Safeguarding

Photos of children are your call.

MatPilot used to refuse a profile picture for anyone under 18. Outright, no setting, no appeal. That was safe, but it was our decision, and it belongs with you. Now it is an academy policy, off by default, and even switched on, a child's photo exists only once a parent or legal guardian's consent is on record.

August 2026 · MatPilot

From a hard no to a policy you own

The old rule was blunt: under 18, no photo. It protected everyone, including academies that never asked for the protection and families who would happily have said yes. The new rule keeps the protection and moves the decision. Photos of minors are an academy-level setting, and it ships off. Nothing changes until you change it.

Turning it on does not allow a single photo by itself. It opens a second gate: a recorded consent from a parent or legal guardian, one per child. No consent on record, no photo, exactly as before.

HOW IT WAS Member is under 18 Photo refused no setting, no exceptions HOW IT IS NOW Academy policy: on off by default, you enable it Guardian consent: recorded one per child, parent or legal guardian Photo allowed
Same protection, new owner. The blanket refusal became your policy plus the guardian's consent, and both have to say yes.

You see what you are taking on. Enabling the policy shows a clear disclaimer of your responsibilities before it takes effect. It is your academy and your call, and MatPilot makes sure it is an informed one.

Three gates, in order

Every profile picture of a minor passes the same ladder. Is the academy policy on? Is a guardian's consent recorded for this child? Only then is the photo allowed. Any no, at either gate, and the member simply shows as initials, the way every member without a photo does.

Academy policy on? off by default YES Guardian consent recorded? parent or legal guardian YES Photo allowed on the profile, in the app NO NO FK No photo initials shown instead
Two yeses or nothing. A no at either gate lands on the same grey square: initials, exactly like any member who never uploaded a picture.

Withdrawn means removed

Consent is not a one-way door. A guardian can withdraw it, and you can switch the whole policy off. Either way the pictures are removed, not hidden. Not greyed out, not archived behind a flag, gone. There is no state where a photo you no longer have permission for sits quietly in storage.

PHOTO ON THE PROFILE Consent recorded parent or legal guardian Photo allowed visible on the profile Consent withdrawn or the policy turned off Photo purged removed, not hidden
The end of consent is the end of the photo. Withdrawal, or turning the policy off, purges the pictures rather than parking them out of sight.

When nobody knows the age

Date of birth is optional in MatPilot, so some members have no age on file. For photos, that member is treated conservatively: possibly under 18, so the consent rules apply. The doubt resolves itself the moment an adult date of birth is added, or when the person plainly is not a child, because they run the academy or hold a staff role.

S Sam DOB: not set Treated as possibly under 18 consent rules apply until it is settled Adult DOB added treated as an adult from then on Runs the academy a staff role settles it too
Doubt protects the child. An unknown age gets the cautious treatment until an adult date of birth, or a staff role, proves it unnecessary.

That is the whole system: your policy, the guardian's consent, and a bias towards caution whenever the facts are missing. No photo of a child ever exists in MatPilot because somebody forgot to say no.

Consent first.
Always.

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