New smartphone app SpyMeSat alerts you are watched by Satelites

With Edward Snowden’s NSA leaks and the increasing amount of evidence that both private companies and the government are spying on our online activity, tech paranoia is now commonplace. A new iPhone app aims to either aid or appease those fears of being watched, depending on how you look at it. 

The app, called SpyMeSat, notifies iPhone users when a spy satellite or an “unclassified imagine satellite” is above their location, presumably taking pictures of them from space.

SpyMeSat was created by Orbit Logic, Inc., which specializes in supplying software to the aerospace and intelligence communities. The app, which was released last week, gets its data from organizations like NORAD, but it doesn’t use any classified information. In other words, any terrorists or human rights abusers looking to hide from satellites already can access the info through other data sources. The app’s chief purpose is to gather all that data into one cheap app.

"I actually got the idea for the app from talking to friends outside the aerospace industry who were always very interested in space and satellites and imaging from space. This app answers those questions in a fun and interactive way," said Alex Herz, president of Orbit Logic in Greenbelt, Maryland which developed the app.

SpyMeSat makes it easy to understand what man-made objects are moving through space in the areas directly above you and around you. The app sources information from a wide variety of sources, including the North American Aerospace Defense Command, a website called CelesTrak and other public data.

Those seriously concerned with privacy issues may be disappointed that the app doesn’t display any information that’s not available to the public elsewhere. It simply displays it in an easy-to-understand manner in relation to your location (and greatly simplifies the relatively complex math involved). The company believes that’s a good thing, so that it can not be used by terrorists or other criminals attempting to avoid being photographed by spy satellites.

The app is accurate to 16 meters. You can set SpyMeSat to give you alerts for any location, track satellites even when they’re not overhead, call up resolution specs for each model, and learn about their various on-board sensors. Satellite models in the database are owned and operated by either public or private bodies, including the GeoEye, France’s SPOT-5, India’s CartoSat-2A, DigitalGlobe WorldView, and RADARSAT-2 of Canada.

Right now SpyMeSat is only available for iOS devices, with no word yet about Android availability in the near future. The ability to watch the watchers will run you a $1.99 at the App Store.