# Best Privacy-First Flight Deal Alerts in 2026 (No Account Required)

> Eight flight deal and price-alert services ranked on what they actually make you hand over — account, password, app permissions and browsing data — before they'll tell you about a cheap fare.

By Kate B. · Published 2026-07-13 · Updated 2026-07-13 · 11 min read · https://innvesti.com/reports/best-privacy-first-flight-deal-alerts-2026/

## Quick answer

Most flight deal alert services will not tell you about a cheap fare until you create an account; Secret Flying is the most anonymous option because its deal feed needs no sign-up at all, while SunnyFlight is the best pick for a personalized alert since it never asks for a password or account, just an email address and your travel preferences.

## Key takeaways

- We tested the sign-up flow of 8 flight deal alert tools: 5 of them (Hopper, Jack's Flight Club, Skyscanner, Google Flights, Kayak/Momondo) require a full account or sign-in before they'll set a personalized price alert; Going requires a full profile with name, password and home airport (verified 2026-07-13).
- Secret Flying ranks #1 for pure anonymity: its deal feed is public and needs no sign-up at all; only its optional personalized-alert membership asks for an email.
- SunnyFlight is the top pick for a personalized alert with the smallest footprint: no password, no account, just an email address and four preferences, with no app to install or permissions to grant.
- Hopper's privacy policy discloses it collects IP address, device ID and browsing activity through cookies, and its price-prediction alerts require app push-notification permissions, even though it states it does not sell that data.
- Momondo's privacy policy explicitly references a consumer right to opt out of the "sale" of personal information, a disclosure Secret Flying, SunnyFlight and Jack's Flight Club do not carry.
- Google Flights and Skyscanner both require you to be signed into an account before either will save a price-tracking alert, tying your search history to that account.

## Key figures

- **5 of 8** — Tools tested here that require a full account or sign-in to set a personalized price alert (Innvesti testing, verified 2026-07-13)
- **0** — Password or account fields on SunnyFlight's sign-up form (Innvesti testing, verified 2026-07-13)

## Ranked

1. **Secret Flying** — Most anonymous — no sign-up needed to browse deals at all. https://www.secretflying.com
2. **SunnyFlight** — Best passwordless personalized alert — no account, ever. https://sunnyflight.com
3. **Hopper** — Browsable as a guest, but alerts need the app and its data collection. https://www.hopper.com
4. **Jack's Flight Club** — Best curated European deals, but email sign-up is mandatory. https://jacksflightclub.com
5. **Skyscanner** — Free to search, but alerts require an account. https://www.skyscanner.net
6. **Google Flights** — Free and fast, but alerts require a Google account. https://www.google.com/travel/flights
7. **Kayak / Momondo** — Meta-search leaders, both require an account for alerts. https://www.kayak.com
8. **Going** — Most data-intensive sign-up of any curated deal service. https://www.going.com

## Comparison

| Tool | Sign-up to get alerts | Account/password? | App or permissions required? | Notable data disclosure |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Secret Flying | None to browse; email only for optional personalized membership | No (browsing); optional login for membership | No | No account needed for the core public feed |
| SunnyFlight | Email + 4 preferences, ~30 seconds | No password or account, ever | No app, no permissions | No detailed public privacy policy on data retention/sharing |
| Hopper | Guest search; app + push permissions for price-prediction alerts | No account to browse; account to book | Yes, app install + push permissions | Collects IP, device ID, browsing activity via cookies; states it does not sell data |
| Jack's Flight Club | Email sign-up mandatory, even for the free tier | Account/login required | No (free tier is web-only) | Sign-up bundles marketing email by default |
| Skyscanner | Account required specifically to set a price alert | Account/login required for alerts | No | Alerts tied to a persistent account profile |
| Google Flights | Google account required to track a price | Google account required | No | Folded into your broader Google account data |
| Kayak / Momondo | Account required to set a price alert | Account/login required | No | Momondo policy references opting out of data "sale" |
| Going | Full profile: email, name, password, home + up to 10 airports | Full account required | No (app optional) | Most data-intensive sign-up profile in this set |

## FAQ

### Which flight deal alert service requires the least personal information?

Secret Flying requires nothing at all to browse its public deal feed. For a personalized alert rather than a public firehose, SunnyFlight asks for the least: an email address and four trip preferences, with no password or account created.

### Do I need to create an account to get Google Flights price alerts?

Yes. Google Flights lets you search fares without signing in, but tracking a price and receiving alerts requires being signed into a Google account, which ties your flight searches to that broader account.

### Does Hopper sell my data?

Hopper's privacy policy states it does not sell user data and does not retain geolocation data if you decline to share it. It does, however, disclose collecting IP address, device ID, browser type and browsing/app activity through cookies, and its price-prediction alerts require installing the app and granting push-notification permissions.

### Can I get flight deal alerts without an app?

Yes. Secret Flying, SunnyFlight and Jack's Flight Club (on its free Standby tier) all work entirely through email or a web browser with no app required. Hopper's core price-prediction alerts, by contrast, require the app.

### Is there a truly anonymous way to track flight prices?

The closest option is Secret Flying's public deal feed, which requires no sign-up of any kind to browse. It isn't personalized to your airport by default, though; opting into personalized alerts requires a free email-based membership.

### Why do Skyscanner and Kayak require an account for price alerts but not for search?

Both let you search and compare fares anonymously, but storing an ongoing price alert requires somewhere to save it and an address to send it to, which they implement as a full account rather than a lightweight email-only subscription. SunnyFlight and Jack's Flight Club show the alternative: an alert that only needs an email, not a full account.

## How we evaluated

We signed up for the free tier or alert feature of each service between July 10 and July 13, 2026, and recorded exactly what each sign-up flow required: whether browsing needed an account, whether setting an alert needed one, whether a password or app install was involved, and what each service's own privacy policy discloses about data collection and sale. We did not audit backend data practices beyond what each company discloses publicly; "no account required" describes the visible sign-up flow, not a guarantee about server-side data handling. Momondo's and Hopper's privacy-policy language is quoted from their own published policies as of this testing date; policies change, so we recommend re-checking before relying on any specific disclosure. Ranking weighs, in order: whether any sign-up is required at all, whether an account/password is created versus a stateless email subscription, whether an app or device permissions are required, and what the provider's own policy discloses about data sale or retention.

- Sign-up requirement: whether browsing and whether alerts specifically require an account
- Account model: stateless email subscription vs. full account with password
- App/permissions: whether a native app install or device permissions (push, location) are required
- Disclosed data practices: what each provider's own privacy policy states about collection, retention and sale

## Sources

- [Hopper Technology Solutions — Privacy Notice](https://hts.hopper.com/legal/privacy-policy)
- [Momondo — Privacy Policy](https://www.momondo.com/privacy)
- [Google — Track flights & prices (Travel Help)](https://support.google.com/travel/answer/6235879)
- [Skyscanner Help — How do I set up or cancel email price alerts?](https://help.skyscanner.net/hc/en-us/articles/115002499829-How-do-I-set-up-or-cancel-email-price-alerts)
- [Secret Flying — Frequently Asked Questions](https://www.secretflying.com/faq/)