Privacy Policy

01.Data Controller Identification

The entity responsible for processing your personal data is Play Buddy Games Ltd, a private limited company registered in England and Wales (“Play Buddy Games”, “we”, “us”). We act as the Data Controller under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

02.Categories of Data Collected

Depending on how you interact with our websites and game clients, we may collect:

• Account Identifiers: Username, email address, linked Steam IDs, hashed passwords, and profile preferences.
• Gameplay Telemetry: In-game progression, inventory transactions, faction membership, match outcomes, and session timestamps.
• Hardware & Network Diagnostics: IP address, device specifications, operating system version, crash reports, and latency measurements.
• Safety & Moderation Records: Chat logs reported for harassment, automated language filter triggers, and sanction histories.

03.Lawful Bases for Processing

We process personal data strictly in accordance with Article 6 of the UK GDPR:

• Performance of Contract: To maintain your player account, deliver persistent multiplayer services, and process transactions.
• Legitimate Interests: To detect cheats, prevent fraud, balance game economies, and protect our player community.
• Legal Obligation: To comply with financial accounting laws and respond to lawful requests from judicial authorities.
• Consent: For non-essential performance cookies or optional marketing communications.

04.Anti-Cheat & Telemetry Audits

To safeguard the fairness of our shared competitive environments, our game clients employ automated memory scanning and process verification. These systems inspect memory ranges utilized by our binaries to detect injected DLLs, unauthorized script executors, and packet manipulation tools. Telemetry gathered during cheat detection is pseudonymized and stored in restricted-access security databases.

05.Children's Privacy (UK Age-Appropriate Design Code)

We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13 without verified parental consent. For young players between 13 and 17, our systems apply high-privacy defaults: profile visibility is restricted, direct messaging is gated by default, and location tracking is completely disabled, in compliance with the UK Age-Appropriate Design Code.

06.Data Retention & Security Standards

All sensitive data is encrypted using AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.3 in transit. Player account information is retained for the duration of the account's active lifecycle plus statutory accounting periods. Inactive account telemetry is automatically purged after 24 months of dormancy.

07.Your Statutory Rights (UK GDPR & EU GDPR)

Under applicable data protection laws, you possess the right to:

• Access: Request a copy of all personal data held concerning your account.
• Rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete records.
• Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): Request deletion of your personal data and player profile.
• Data Portability: Receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format.
• Lodge a Complaint: Lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) in the United Kingdom.

08.International Data Transfers

When data is transferred outside the United Kingdom or European Economic Area to our regional server hosting partners, we ensure equivalent protections are maintained through standard contractual clauses (SCCs) and International Data Transfer Agreements (IDTAs).

09.Contact Our Data Protection Officer

To exercise any of your data rights, or if you have questions regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact our Data Protection Officer at: