Privacy Policy

Effective: 27 April 2023

Last Updated: 27 March 2023

In order for Penguin Games to operate, we store some user information. In this privacy policy, you can find what information we hold, why it is stored, and what we do with it.

It is important to read through the entire privacy policy, but for summary:

  • We use your personal information strictly for identification, statistics, and moderation. We require the information that enables us to create your account, provide and maintain our services, and satisfy our moderation requirements.
  • We do not sell your personal information. Penguin Games is self-funded by ourselves and generous patrons, not from selling your personal information to third parties.
  • We keep your personal information private from the public. We do not share personal information freely, and we take great action to keep it private.

Information We Collect

We collect certain information when you use Penguin Games. This includes the information you provide, the information we collect automatically, and the information we receive from other sources.

Information You Provide

  • Account information. When you create a Penguin Games account, you can come up with a username and password, and optionally provide an email address for added security and account recovery. You may also have the option to join under several character names.
  • Content you create. This includes any content that you upload to the server. For example, you may send messages, create inventories, create chat layouts, create builds through Freebuild, and create maps through Mapedit. We store messages for up to two weeks and then clear them afterwards. If we were to change that in the future (for example, to facilitate moderation), we would disclose that to you in advance.

Information We Collect Automatically

  • Information about your account. We collect information about the account you are using to access the services. For example, this includes information like your IP address, username, character name, latency, client’s unique ID, login history and times seen online, in-game chat, `/whisper` chat, `/party` chat, and network traffic to and from your client.
  • Information about your use of the service. For example, we collect log and event information relating to how and when you use our services (such as joining the server, joining or leaving a game, or other activities you engage in).
  • Cookies (On the website). We may receive information from cookies (small text files placed on your computer or device) and similar technologies. First-party cookies are placed by us (and our third-party service providers) and allow you to use the services and help us analyze and improve your experience and the services.

Information From Other Sources

We may receive information about you from other sources, including from other users and third parties, and combine that information with the other information we have about you. For example, if you interact with our social media account on another platform, we may receive certain information about you like your username on that platform.

Why and How We Use Your Information

The information we collect on Penguin Games is for, but not limited to, the sake of moderation, statistics, and identification. We will never give out the information we store to unauthorized users.

Moderation

When you make a report with /report, staff will be able to view a recording of the past minute of gameplay from you. 

In the event of your receiving a suspension, such as a ban or kick, we reserve the right to make such an event public with sensitive data redacted. This happens automatically through in-game chat announcements.

If you are found cheating, spamming, or attacking the server, we reserve the right to submit your IP address to an online blacklist such as StopForumSpam. The StopForumSpam privacy policy is available here: https://www.stopforumspam.com/privacy/.

Statistics

We use statistics to analyze user patterns and behaviour to improve the server. For example, we run studies on competitive games to determine what aspects may need to be tweaked to improve the game. Other examples include reports to analyze recent user behaviour, game popularity, and surveys we give to players.

Identification

While most of the server can be enjoyed as a guest, some services on the server require you to log in to access them or gain more features. As such, we need to store information to identify you and permit access (For example, your username and password).

Retained Information and Information We Protect

Sensitive data is stored securely – your client ID and account passwords are encrypted. 

Message history on the server is stored for two weeks and then cleared.

For users that register on our website (if any), we also store the personal information they provide in their user profile. All users can see, edit, or delete their personal information at any time (except they cannot change their username). Website administrators can also see and edit that information.

In regards to other private information, we do not share personal information freely, and we take great action to keep it private.