⚖️Legal Disclaimer

 

Iridium satellite downlinks occupy licensed spectrum, and the legality of receiving, decoding, storing, and sharing those signals varies significantly by jurisdiction. You are solely responsible for ensuring your use of this software complies with the laws applicable to you. If you are unsure, consult qualified legal counsel before capturing live signals.

General principles (not legal advice):
 

• Passive reception of Iridium L-band signals for research and education is legal in many jurisdictions, but not all.
   

• Decoding the content of communications not addressed to you (voice calls, pager/SMS messages, ACARS, SBD payloads, IDA signaling carrying user identifiers such as IMSI/IMEI/phone numbers) may violate wiretapping, telecommunications-secrecy, or privacy laws (e.g. US ECPA 18 USC §2511, UK Investigatory Powers Act, German §89 TKG, and similar statutes worldwide).
   

• Storing, publishing, or retransmitting decoded content — including audio, messages, identifiers, or location data — is restricted or prohibited in most jurisdictions, even when the act of reception itself is permitted.
   

• Operating the SDR transmitter (HackRF, LimeSDR, etc.) on Iridium frequencies is illegal without a specific licence and is never required by this software.
   

Recommended use.
Operate this tool only:
 

• in a controlled lab/test environment, on a test signal you control, or under an authorised research agreement; or
   

• on captured .bits files supplied by a third party who has lawfully obtained them; or
   

• within the strict bounds of your jurisdiction's amateur/research/SIGINT exemptions.
   

No warranty. This software and its documentation are provided "as is" for educational and research purposes only, without warranty of any kind. The authors and contributors disclaim all liability for any direct or indirect consequence of its use, including any violation of law committed by an end user.

Trademarks. "Iridium" is a registered trademark of Iridium Communications Inc. This project is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Iridium Communications Inc.