Privacy Policy
Bithell Games Privacy Policy
Last updated on May 27, 2021
A quick summary: this document explains:
a) what information we and our partners collect when you use Bithell Games’ games and services;
b) where that information is stored and how it is protected;
c) how we use that information;
d) how long we retain that information; and
e) your rights in relation to that information.
This Privacy Policy explains to you how your personal information is collected and stored and what happens to it regarding the Bithell Games’ Services. Because we know legal wording is not much fun, we have included a short and informal summary of each section (but the full version is the legally binding one). If you have any queries you can contact us at contact@bithellgames.com.
1. WHO WE ARE AND WHAT THIS PRIVACY POLICY GOVERNS
This Privacy Policy explains the different kinds of information Bithell Games can collect from you when you're using the Bithell Games Services. Legally, we cannot and will not collect personal information about children below 13 without parental/guardian involvement. We will comply with applicable privacy laws, including the EU’s GDPR.
1.1. About Us. We are Mike Bithell Games Limited (incorporated and registered in England and Wales with company number 08395628) of C/O Affect Group, Simpsons Farm, Pentlow, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7JT, United Kingdom (“Bithell Games”).
1.2. Which services does this Privacy Policy apply to? This privacy policy covers all of our video games (e.g. John Wick Hex, Thomas Was Alone, Volume, Quarantine Circular, Subsurface Circular, The Solitaire Conspiracy, EarthShape), our websites (including https://www.bithellgames.com/ and http://www.gamedevbizbook.com/), our audiobooks (including North Star Rising), our newsletters, customer and technical support, official forums, wikis, blogs, social media services and other products and services –“Bithell Games Services” for short.
1.3. What information does this Privacy Policy apply to? Specifically, this Privacy Policy governs personal data (or, in the USA, personally identifiable information) and applicable non-personal information (or, in the USA, non-personally identifiable information), which we collect from you when you are using the Bithell Games Services ("personal data" means information which, on its own or in combination with other information, can be used to identify you).
1.4. What about children? We recognise we have a special obligation to protect personal information obtained from children. Legally you must be at least 13 years old to use the Bithell Games Services (but this might be older depending on whether or not a particular Bithell Games Service has a required minimum age rating as per our Terms of Service). We do not knowingly collect personal information from any child under the age of 13 without consent from their parent or guardian. If you are a parent or guardian and are concerned about the transfer of personal information about your child, please contact contact@bithellgames.com.
1.5. What about GDPR? We respect your right to privacy and will only process personal information in accordance with applicable legislation in the EU (which includes the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 or the GDPR as it is often referred to), the USA (including the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) and elsewhere. For personal information contained in this Privacy Policy which is used by Bithell Games in connection with the Bithell Games Services, Bithell Games is the data controller under EU data protection legislation.
2. WHAT INFORMATION IS COVERED?
We may collect certain information when you use the Bithell Games Services such as your name and email address (more information below). We do not receive or store your payment details. Please also read our Cookie Policy .
2.1. What information might we collect from you? When you sign up for, download, use or play the Bithell Games Services then we will collect certain information from you. The information that we collect varies depending on the particular Bithell Games Services used, but this may include:
A. Technical Details. When you use, play or access the Bithell Games Services we or third parties on our behalf may collect technical details about the device you are using, including: internet and/or network connection (including IP address); MAC address; any console device identifier; your operating system, browser type or other software; and your hardware or other technical details.
B. Your Activities. When you use, play or access the Bithell Games Services we or third parties on our behalf may collect details of how you use our services, including: metrics information about when and how you use the services; traffic data; language preferences; in-game purchases; achievements; scores; gameplay statistics; time spent playing.
C. Your Communications. If you contact us (e.g. via email or call for customer support) or post in chat sessions, on our social media pages, or other areas of the Bithell Games Services, we may collect and maintain a record of your contact details and the content of your communications.
D. Newsletters. If you sign up to a newsletter, you will be asked to provide us with certain information. This will be displayed to you at the time you start to use the applicable Bithell Games Service and may include your name, username, email address, country of residence and contact information.
E. Third Party Accounts. In certain circumstances you may be able to log into certain Bithell Games Services via third party accounts (e.g. Steam, Epic, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo). If you choose to do so, you are asked to share certain information with us (the exact information will depend on the particular third party account displayed to you on the permissions page when you attempt to log in, but may include your name, location, gender, birth date, email address, photo, profile URL and friends list).
Some of the information types referred to above may be collected on an aggregated or anonymised (e.g. hashed) basis, or we may use it or share it in an aggregated or anonymised way, for research or analysis into the way our services operate and are used.
2.2. What about the storage of payment details? The processing and storage of payment details is a matter for the relevant platform and the applicable payment methods/processors. Bithell Games will not receive, process or store any of your payment details. This is because the payment transactions themselves are completed through the relevant platforms (e.g. Steam, Epic Games, console stores) via the user account you have associated with that platform account. If you make in-game purchases within a Bithell Games game or product, we are notified by the payment processor once a transaction takes place but we will not receive any of your actual payment details.
2.3. What about cookies? We and third parties on our behalf also collect information about you via cookies and other advertising tracking technologies. You can find out more about our use of cookies and such technologies in our Cookie Policy. The Cookie Policy forms part of this Privacy Policy.
3. WHERE IS YOUR INFORMATION STORED?
We will store your information in Europe where possible. We will do our best to keep this information secure. No information security system is perfect so please remember to be careful.
Where will your information be stored? The information we hold will primarily be stored and processed in the EEA, but there may be circumstances where we need to work with trusted third parties outside of the EEA in order to provide the Bithell Games Services to you (e.g. where we run game servers in the US). We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that this information is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
All information we hold is stored on our secure servers which we own or license from appropriate third parties. We use industry standard procedures and security standards to prevent unauthorised access to our servers, however no online service or website can be completely secure, so please protect the account information in your possession as well.
4. HOW IS YOUR INFORMATION USED?
We will use your information to run, maintain and improve the Bithell Games Services as well as to communicate with you (e.g. with newsletters or emails). Sometimes we may share information with partners in order to run our services.
4.1. How might your information be used? We may use the information above in order to (for example):
A. Perform our agreement with you: provide the Bithell Games Services to you, including: to carry out our obligations arising from any contracts between you and us; allow you to participate in interactive features of the Bithell Games Services when you choose to do so; and provide you with chat functionality and other communication systems.
B. For our legitimate commercial interests: monitor the performance of the Bithell Games Services; ensure that the Bithell Games Services are presented in the most effective manner for you and your device(s); enforce our Terms of Service and other policies; notify you about changes to the Bithell Games Services; provide, maintain, protect and improve the Bithell Games Services; and to protect Bithell Games and Bithell Games Services users.
C. Comply with our legal obligations: where we are required to do so by law; and comply with intellectual property protection obligations we have under applicable laws including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the E-Commerce Directive.
D. Based on consent: provide you with marketing information about products or services that you request from us or which we feel may interest you where you have asked us to do so.
4.2. Will we ever share any of your information with other parties?
A. We will never share your information with third parties for their own marketing purposes without first obtaining your consent.
B. We may engage third party service providers in the course of providing the Bithell Games Services to you (e.g. data storage, publishing, server hosting, customer and technical support, game analytics etc.) which may require them to access your information on our behalf. We will ensure there are appropriate contractual arrangements in place with any such third-party service providers to protect your information. Those third parties may also collect some information directly from you (e.g. IP address, unique identifiers etc) subject to their own privacy policies.
C. In the unlikely event of a reorganisation or merger of Bithell Games we may transfer personal information to an involved third party who will protect this to at least the same level as we do in this Privacy Policy.
5. HOW YOU USE YOUR INFORMATION
You have the option to share your own personal information with other parties, in which case it will be governed by those parties’ own privacy policies – make sure to take a look at them.
Please remember that any communications you have via the Bithell Games Services may reveal details about you. Also, any information you post publicly will be publicly available to other people. We are not responsible for your use of any otherwise private personal information which you make available, or the activities of other users or other third parties to whom you give or make available your information or content. The Bithell Games Services may, from time to time, contain or connect you with third party content or services. Our Privacy Policy does not extend to external sites or companies, so please refer directly to their privacy policies.
6. DATA RETENTION
We retain your information for as long as needed to provide the Bithell Games Services to you or longer where permitted by law.
How long do we retain your data for? As long as necessary for the purpose for which the data was originally collected. As detailed below, depending on where you live you may have certain legal rights to object to our collection and use of your data, but this may mean some or all Bithell Games Services become unavailable to you. We also reserve the right to retain your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, maintain appropriate business records and enforce our agreements.
7. YOUR RIGHTS
You have rights about how your personal information is used, which can vary depending on where you live. If you have any questions, please contact us at contact@bithellgames.com.
7.1. Can you ask us to stop processing your personal information? You have the right to ask us not to process your personal information for marketing purposes. You can change your email settings to unsubscribe from email communications. Our Cookie Policy also details how you can deactivate certain types of cookies and other ad tracking technologies that may be used in providing certain Bithell Games Services.
7.2. What are your rights? You may have the right to access and obtain a copy of your personal data we possess; you may have the right to ask us to rectify/correct your personal data; and you may have the right to contact us to request that we delete your personal data from our system. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to honour your request, but we may decline requests that are unreasonably repetitive, are disproportionate, infringe the privacy of others or as otherwise permitted by law. Please note though that by withdrawing your consent or otherwise objecting to certain processing of your information, certain Bithell Games Services may no longer function properly, be completely unavailable to you (even services that you have paid to use). If you would like to exercise any of these rights (aside from or have any queries regarding them, please contact: contact@bithellgames.com.
7.3. Under California law, California residents who have an established business relationship with us have the right to request certain information with respect to the types of personal information we have shared with third parties for their direct marketing purposes, and the identities of those third parties, within the immediately preceding calendar year, subject to certain exceptions. All requests for such information must be in writing and sent to: Bithell Games at C/O Affect Group, Simpsons Farm, Pentlow, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 7JT, United Kingdom. This same California law permits us to provide you, in response to your written request, with a cost-free means to choose not to have your information shared rather than providing the above described information. You may exercise that choice by contacting us at the address above.
8. OTHER
We can change this Privacy Policy, but if we do we will put the changed version online. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions with regards to the changes at contact@bithellgames.com. Please read our Terms of Service
8.1. Will we ever change this Privacy Policy? Possibly, but if we do we will make the changed Privacy Policy available online, make reasonable efforts to notify you of this and update the “Last Updated” date. Once we change the Privacy Policy, it will become legally binding on you as of the date of publication (i.e. the new “Last Updated” date). You are welcome to contact us if you have specific questions about the changes at contact@bithellgames.com. If you do not agree to those changes, regardless of whether you email us then unfortunately you must cease using all Bithell Games Services.
8.2. Are there any other documents you should read? We'd also like to remind you that our Terms of Service has more information about how we operate the Bithell Games Services.