Methodology
How TrackWanted works
TrackWanted is an open-source intelligence reader. It collects material that is already public, summarises it with citations, and is explicit about the difference between something that was reported and something that was modelled.
Where the information comes from
- Wanted notices and designations — Interpol red notices, national agency listings, sanctions designations and court records.
- Aircraft identity — the FAA civil aircraft registry as the primary source, with Planespotters as a secondary cross-check. Every tail number in the app links to both.
- Open reporting — a live sweep across news indexes and the GDELT global event database, run with name variants so regional-language coverage is not missed.
- Public financial records — the ICIJ Offshore Leaks database, open company registries and public blockchain explorers.
What the AI layer actually does
Language models are used for reading, not for inventing. They extract structured facts — who, where, when, how much — from documents the system has already retrieved, and anything that cannot be traced back to a retrieved source is discarded before it reaches the screen. Every brief item carries the link it came from. If nothing credible was published, the app says so instead of filling the gap.
What is modelled, not measured
The globe is a visualisation. Aircraft positions are simulated along realistic routes and schedules to illustrate movement patterns; they are not a live air-traffic feed and must never be used for navigation or operational decisions. Carbon figures are estimates derived from published fuel-burn rates and great-circle distances. Fugitive location rings show a probability area around the last publicly reported region, not a fix.
Privacy and responsible use
TrackWanted collects nothing about its visitors: no accounts, no tracking pixels, no third-party analytics, and referrers are stripped on outbound links. It publishes only information about public figures, public aircraft registrations and published legal notices. Wanted status reflects what an authority has published and is not a determination of guilt. The platform is intended for research, journalism and public accountability.