LopoRail is a railway information site first. Anyone can use the rail information — timetables, boards, station and heritage pages — at any age. The social features work a little differently, and this notice explains how we look after younger users.
1. The age rule for social features
1.1 You must be 16 or over to use the social features: the forum, direct messages, friend requests, trips, meet-ups, posting photos and videos, and location-sharing features ("near me", Spotter-pulse).
1.2 You must be 18 or over to take part in meet-ups.
1.3 Every new account passes an age gate as the next step after signup. You can still use all the railway information; the gate records an age band.
2. If you are under 16
2.1 You can still use all the railway information.
2.2 To use the social features, a parent or guardian must set up and verify the account through our normal adult verification process — they confirm their own identity, and the account is theirs to supervise. We do not accept a child confirming on a parent's behalf (for example clicking a link in a parent's email): the parent completes the verification themselves.
2.3 The parent or guardian can turn the social features off at any time and ask us to remove the account and its data.
2.4 Everyone completes the age gate after signup; heavier verification is only needed to unlock the social features (16+). You can use any of our age-assurance methods, and the details are in the Age Assurance & Identity statement: an on-device estimate (your photo never leaves your device), guardian approval, a government ID wallet, or — only if needed — a Support human review (liveness + photo ID, deleted at the decision or within 24 hours).
3. Protect mode for younger users
3.1 Accounts set up for a young person run in protect mode by default: direct messages, meet-ups, friend requests, trips, the forum and community photo/video posting are off; the public profile and directory listing are off; and location features are off — we never share a precise location.
3.2 We store an age band (for example "under 16" or "16+"), not your date of birth.
4. Advertising
4.1 We only show advertising that is suitable for all ages.
4.2 We never use profiling or behavioural targeting to show ads to young users.
5. Your data and your rights
5.1 We collect the minimum we need, keep young users' privacy on by default, and avoid pressure techniques (no streak or nudge tricks).
5.2 You, or your parent or guardian, can view, correct or delete the data we hold yourself from your account. If you need help, use our contact page. See our Privacy Policy and Account & Sign-in Data Use for the full picture.
6. Staying safe
6.1 We remove content and accounts that break our Content Standards.
6.2 If something worries you, or a young person is contacted inappropriately, report it in the app or contact us at our contact page, and speak to a trusted adult.
6.3 If you need someone to talk to, our Online safety hub lists trusted UK support services — including Childline, the NSPCC, CEOP, Report Remove, Samaritans, YoungMinds, Shout and Report Harmful Content. It's free and confidential, and includes guidance for parents and carers.