SHG Studios – Privacy Policy
Effective Date: May 5, 2024
Snakehead Games Inc. (“SHG Studios”) values your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information as best we reasonably can.
This Privacy Policy outlines how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you play games developed by SHG Studios.
We get that these documents can be very boring. And full of legal … stuff.
In summary, we aim for:
- Kindness: We aim to follow the golden rule.
- Transparency: That you know what we are using the information for.
- Permission: That you have given us permission to do those things.
- Data Security: That we secure the data. It will never be 100% secure, but we give our best efforts.
- Data Minimisation: We only store what we need to.
- Update: You can update information as it changes.
- Reasonable Storage Times: We aim to only hold transactional information for as little time as possible.
- Delete Your Account: You may delete your account and/or personal information.
- Data Sharing: We do not share, unless it is legal, or to make the games work.
- Opt-In for Marketing: We can only market to you if you give permission. We explain what we would do, and this is specific per channel.
- Cookies/Pixels: We need your permission to use those.
- Children’s Privacy: We want to keep kids safe.
The details of each can be found below.
BE KIND
A core value of SHG Studios is to be kind. In part, this means treating you like we want to be treated when we play other games.
We Are Game Players Too
We are game players too. We get it! Your data is yours and you’re giving us permission to use it to make a better game for you and others. We treat your information with respect.
Our job is to help everyone to have fun, while running games. To be good humans, and legally sound, we also need to inform you of your rights and responsibilities, resolve issues, and a lot more. We try hard to interact personally and do the right thing.
In exchange please try to be kind and understand that we are a small studio, juggling a lot!
If there is some legit issue that we can potentially fix, please let us know. Contact us on the email address info@shgstudios.com. We cannot promise to do exactly what you want, as resources and laws limit our options. But we do try hard to treat you as we’d like to be treated.
TRANSPARENCY
Information We Collect
We may collect certain information when you use our games including:
- Personal information such as your name and gmail/Facebook/email address, which you may voluntarily provide when registering and/or contacting us for support or feedback.
- Usage data, including your device’s Internet Protocol (IP) address, device type, browser type and version, operating system, unique device identifiers, and other diagnostic data.
- Spending within the game, either directly or through 3rd party advertisements, and offer walls.
- Other data not otherwise elaborated here.
How We Use Your Information
We use the information collected for various purposes, including:
- To provide and maintain our games.
- To improve our services.
- To communicate with you and respond to your inquiries, feedback, and support requests.
- To analyze usage trends and preferences to enhance user experience and optimise our games.
- To detect, prevent, and address technical issues.
- To comply with legal obligations and protect the rights, property, or safety of SHG Studios, its users, or the public.
- Our servers and legal offices are in Canada. We follow Canadian Law, and respect General Data Protection Regulation and similar legislation. This information may be transmitted across geographies, both automatically via servers and via staff and related parties sharing information, while doing our work.
PERMISSION
By using and/or playing any SHG Studios game, you consent to the data practices described in this policy.
DATA SECURITY
SHG Studios, we are committed to the security of your personal data and player account. We implement robust technical and organizational measures to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. This Data Security section outlines some of the key measures we employ to safeguard your data:
- Encryption: We use industry-standard encryption techniques to secure your personal data during transmission and storage. This includes encrypting data in transit using HTTPS protocols and encrypting sensitive data at rest.
- Access Controls: Access to your personal data is restricted to authorized personnel who require access for legitimate business purposes. We enforce strict access controls and regularly review access permissions to prevent unauthorized access. Only those employees who absolutely need access to this information, have access.
- Hashing: To enhance the security of sensitive data such as passwords, we utilize hashing techniques. Hashing converts your password into a unique string of characters, making it extremely difficult for unauthorized parties to decipher the original password.
- Firewalls and Intrusion Detection Systems: We deploy firewalls and intrusion detection systems to monitor and block unauthorized access attempts to our systems and networks. These measures help us detect and mitigate security threats in real-time.
- Third-Party Security Assessments: We carefully vet and monitor third-party service providers that have access to your personal data to ensure they maintain adequate security measures. We require third parties to adhere to stringent security standards and contractual obligations.
Despite our best efforts, no method of transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure. Therefore, while we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security. If you have any concerns about the security of your data or suspect any unauthorized access, please contact us immediately.
DATA MINIMISATION
We aim to store the minimum information possible to complete our work in an effective and efficient manner. This provides positive security and data protection. This means as a matter of routine we:
- SECURE: We hash or encrypt the data to protect individual identities. We will not detail procedures here for security reasons.
- DO: use player IDs, IPs, device types and geographies for our work. We track payment amounts and details to a player. We store a player’s email to ensure we can verify player communication such as tickets and password backups.
- REQUEST OPT-IN: for social media and email for marketing. Players may choose to share their social media account information and tie that to their account. This would never include passwords / biometrics. Email opt-ins would include newsletters and the option to use those email addresses for “Custom Audiences and Lookalike Audiences”.
- DO NOT: store the names, device IDs, a player’s address, payment login/passwords, or the like as a matter of course.
For example, we do store credit cards or other payment information directly usable by hackers. There are exceptions to this when working on tickets raised by the player or the third party processors.
UPDATE
You have the ability to update your personal information stored with us to ensure its accuracy and completeness. If you need to update any of your personal data, such as your contact information or preferences, you can do so by accessing your account settings within the game. If you run into issues, please use the ticket system in game.
REASONABLE STORAGE TIMES
Data Retention
We will retain your personal information only for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.
If you wish your information deleted from this or any title, please raise an in-game ticket or contact us at info@shgstudios.com. Please understand that such deletions may be permanent. Our working standard is 5 business days for removal/deletion.
Credit Cart Storage
We do not retain credit card information or other related information on our servers/devices. That information is processed through 3rd party secure transactions.
DELETE YOUR ACCOUNT
You have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, also known as the “right to be forgotten.”
If you wish to exercise this right, you may delete your account and/or personal information associated with it. Deleting your account will remove all personal data we hold about you from our systems, except where retention is necessary for compliance with legal obligations or for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims.
To delete your account and personal information, please follow the instructions provided in the mobile game’s settings or contact our customer support team for assistance. Upon receiving a valid deletion request, we will take appropriate steps to securely delete your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection laws.
Note: While your account may be immediately removed from active play, we generally have a “cool down” period of a week. This is to ensure you do not change your mind. This balance between privacy and regret is based on our years of experience. We, unfortunately, find most players that delete wish to come back at a later date. When an account is deleted, there is no way to restore it thereafter. Please be sure.
DATA SHARING
We will never, ever, ever sell or rent your personal information to third parties. However, we may share your information in the following circumstances:
Legal
- In response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements.
- To enforce our policies, protect our rights, or investigate potential violations of law.
- As required by governmental agencies who support development, plus other supports and investors.
We have never had a legal request to date.
Operationally
- With service providers who assist us in operating SHG Studios or providing services to you, subject to confidentiality obligations.
- Generally this is via player ID or email, without other personal identifying information.
- This includes offer walls and advertising.
- We may use your email for marketing purposes, subject to explicit opt-in.
OPT-IN FOR MARKETING
We respect your preferences when it comes to marketing communications. We can only market to you if you give explicit permission. In our marketing communications, we provide clear explanations of what we would do with your data, and this explanation is tailored to each communication channel. You have the choice to opt-in or opt-out of marketing communications at any time through your account settings or by contacting our customer support team.
These opt-ins will be by channel. As players ourselves, we feel that if you offer us your permission, we should provide true value back. If you give us taht gift, then we should look at monthly free gifts per marketing channel, etc.
COOKIES / PIXELS
We value your privacy and strive to minimize our use of cookies and pixels on our platforms. However, we need your permission to use cookies or pixels for certain functionalities, such as analyzing website traffic or personalizing your experience. You can manage your cookie preferences through your browser settings or by following the instructions provided on our website.
PRIVACY OF MINORS
Children’s Privacy
Some of our games are for age 13 and up. Children below that age should not play, and are restricted from doing so to the best of our abilities.
Some of our games, such as Cute Cat RPG, are suitable for players of all ages. This means that we have age gates, where players under a certain age are provided one aspect of the game, and older players are presented a different model. For privacy reasons, this is a self-verifying system.
Those who select the “Under 13” are provided an in-game world chat that is only for those Under 13. The age 13 and up world chat is only for those age 13 and up.
Children’s Privacy In Error
We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you believe that we have inadvertently collected information from a child under 13, please contact us immediately, and we will first review then take appropriate steps to delete such information. As developers and parents we take this very seriously.
OTHER INFORMATION
Changes to This Privacy Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Effective Date” above.
We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at info@shgstudios.com.
Thank you for playing our games!