Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Shadowmire ("we," "our," or "us") is an Android-first Xianxia MMORPG operated by Shadowmire Studio. We respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and safeguard your information when you download, sign in to, or play Shadowmire and when you use our related websites at play.shadowmire.studio and shadowmire.studio (together, the "Services").

This notice explains how we handle your information; it is provided for transparency and is not a contract. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use the Services. If you are below the age of majority in your region, please read the "Children's Privacy and Age-Gating" section before playing.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information you provide to us, information generated as you play, and technical information collected automatically by your device. We only collect what we need to run the game, secure your account, support you, and comply with the law.

Account and identity information. When you create or sign in to an account, we collect:

• Email address, username, and display name (including your "#tag").
• Your sign-in provider and the account identifier it gives us. Today, sign-in uses Google Sign-In, which shares your basic Google profile (name, email address, and profile information) with us through OpenID.
• Your birthdate, used solely to confirm your age and apply the correct age-based protections (see the Children's Privacy and Age-Gating section).
• Your region or country.
• Planned sign-in methods that are not yet live: email/username-and-password login and social linking with Apple and Facebook. When password login becomes available, we will collect a password, which we store only as an argon2id hash (never in plain text), and you may optionally enable two-factor authentication (TOTP) with backup codes.

3. Gameplay, Purchase, and Device Data

As you play and use the Services, we also collect:

• Gameplay data: your characters, progress, in-game settings, activity, in-game (soft) currency balances, and a record of your purchases.
• Purchase records: when you buy something, purchases are processed through the app store's billing system (for example, Google Play Billing on Android). We receive a transaction record (such as the item and confirmation of payment) so we can grant your purchase and provide support; we do not collect or store your full payment-card details.
• Device and technical data: device model, operating system, approximate region, IP address, crash logs, and performance and diagnostic metrics used to keep the game stable.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Create, operate, and maintain your account and the game.
• Deliver in-game content, save your progress, and grant purchases and rewards.
• Verify your age and apply the appropriate age-based feature restrictions and parental-consent requirements.
• Provide customer and community support and respond to your requests.
• Send you transactional and service messages, such as sign-in and email verification, security alerts, and important account or service notices.
• Keep the Services secure: authenticate sign-ins, prevent and investigate fraud, cheating, and abuse, and protect our players and systems.
• Diagnose crashes, fix bugs, measure performance, and understand how the game is used so we can improve it.
• Comply with our legal obligations and enforce our terms.

5. Legal Bases for Processing (GDPR / UK GDPR)

If you are in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or another region with similar laws, we process your personal data on the following legal bases:

• Performance of a contract: to create and operate your account and provide the game and support you request.
• Consent: where you give it, for example optional communications, certain cookies, signing in through Google, or processing a minor's data on the basis of verifiable parental consent. You can withdraw consent at any time.
• Legitimate interests: to secure the Services, prevent fraud and cheating, and understand and improve the game, balanced against your rights and freedoms.
• Legal obligation: to retain certain financial and transaction records and to respond to lawful requests.

6. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share information only in these limited circumstances:

• Service providers (subprocessors): trusted vendors who process data on our behalf, under contract and only as needed to run the Services. These include hosting and infrastructure (Cloudflare Pages and DigitalOcean), authentication (Google), transactional email delivery (Resend), and crash-reporting and analytics providers.
• Legal requirements: when required by applicable law, regulation, or valid legal process.
• Protection: to protect the rights, property, or safety of Shadowmire Studio, our players, or others, including to enforce our terms and investigate abuse.
• Business transfers: in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, in which case we will notify you of any material change to how your information is handled.

7. Data Retention and Beta Wipes

We keep your account and gameplay data for as long as your account is active, and only as long as we need it for the purposes described in this policy or as required by law.

Because Shadowmire is in closed beta, data may be reset ("wiped") between beta phases, and purchases made during beta may be reset on a wipe. Where feasible, founder status and cosmetic honors are intended to persist across wipes.

When you delete your account, we remove your account and gameplay data. We retain limited financial and transaction records where the law requires it (for example, tax and fraud-prevention records), and we anonymize them once they are no longer needed for those purposes. Crash logs and diagnostic data are kept only as long as needed to diagnose and fix issues.

8. Data Security

We use appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. Passwords, once password login is available, are stored only as argon2id hashes, and you will be able to enable two-factor authentication (TOTP) with backup codes. We encrypt data in transit, restrict access on a need-to-know basis, and work with reputable infrastructure providers.

No method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, so while we work hard to protect your information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. Please help protect your account by keeping your sign-in credentials confidential.

9. Cookies and Local Storage

Our websites use cookies and similar technologies for essential functions such as keeping you signed in and remembering your preferences, and, where applicable, to understand how the site is used so we can improve it. You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings, though some features may not work properly without them.

The game client stores settings and session information locally on your device so the game works and remembers your preferences. We do not use this data for third-party advertising.

10. Third-Party Services

The Services integrate with or link to third-party platforms, including Google (for sign-in and, on Android, Google Play services and Google Play Billing for purchases), our community and support channels on Discord, and other linked sites and services. These third parties handle your information under their own privacy policies.

We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party services, and we encourage you to review the privacy policy of any third-party service you use in connection with Shadowmire.

11. Children's Privacy and Age-Gating

Shadowmire is not directed to, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from, children under 13 (in line with the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA). Where your region sets a higher minimum digital age of consent, we apply that higher age (for example, the 13–16 range applied under the GDPR for minors, or "GDPR-K").

We do not knowingly register anyone under 13 anywhere. Players who are old enough to register but below the digital age of consent in their region need a parent or guardian's consent, which we are rolling out during the beta. We use your birthdate solely to determine your age and apply the correct protections, including age-based feature bands: as these protections roll out during the beta, younger teens will have a more limited experience, mid-teens may need parental involvement, and adults have full access.

If we learn that we have collected personal information from a child without the consent required in their region, we will take steps to delete that information promptly. Parents or guardians who believe their child has provided us with personal information can contact us at privacy@shadowmire.studio.

12. Your Privacy Rights

Depending on where you live (for example, under the GDPR/UK GDPR or the California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA), you may have some or all of the following rights over your personal information:

• Access: request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
• Rectification: correct personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Deletion (erasure): request that we delete your personal data (see the Account Deletion section).
• Portability (export): receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
• Restriction and objection: restrict or object to certain processing.
• Withdraw consent: withdraw any consent you previously gave, at any time, without affecting processing already carried out.
• For California residents: the right to know, the right to delete, and the right to opt out of the "sale" or "sharing" of personal information. We do not sell or share your personal information, and we will not discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

13. How to Exercise Your Rights and Delete Your Account

To exercise any of your rights, email us at privacy@shadowmire.studio, or reach us through in-game support, our Discord community, or the Beta FAQ. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request, and we honor valid requests within the timeframes required by applicable law.

Account deletion. You can request deletion of your account today by emailing privacy@shadowmire.studio or contacting in-game support. Self-serve, in-app account deletion will become available when the full account system launches. When you delete your account, we remove your account and gameplay data; we retain limited financial and transaction records where legally required and then anonymize them (as described in Data Retention). We honor deletion requests within 30 days. This process satisfies the Google Play account- and data-deletion requirement.

If you are in the EEA or UK, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

14. International Data Transfers

We and our service providers may store and process your information in the United States and other countries where our infrastructure and providers (such as Cloudflare, DigitalOcean, Google, and Resend) operate. These countries may have data-protection laws that differ from those in your country.

When we transfer personal data across borders, we use appropriate safeguards required by law, such as Standard Contractual Clauses, to help ensure your information continues to be protected.

15. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time, including as we move from closed beta toward public launch and as new features (such as password login, additional sign-in providers, and self-serve account deletion) go live. When we make changes, we will post the updated policy on this page and update the "Last updated" date, and we will provide additional notice where required by law. We will give reasonable advance notice of material changes, and where our processing relies on your consent, we will ask for your consent again.

16. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal information, please contact us:

Shadowmire Studio — Privacy: privacy@shadowmire.studio. You can also reach us through our Discord community or the Beta FAQ for general and support questions.

Shadowmire is developed and operated by Shadowmire Studio, the party responsible (controller) for your personal information. Our registered developer and contact details are available on request. You can reach us at privacy@shadowmire.studio.