your behalf.
Is my data private?+
Yes. The app collects no personal information. Your API keys and preferences stay on your device, and licensing stores only an anonymous license hash and machine fingerprint — no emails or payment details, which live only with our payment processor.
Where does the data come from?+
Dozens of live, open feeds: ADS-B for aircraft, AIS for ships, CelesTrak two-line elements for satellites, GTFS-Realtime for transit, Open-Meteo and RainViewer for weather and radar, GDACS and USGS for disasters and earthquakes, curated YouTube for live cameras, and OpenStreetMap-based basemaps — all fused on-device.
How does worldwide emergency monitoring work?+
It covers both the skies and the seas. Aircraft squawking 7700, 7600 or 7500 are caught by a lightweight worldwide sweep — even when the Aircraft layer is switched off, beyond your render cap, off-screen, or hidden by a filter. Ships broadcasting an AIS-SART distress signal are surfaced globally while the Ships layer is on. Either way, distress is pinned on the map with a pulsing halo, an audible alarm and an entry in the emergency dashboard — past any cap, zoom or filter.
What are the system requirements?+
A 64-bit Windows 10 or 11 PC. Earth Realtime automatically tunes its memory use to your available RAM, so higher render limits are only as heavy as your machine allows. An internet connection is required for live data.
How do I upgrade or manage my subscription?+
Everything happens inside the app under the Help menu — see your tier and days remaining, and open secure checkout or the customer portal. Advanced is $4.99/month or $39/year; Premium is $9.99/month or $79/year. Billing, invoices, taxes and renewals are handled by Lemon Squeezy (a Stripe company), our merchant of record.
Which platforms are supported?+
The Windows 10/11 (64-bit) build is launching soon — it's the first platform out the door. macOS, Linux and mobile builds are on the roadmap.