Privacy Policy

GENERAL INFORMATION

I. Definitions 

Our privacy policy should be easy to read and understand for our Website visitors, our users and customers, business partners and interested parties. To ensure this, we would like to explain the most important terms. We use the following terms, among others, in this privacy policy:

• "Personal data" means any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (hereinafter "Data Subject"), e.g. name, address, email addresses, user behaviour;
• "Processing" means any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording, organisation, structuring, storage, adaptation or alteration, retrieval, consultation, use, disclosure by transmission, dissemination or otherwise making available, alignment or combination, restriction, erasure or destruction;
• "Controller" means the natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which, alone or jointly with others, determines the purposes and means of the processing of personal data; 
• "Processor" means a natural or legal person, public authority, agency or other body which processes personal data on behalf of the controller;
• "Profiling" means any form of automated processing of personal data consisting of the use of personal data to evaluate certain personal aspects relating to a natural person, in particular to analyse or predict aspects concerning that natural person's performance at work, economic situation, health, personal preferences, interests, reliability, behaviour, location or movements.

II. Controller

The Controller within the meaning of Art. 4 (7) GDPR is:

Tales of us gGmbH

Seestr. 35-37

14467 Potsdam

Germany

info@talesofus.com 

For specific questions regarding the processing of your personal data and the exercise of your rights under the GDPR, you can contact the above-mentioned contact points at any time. 

PROCESSING OF PERSONAL DATA

The following overview lists all types of data processed by us, the purposes of their processing and the legal basis for their processing.

I. Visiting the Website

If you visit our Website without transmitting data to us in any other way (e.g. registering as a user), we collect the following data on our web server temporarily and anonymised via server log files: 

• IP address
• Date and time of the enquiry
• Time zone difference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
• Content of the request (page visited)
• Access status/HTTP status code
• Amount of data transferred in each case
• Previously visited page
• Browser type 
• Operating system used
• Language and version of the browser software
• Host name of the accessing computer.

This processing is technically necessary to display our Website to you. We also use the data for statistical analyses to ensure the operational security and stability of our Website. The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. 

We also use the data to fulfil our legal obligations for reasons of data security. The legal basis for this processing is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. c GDPR. 

II. Registration 

In order to create a user account on our website, we process personal data provided by you during registration. This includes your email address, username, first and last name, country, language, institution name and type, and a password.

The purpose of the requested data is the creation of a user account for the use of further functions of our Services. The registration is carried out for the execution and/or initiation of a user contract, for the provision of customer service, for the administration and/or answering of inquiries, as well as a security measure (legal basis: Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR contract performance and pre-contractual inquiries; Art. 6 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR legitimate interests).

If you have terminated your user account, your data with regard to the user account will be deleted, subject to any legal permission, obligation or consent on your part. It is up to you to save your data in case of termination before the end of the contract. Subject to any legal permission, obligation or consent on your part, we are entitled to irretrievably delete all data stored during the term of the contract.

III. Contacting us 

If you contact us, e.g. by sending us an email or contact us via a contact form, we store the contact data provided by you, such as name, address, mobile phone number, email and the information provided in your enquiry.

Insofar as you contact us in the context of an existing contractual relationship or contact us in advance for information about our Services, the data and information you provide will be processed for the purpose of dealing with and answering your contact enquiry on the legal basis of Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. b GDPR. Insofar as you have consented to the processing for the purpose of answering your enquiry, the legal basis is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR. Otherwise, we process your data to protect our legitimate interests in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR for the purpose of responding appropriately to customer/contact enquiries.

IV. Newsletter

You have the option to subscribe to our newsletter, through which we keep you informed about us and our offers. To subscribe, you need to provide your email address. Upon registration, your email address will be transmitted to us (or our email provider) and stored. You will then receive an email to confirm your subscription (“double opt-in”).

Our newsletter is sent based on your prior explicit consent, in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR. You can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, either by sending a message to the contact options provided in this privacy policy or via a link included in the newsletter. After unsubscribing, we will delete your email address from our recipient list, unless you have explicitly consented to further use of your data under Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR or we reserve the right to use your data for other purposes, permitted by law, and outlined in this privacy policy.

If we receive your email address in connection with the purchase of a product or service and you have not opted out, we reserve the right to send you offers for similar products or services via email, based on Section 7 (3) of the German Act Against Unfair Competition (UWG). This serves to protect our legitimate interest in conducting direct marketing, which takes precedence after balancing interests, according to Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR. You can object to this use of your email address at any time by sending a message to the contact options listed in this privacy policy or via a link provided in the marketing email (see also below on your right to object), without incurring any costs other than the transmission costs according to the basic tariffs. 

V. Cookies 

We use cookies on some areas of our Website. Cookies are small text files that are stored by the browser on your end device (e.g. computer, tablet or mobile phone) when you visit a website and can be read by us or a third-party provider. They are used to identify your end device for a certain period of time.

Some of the cookies we use are so-called "session cookies", which are automatically deleted at the end of your visit. Other cookies remain stored on your end device until you delete them. These cookies enable us to recognise your browser on your next visit.

Some cookies are necessary for the use of our Website. These cookies are not used for analysis, tracking, advertising or other non-essential purposes. Some of them only contain information about specific settings and are not personalised. These cookies are essential for user guidance, security and the operation of the website. We use these cookies on the basis of Section 25 para. 2 of the German Telecommunications Digital Services Data Protection Act (TDDDG) to ensure basic functions of the Website.

You can set your browser so that you are informed about the placement of cookies, which makes the use of cookies transparent for you. You can also delete cookies at any time via the corresponding browser setting and prevent the setting of new cookies. Please note, however, that this may result in our Website no longer being displayed and some functions may no longer be technically available.

In addition, we also use technically non-essential cookies on the basis of your consent. This processing only takes place with your express consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR and Section 25 para. 1 TDDDG. You can revoke your consent at any time by sending us an email at info@talesofus.com.

For more information on the individual cookies we use on our website, please refer to this privacy policy or our cookie consent banner.

VI. Beta Playtest  

When you participate in the beta playtests of our pre-released games (“Beta Playtest”), certain in-game events may trigger the creation of unique gameplay tokens or identifiers. For example, a token may be generated when a character customizes its appearance (e.g., choosing clothes) before interacting with other players. These tokens may be temporarily associated with technical identifiers, such as your IP address or device ID, to ensure proper session handling and overall game functionality.

We process this data solely for the following purposes:

• To enable real-time interactions between players
• To ensure fair and accurate session matching
• To detect and prevent cheating or misuse
• To diagnose gameplay or network-related issues.

This data is not used to personally identify you and is retained only for as long as necessary to support the relevant gameplay session, unless longer retention is required for security or troubleshooting purposes.

The legal basis for this data processing is our legitimate interests pursuant to Article 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR, namely, ensuring the technical functionality, fairness, and integrity of the Beta Playtest environment.

VII. Third-party tools 

As part of our business operations, we work with service providers who act as Processors. This includes functions such as marketing, hosting, and website operations. We have entered into Data Processing Agreements (DPAs) with these service providers to ensure compliance with data protection regulations. 

Some of these service providers may transfer personal data to third countries outside of the EU/EEA. We take appropriate measures to guarantee an adequate level of protection. These measures may include:

• EU Adequacy Decisions: Recognizing the countries as offering sufficient data protection based on European Commission decisions,
• Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs): Implementing EU-approved contractual safeguards,
• Explicit Consent: Where necessary, obtaining your informed consent before the transfer.

Our commitment is to handle your data with care and in compliance with all applicable legal and security standards.

Currently we implement the following third-party tools: 

1. Google Analytics

If you have given your consent, our website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland (“Google”).

This service creates pseudonymized usage profiles and uses cookies (see section "Cookies"). The information generated by the cookie about your use of this website (browser type/version, operating system used, time of server request, referrer URL (the previously visited page), hostname of the accessing computer (IP address) is transmitted to a Google server in the USA and stored there. Google processes the data in the USA.

The data is used to evaluate website usage, compile reports on website activities, and provide other services related to website and internet usage for market research and to tailor the design of these internet pages to users' needs. This information may also be transferred to third parties if required by law or if third parties process this data on our behalf. Your IP address will not be merged with other Google data. IP addresses are anonymized to prevent attribution (IP masking).

For data transfers to the USA, the following applies: Google is certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) and has committed to complying with European data protection principles. Additionally, we have concluded EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) with Google pursuant to Article 46 para. 2 lit. c GDPR to ensure compliance with the EU data protection level.

The use of Google Analytics is based on your consent in accordance with Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. a GDPR and Section 25 para. 1 TDDDG. You can revoke your consent at any time by clicking on clicking on the cookie icon at the bottom of the website and adjusting your preferences in the cookie banner that appears.

You can also prevent the collection of data generated by the cookie and related to your use of the website (including your IP address) as well as the processing of this data by Google by downloading and installing a browser add-on: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en. 

Further information on data processing by Google can be found here and in Google's Privacy Policy.

2. Microsoft Azure

For the purpose of operating and supporting the Beta Playtest, we use cloud infrastructure and related services provided by Microsoft Azure, a service operated by Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited, One Microsoft Place, South County Business Park, Leopardstown. Dublin 18, D18 P521, Ireland.

Microsoft Azure is used to host game servers and backend infrastructure. The processing of data through Microsoft Azure may involve the temporary transfer and storage of technical identifiers such as IP addresses. 

The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests (Article 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR), namely, to provide and maintain a secure, stable, and effective game testing environment.

VIII. Online presence on social media

We have various presences on social media platforms. We operate these sites with the following providers: 

• Instagram, Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, 4 Grand Canal Square, Grand Canal Harbour, Dublin 2, Ireland; Website: https://www.instagram.com/; Privacy Policy: https://help.instagram.com/519522125107875   
• Twitch, Twitch Interactive, Inc. located at 350 Bush Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA, Website:  https://www.twitch.tv/; Privacy Policy: https://legal.twitch.com/en/legal/privacy-notice/ 

We use the technical platform and services of the respective providers for these information services. We would like to point out, that you use our presence on social media platforms and their functions at your own responsibility. This applies in particular to the use of interactive functions (e.g. commenting, rating, sharing).

When you visit our social media sites, the platform providers collect your IP address and other information that is stored on your device in the form of cookies. This information is used to provide us, as the operator of the accounts, with statistical information about your interactions with our posts. The data collected about you is processed by the platforms and may be transferred to countries outside the EU, in particular to the USA.

The above providers are either certified under the EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF) and/or we have concluded EU standard contractual clauses (SCCs) with these providers in accordance with Art. 46 para. 2 lit. c GDPR, which ensure compliance with the EU level of data protection. 

We do not know how the social media platforms use the data from your visit to our account and your interactions with our posts for their own purposes, how long this data is stored and whether it is passed on to third parties. Data processing may differ depending on whether you are registered and logged in to the social network or visit the site as a non-registered and/or non-logged-in user. When you access a post or our account, the IP address assigned to your end device is transmitted to the provider of the social media platform. If you are currently logged in, a cookie on your device can be used to track your online behaviour. The platforms can use buttons integrated into websites to record your visits to these websites and assign them to your profile in order to offer you targeted content or advertising. To avoid this, you should log out, deactivate the "stay logged in" function, delete the cookies on your device and restart your browser.

As the provider of the information service, we also only process the data that you make available to us in the context of using our service and that require interaction. For example, if you ask us a question that we can only answer by email, we will store your information in accordance with the general principles of our data processing, which are described in this privacy policy. The legal basis for the processing of your data on the social media platform is Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. f GDPR.

In the case of requests for information and the assertion of data subject rights, we would also like to point out that these can be asserted most effectively with the providers. Only the providers have access to the users' data and can take appropriate measures and provide information directly. If you still need help, you can contact us.

The providers of the social media platforms explain in their privacy policies what information they receive and how it is used. These privacy policies (see links above) also contain information on contact options and the setting options for adverts. 

IX. Storage and deletion of data

The data processed by us will be deleted in accordance with the legal requirements as soon as the consent given for processing is revoked or other authorisations cease to apply (e.g. if the purpose for processing this data no longer applies or it is not required for the purpose). This means that we only store your personal data for as long as is necessary for the respective processing purpose and limit the storage period to the minimum required. In addition, we only store your data if we are authorised or obliged to do so in accordance with statutory retention periods.

This privacy policy may also contain further information on the retention and deletion of data, which apply primarily to the respective processing activities. 

YOUR RIGHTS AS A DATA SUBJECT

You have the right to  

• Access your personal data in accordance with Art.  15 GDPR,
• Rectification of inaccurate personal data in accordance with Art.  16 GDPR,
• Erasure of your personal data in accordance with Art.  17 GDPR,
• Restriction of processing in accordance with Art.  18 GDPR,
• Objection to the processing of your data in accordance with Art.  21 (Right to object, see details below), and
• Data portability in accordance with Art.  20 GDPR.

As outlined in the relevant sections of this privacy policy, you have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of your personal data at any time. Please note that the withdrawal of consent is only effective for future processing. Any processing that occurred before the withdrawal remains unaffected.

Right to Object: You have the right to object, at any time and for reasons arising from your particular situation, to the processing of your personal data based on Art. 6 para. 1 sentence 1 lit. e or f GDPR; this also applies to profiling based on this provision as defined in Article 4 para. 4 GDPR.

If you object, we will no longer process your personal data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing which override your interests, rights and freedoms, or the processing serves the establishment, exercise or defence of legal claims.

To exercise your above rights, you can send an email to info@talesofus.com. You also have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority about the processing of your personal data.

DATA PROCESSING WHEN ACCESSING LINKED CONTENT

AUTOMATED DECISION-MAKING/PROFILING

CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY

Due to the further development of our Website, our online offer and our Services or due to changed legal and official requirements, it may become necessary to amend this privacy policy from time to time. 

If you have any questions regarding the processing of your data, you can contact us at any time.