I just wanted to use my voice to let everyone know about this since it seems to be something they want to Streisand effect. I made a discussion on the stormgate steam page about how their EULA has a bad link to their privacy policy and asked why the information listed in the policy is being collected. It had to go through the review process since it contained links and then after being posted was deleted from my history after an hour (I guess when someone actually laid eyes on it)
For the full details I already made a post in the privacy community asking if this was a common occurrence. I’m attempting to reach out through other avenues for some type of explanation but just getting crickets or brick walls. Please use caution and common sense when downloading and consenting to agreements from game companies.
The highlights if you don’t feel like clicking the link:
In particular, we have collected the following categories of personal information from consumers within the last twelve (12) months:
A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver’s license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers.
A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver’s license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information.
Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies.
Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement.
Physical location or movements.
This is expected from the Steam Forums. Moderation there is assigned by the software owners and so criticism is suppressed more often then not.
There are news articles and whole Youtube channels predicated on the fall of the Gaming Industry. Squeezing every penny they can by every detestable means possible is SOP nowadays. The Devs want to reap ALL the rewards of gambling mechanics, Esports competitions, mod creations, and any personal data they can glean from you (and much much more). Their EULAs reflect this and the only ways to counter it are to lobby your politicians and/or boycott them. Sadly, poor impulse control is one of the key demographics the industry takes advantage of which makes the latter rarely successful (exhibit A: the inevitable stream of ‘muh, my choice’ and derivatives to follow in the comments).
I was a beta tester for Stormgate and there were some pretty hefty terms and conditions in the non disclosure agreement which may account for some of the more personal information they have gathered. As for the rest… I think you are in the right to share and make sure people realize what they are signing up for. It’s sad to say but the targeted marketing portion is probably nothing Windows or my phone weren’t already tracking.
You are, of course, right to post about this.
But how would they ever get such data from people?
I can only go off of what information is presented in the policy and will try to avoid speculation about the anti-cheat software or monitoring programs that they use.
Your contact information/identifiers, such as your name, your gamer id, mailing address, email address, employer, primary language, country, social media credentials. preferred games and date of birth. If you contact us by telephone, we will also retain your telephone number.
Your device and browsing information, including non-personally identifiable information about your phone, tablet, computer or device and online browsing activity, which may be automatically collected. This may include IP addresses, unique identifiers, cookie identifiers, browser language, device and browser settings and broad location-based information, and internet service provider information. It may also include information about when and how you accessed and used our Sites, how you navigated to our Sites (such as the date and time of your visit), the links you clicked, the websites you visited before and after our Sites, and what you searched for while on our Sites.
Analytics & Interest-Based Ads. We partner with third parties (like sponsors, content providers, and analytics companies) to help us improve our Services and better understand how you interact with them, as well as to support our marketing initiatives and ad campaigns. These companies may collect info from you automatically in connection with your visit.
edit: format