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Young Users and AI Safety

Many student pilots start training at 14 or 15. This page explains how FRTOL keeps younger users safe, and how parents and guardians stay in control.

01Who Can Use FRTOL

  • You must be at least 13 to use FRTOL. You can hold an FRTOL licence from 14.
  • If you're under 18, a parent or guardian must agree to the Terms of Use for you. The app asks for this confirmation before it can be used, on its first screen.
  • FRTOL is a training aid for radio practice. It isn't a social app: there are no profiles, messages, friends lists, chat with other people or public content.

02What the AI Does, and Doesn't Do

FRTOL uses AI for two things only: the controller's replies to radio calls that its built-in controller doesn't understand, and the debrief after a flight. The app says clearly that the voices are computer-generated and that the controller and debriefs are written by AI. You're never talking to a real person.

  • Radio practice only. The AI is instructed to act only as an air traffic controller or an RT instructor. It replies in a fixed, structured format that the app checks before showing it, so it can't hold an open-ended conversation.
  • Profanity is blanked out. Swear words and slurs are replaced with asterisks on the iPhone as soon as they're recognised, so they never appear on screen, in a debrief or on our server.
  • Misuse never reaches the AI. Our server screens every call before the AI sees it. A call with profanity, or one trying to make the AI do something else (such as "ignore your instructions" or "write me a story"), is blocked, and the controller simply asks you to "say again". The AI's replies are checked too before they're shown or spoken.
  • Repeated misuse pauses the AI. After several blocked calls in a day, the AI controller and debriefs pause for that account until the next day. FRTOL carries on with its built-in controller. We keep only a count, never the words.
  • Short, limited exchanges. Each request is limited in length and number, and only works during a practice flight.
  • It can make mistakes. Debriefs carry a note saying so. Check anything important with your instructor or the official CAA material.

03Data and Privacy

  • No sign-in. FRTOL doesn't ask for a name, email address, phone number, photo or date of birth.
  • Your voice stays on the phone. Speech is turned into text on the iPhone (Apple's dictation is used briefly while FRTOL's speech model first downloads). Only the text of practice radio calls is sent, and only so the AI controller and debrief can work.
  • No real location. FRTOL never uses the phone's real location. Weather and traffic are for the simulated aircraft's position.
  • No advertising or tracking. FRTOL has no ads, no analytics or tracking tools, and doesn't share data for marketing.

We follow the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018 and the ICO's Age Appropriate Design Code. Our Privacy Policy has the details.

04Parents and Guardians

  • Purchases. Flight time is bought through the App Store. With Family Sharing, turn on Ask to Buy so you approve every purchase. Refunds are handled by Apple.
  • Screen Time. You can limit or block FRTOL, and purchases, from the iPhone's Screen Time settings.
  • Deleting data. Settings › Flight Time › Delete My Flight-Time Account removes the account and its minutes from our server.
  • Questions or concerns. Contact us through the support link on FRTOL's App Store page. We'll respond to safeguarding concerns as a priority.

05Our Commitment

Xynnar Group Ltd designs FRTOL to be safe and appropriate for users aged 13 to 17. We follow the usage policies of the AI provider we use, including its guidance for services used by under-18s, as well as UK data protection law. We review these safeguards as the app changes, and we'll update this page when they do.