But Sweeney defended that he did so for the public interest.
"I think the people are interested," Sweeney told Business Insider over text. "You should have a decent expectation that your jet will be tracked, whether or not I do it as, after all, it is public information."
The 21-year-old Jack Sweeney publishes the aircraft tracking results on several Twitter accounts such as Trump Jets and Zucc Jet. These accounts have been suspended from Twitter, but remain active on Discord.
FAA
Sweeney appeared to have taken advantage of the FAA regulation loopholes, although the FAA has implemented two programs that allow private jet owners to fly incognito.
The two programs are Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD), which allows private jet owners to dodge plane-tracking software that uses FAA data, like FlightAware or Flightradar24. The programs work simply. If people search the aircraft flights, their tail numbers will be blocked from public view.
The second program is ‘private ICAO aircraft address, also known as PIA. The program allows aircraft owners to substitute their tail number for a temporary one not used by any other planes. This enables them to fly incognito.
Sweeney, however, said he uses ADS-B Exchange, which does not use FAA data. Instead, he uses data from ADS-B-equipped aircraft that broadcast information like speed and GPS location. (*)
