Privacy Policy

Last updated: June 10, 2026

1. Introduction

SimTuts ("we", "our", or "us") is committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you use our flight simulation tutoring platform.

By using SimTuts, you agree to the collection and use of information in accordance with this policy.

2. Information We Collect

2.1 Information You Provide

  • Account Information: Name, email address, password, and call sign when you register
  • Profile Information: Bio, avatar image, aircraft interests, and country
  • Tutor Information: Hourly rate, currency preference, availability schedule, and Stripe account details
  • Payment Information: Processed securely through Stripe; we do not store full card details
  • Communications: Messages exchanged with tutors or support

2.2 Information Collected Automatically

  • Usage Data: Pages visited, features used, booking history
  • Device Information: Browser type, operating system, device identifiers
  • Log Data: IP address, access times, referring URLs

2.3 If You Buy Premium Without an Account

You can purchase a SimTuts Premium subscription without first creating an account. In that case you enter your email address and card details directly at Stripe's secure checkout before any account exists. We receive your email address from Stripe so that we can give you access to the Premium features you have paid for, and we automatically create a SimTuts account for that email address. We then send you a one-time, time-limited link by email so you can set a password and sign in.

The lawful basis for this processing is Article 6(1)(b) UK GDPR — performance of a contract (providing the Premium subscription you have bought). Your card details are handled by Stripe and are never stored by us. If you did not intend to create an account, or you wish to delete it, you can request deletion or exercise any of your other rights (see Section 7) by contacting us.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

  • Provide, maintain, and improve our services
  • Process bookings and payments
  • Connect students with appropriate tutors
  • Send booking confirmations and reminders
  • Respond to your enquiries and support requests
  • Detect and prevent fraud or abuse
  • Comply with legal obligations (including VAT reporting)
  • Send service updates and marketing communications (with your consent)

4. Information Sharing

We may share your information with:

  • Other Users: Your public profile (call sign, bio, reviews) is visible to other users. Tutors and students can see each other's names and relevant booking details.
  • Service Providers: Third parties who assist in operating our platform:
    • Amazon Web Services (AWS) - cloud infrastructure, authentication (Cognito), video lessons (Chime), and email delivery (SES)
    • AWS CloudWatch RUM - real-user performance monitoring and behavioural event data
    • Sentry (Functional Software, Inc.) - server-side error monitoring; personal data is scrubbed before storage
    • Stripe, Inc. - payment processing
    • Zoho Corporation - email delivery (transactional and newsletter)
    • Google LLC - analytics (Google Analytics 4) and advertising/conversion tracking (Google Ads), with your consent
    • Reddit, Inc. - advertising and conversion tracking (Reddit Pixel), with your consent
    • Microsoft Corporation - analytics and session recording (Clarity), with your consent
    • Ahrefs Pte. Ltd. - website analytics and SEO insights
    • Amazon.com, Inc. - affiliate programme (Amazon Associates)
  • Legal Requirements: When required by law, court order, or to protect our rights
  • Business Transfers: In connection with any merger, acquisition, or sale of assets

We do not sell your personal information for money. Where you have given consent to advertising cookies (see Section 8.3), our advertising partners — Reddit and Google — receive limited online identifiers (such as cookie or device identifiers and details of actions you take on our site) so that we can measure advertising effectiveness and show you relevant adverts. Depending on your jurisdiction, this sharing may be treated as a "sale" or "sharing" of personal information under certain privacy laws. You can prevent this at any time by declining advertising cookies, and these technologies do not operate unless you have given consent.

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal information, including:

  • Encryption of data in transit (HTTPS/TLS)
  • Encryption of sensitive data at rest
  • Secure authentication via AWS Cognito
  • Regular security assessments
  • Access controls limiting employee access to personal data

However, no method of transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We cannot guarantee absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We keep your personal information only for as long as we need it. Specific retention periods are:

  • Account and profile data: Retained while your account is active. When you delete your account, we delete or anonymise your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to keep certain records (see below).
  • Financial and VAT records: Retained for 6 years after the end of the relevant tax year, as required by HMRC.
  • Video lesson recordings: Where a lesson is recorded for safety, quality, or dispute-resolution purposes, recordings are retained for up to 90 days and then deleted, unless a recording is needed for an ongoing dispute or legal claim.
  • Support and communications: Retained for up to 2 years after your last contact with us.
  • Analytics and advertising data: Retained according to each provider's default retention period — for example, Google Analytics 4 (up to 14 months), and Microsoft Clarity, Reddit, and Google Ads as set out in their respective privacy policies.

You may request deletion of your account at any time by contacting us.

7. Your Rights

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:

  • Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you
  • Correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
  • Deletion: Request deletion of your personal data
  • Portability: Request transfer of your data to another service
  • Objection: Object to certain processing of your data
  • Withdraw Consent: Withdraw consent for marketing communications

To exercise these rights, contact us.

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). You can contact the ICO at ico.org.uk, by telephone on 0303 123 1113, or by post to: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF. We would, however, appreciate the chance to address your concerns first.

8. Cookies and Analytics

8.1 Essential Cookies

We use essential cookies to maintain your session and authentication state. These cookies are necessary for the platform to function and cannot be disabled.

8.2 Analytics Cookies

With your consent, we use analytics services to understand how visitors use our platform and to improve our services:

  • Google Analytics: Collects anonymised data about page views, session duration, and user interactions. Google Analytics uses cookies to distinguish users and track sessions. Data is processed by Google LLC.
  • Microsoft Clarity: Provides heatmaps and session recordings — meaning it records your interactions with our pages, which may capture your on-screen activity such as mouse movements, clicks, scrolling, and the pages you view. Sensitive fields and personal information are masked so that text you type (for example, into form fields) is not captured. Data is processed by Microsoft Corporation.
  • Ahrefs Analytics: Provides website traffic analysis and SEO insights to help us understand how visitors find and interact with our platform. Data is processed by Ahrefs Pte. Ltd.

8.3 Advertising and Conversion Cookies

With your consent, we use advertising and conversion-tracking technologies to measure the effectiveness of our advertising, to count conversions (such as sign-ups or subscriptions that result from an advert), and to show you relevant adverts on other platforms (remarketing). These technologies do not load and do not fire until you accept advertising cookies on our consent banner. The lawful basis is your consent.

  • Reddit Pixel: A tracking pixel provided by Reddit, Inc. that measures actions taken on our site after you interact with an advert on Reddit, and supports remarketing. See Reddit's privacy policy.
  • Google Ads Conversion Tracking: A tag provided by Google LLC that records when a visit leads to a conversion and supports remarketing across Google's advertising network. See Google's privacy policy.

If you do not accept advertising cookies, these technologies stay disabled and no advertising or conversion data is sent to Reddit or Google. You can withdraw your consent at any time by clearing your browser's local storage and refreshing the page, which will show the consent banner again, then declining advertising cookies.

8.4 Affiliate Links

Some guides contain affiliate links to Amazon and other retailers. When you click these links, the retailer may set cookies on your device to track the referral. These cookies are set by the retailer (not by SimTuts) and are governed by their own privacy policies. SimTuts does not receive any personal data about your purchases — only aggregated commission reports.

8.5 Your Cookie Choices

When you first visit SimTuts, you will see a consent banner asking whether you accept analytics cookies. You can choose to:

  • Accept: Analytics cookies will be enabled and data will be collected
  • Reject: Analytics cookies will remain disabled and no tracking data will be collected

Your preference is stored in your browser's local storage. You can change your preference at any time by clearing your browser's local storage and refreshing the page, which will show the consent banner again.

We implement Google Consent Mode, which means Google Analytics respects your cookie preferences and operates in a privacy-preserving manner when consent is not granted.

9. International Data Transfers

Your information may be transferred to and processed in countries other than your own. Our servers are located in the European Union (AWS eu-west-1 region). We ensure appropriate safeguards are in place for any international transfers.

Some of our processors (including Stripe, Google, Reddit, Microsoft, and Sentry) are based in, or transfer data to, the United States. Where personal data is transferred outside the UK, we rely on appropriate safeguards — namely the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework where the recipient is certified, and, otherwise, the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA) or the UK Addendum to the EU Standard Contractual Clauses.

10. Children's Privacy

SimTuts is not intended for children under 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16. If you believe we have collected such information, please contact us immediately.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of significant changes by posting the new policy on this page and updating the "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

12. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us.

Data controller: SimTuts is operated as a sole trader based in the United Kingdom (VAT registration GB288460464). For any data-protection enquiry, or to exercise your rights, please contact us at [email protected] or via our contact form.

See also our Terms of Service.