Last updated: 22 October 2026

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1. Who we are and how to reach us

Starcade FACTIONS ("the Game") is published by Starcade Arcade LLC, a limited liability company registered in the State of Texas, USA ("we", "us", "our"). We are the data controller for the personal data described here.

For any question or request about your data, write to info@starcadearcade.com. You may also write to our registered address in Texas, shown on the Contact page of starcadearcade.com.

This version replaces every earlier version of the Starcade FACTIONS privacy policy.

2. What this policy covers

This policy applies to the Starcade FACTIONS game on Steam, the Apple App Store and Google Play, and to the game servers we operate for it. It does not cover the stores themselves or the sign-in services you may use with the Game (Steam, Apple, Google); each of those has its own privacy policy that governs what it collects from you.

The Game has no in-game chat, no advertising, no tracking across other apps or websites, and we do not sell personal data. We process data for two reasons only: to run the Game for you, and to understand how it is played so we can balance and improve it. Section 5 explains how to opt out of the second.

3. The personal data we process

We collect only what the Game needs to work and to be improved. We never collect payment card numbers, precise location, contacts, photos, or the content of private communications.

Account identifiers. A player account ID created for you by our account service (PlayFab), the display name you choose, your chosen profile picture, and the identifier of the sign-in you link: your Steam ID, or your Apple or Google account subject together with the name and email address that service shares when you sign in. Source: you, at sign-in and in Settings.

Device identifier. A random identifier the Game creates on your device and links to your account so you can sign in again without a password. It is not your hardware ID and is removed from the link when you sign out. Source: the Game.

Progress and inventory. Rank, experience, proficiency, mission progress, Credits and Crystals balances, owned cosmetics, your fleet and card loadouts, and your saved in-game preferences (skins, language, sound, haptics, controls). Source: your play.

Purchase records. The store transaction identifier and receipt for each Credits pack, validated with the store, and the Credits granted. Payment itself is handled by Steam, Apple or Google; we never see your card or bank details. Source: the store you buy from.

Gameplay analytics. Pseudonymous records of how matches are played: the match mode and map, factions, fleets, cards and crew chosen, each action and its outcome, turn timing, action points spent, undos, retreats, match results, and in future which menus and store pages are used. Each record is tagged with your player account ID, platform (desktop, iOS or Android), operating-system family, game version, language, input device and current rank. Source: the Game, only while "Share Gameplay Data" is on (Section 5).

Technical error reports. A short code naming where an error occurred in the Game and a one-way hash of the error message. The message text itself never leaves your device. Source: the Game, only while "Share Gameplay Data" is on.

Network data. Your IP address and connection details, processed in transit by our multiplayer relay (Photon) during online matches and by our servers when the Game talks to them. We do not store IP addresses in our own records. Source: your connection.

We do not knowingly collect any special categories of data (health, beliefs, biometrics and the like) and the Game offers no way to enter them.

4. Why we process it, and on what legal basis

Running the Game (your account, saved progress, inventory, matchmaking, online matches, rank and rewards). Data used: account identifiers, device identifier, progress and inventory, network data. Legal basis: performance of our agreement with you (the Game's terms). Without this data the Game cannot be played.

Selling and delivering Credits packs. Data used: account identifiers, purchase records. Legal basis: performance of our agreement with you, and our legal duty to keep tax and accounting records.

Keeping the Game fair and secure (verifying match results before paying rewards, detecting cheating, limiting abuse). Data used: account identifiers, progress, match results, network data. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in a fair game for every player. You cannot opt out of this processing because every other player relies on it.

Understanding how the Game is played so we can balance factions, maps, ships and cards, fix errors and improve menus. Data used: gameplay analytics, technical error reports. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in improving the Game. You can switch this off at any time (Section 5).

Answering your requests and meeting legal obligations. Data used: whatever the request concerns. Legal basis: our legal obligations and legitimate interest in handling requests.

We do not use your data for advertising, for profiling with legal effects, or for any automated decision about you. Match results are checked by automated rules on our servers before rewards are paid; those rules affect only in-game rewards, and you can contact us if you believe a result was judged wrongly.

5. Gameplay analytics and how to opt out

The Game records how matches are played so we can see which factions, maps, ships, cards and crew are winning or losing, how players spend their action points, and where the Game is confusing or broken. We use this to balance the Game between updates.

These records are pseudonymous: they carry your player account ID, never your name, email, or device hardware identifiers. They are kept in our own cloud account (Microsoft Azure), not sent to any advertising or analytics vendor, and are analysed in aggregate.

To opt out, open Settings in the Game and switch off "Share Gameplay Data" under the Privacy heading. The setting is on by default. When you switch it off, the Game stops recording, deletes any analytics not yet sent from your device, and sends nothing further until you switch it back on. The choice is stored on your device and applies to that installation.

Opting out does not affect the data needed to run the Game: your account, progress, purchases, and the match results our servers verify before paying rewards are still processed under Section 4.

6. Who receives your data

We share personal data only with the service providers below, each acting on our instructions under a written data-processing agreement, and only to the extent that provider's role requires. We do not sell, rent or trade personal data, and we do not share it for advertising.

Microsoft Corporation, PlayFab. Player accounts, saved progress, inventory, Credits and Crystals, purchase validation, server rules for match results and rewards. Data: account identifiers, device identifier, progress and inventory, purchase records.

Microsoft Corporation, Azure (Functions, Application Insights, Storage). Our game servers, server logs, and the storage and analysis of gameplay analytics. Data: account identifiers, progress, match results, gameplay analytics, technical error reports, network data in transit.

Exit Games GmbH, Photon. Matchmaking and relaying online matches between players. Data: network data, your display name shown to your opponent, in-match game actions in transit.

Valve Corporation, Steam. Sign-in, purchases and payment on the Steam version. Data: Steam ID, purchase records (under Valve's own policy).

Apple Inc. Sign in with Apple, purchases and payment on the iOS version. Data: Apple account identifier, name and email as you choose to share them, purchase records (under Apple's own policy).

Google LLC. Google sign-in, purchases and payment on the Android version. Data: Google account identifier, name and email, purchase records (under Google's own policy).

Your display name is visible to the opponent you are matched with during an online match. Steam, Apple and Google are independent controllers for what they collect through their own stores and sign-in services.

We may also disclose data if the law requires it, to protect the rights, property or safety of Starcade Arcade LLC, our players or others, or as part of a sale or reorganisation of our business, in which case this policy continues to apply to the data transferred.

7. How long we keep your data

Account identifiers, progress and inventory, device identifier. As long as your account exists. Deleting your account in the Game (Settings > Delete Account) permanently deletes the account and everything stored under it with our account service within 30 days. Uninstalling the Game or deleting your store account does not delete your Starcade FACTIONS account; use the in-game option or write to us.

Purchase records. For as long as the law requires us to keep accounting and tax records, currently up to 7 years, in a form that identifies the transaction rather than you once your account is deleted.

Gameplay analytics and technical error reports. Up to 24 months from the date they were recorded, after which they are deleted. These pseudonymous records are not deleted when you delete your account; from that moment they can no longer be linked back to you, because the account ID they carry no longer refers to any account.

Network data. Processed in transit only; server request logs that contain IP addresses are kept for up to 90 days for security and troubleshooting.

Correspondence with us. Up to 3 years after the matter is closed.

Aggregated statistics that cannot identify anyone (for example, the win rate of a faction) are not personal data and may be kept indefinitely.

8. Your rights

Depending on where you live (including the EU and UK under the GDPR, California under the CCPA/CPRA, Texas under the TDPSA and other US state laws), you have some or all of the following rights. We honour them for every player regardless of location where we reasonably can.

Access: a copy of the personal data we hold about you, free of charge in most cases.

Correction: fixing data that is inaccurate. Your display name can be changed in the Game.

Deletion: Settings > Delete Account removes your account and its data immediately and permanently; you can also ask us by email. Pseudonymous analytics are retained as described in Section 7 and can no longer be linked to you after deletion.

Portability: your data in a common machine-readable format.

Objection and opt-out: switch off "Share Gameplay Data" in Settings to stop analytics (Section 5), or object by email to any processing based on legitimate interest; we will stop unless we can show compelling grounds. We do not sell personal data or use it for targeted advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of on those grounds.

Restriction: asking us to pause processing in certain circumstances.

Non-discrimination: exercising a right never changes the price or quality of the Game.

Complaint: to your local data-protection authority, the Texas Attorney General, or a court. We would appreciate the chance to resolve the matter first.

To exercise a right, email info@starcadearcade.com from the address linked to your account, or include your in-game display name and platform so we can find your account. We may ask for enough information to confirm you are the account holder. We respond within 30 days (45 days where that law allows), free of charge unless a request is clearly excessive. An authorised agent may act for you with written permission.

9. Children

Starcade FACTIONS is intended for players aged 13 and over and is not directed to children under 13. Steam requires its users to be at least 13, and we declare the Game's target audience as 13 and over on Google Play and the App Store. We do not knowingly collect personal data from a child under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has created an account, write to info@starcadearcade.com and we will delete the account and its data promptly.

If you are between 13 and the age of majority where you live, please review this policy with a parent or guardian.

10. Security and international transfers

Data travels between the Game and our servers over encrypted connections (TLS). Access to our account service, servers and analytics is limited to the people at Starcade Arcade LLC who need it, protected by individual credentials, and the server rules that decide rewards never trust a player's device alone. No system is perfectly secure; if we learn of a breach affecting your personal data we will notify you and the relevant authorities as the law requires.

We are based in the United States and our providers (Microsoft, Exit Games, Valve, Apple, Google) operate worldwide, so your data is processed in the United States and may be processed in other countries. Where data of players in the EU, UK or Switzerland is transferred, we rely on our providers' standard contractual clauses and equivalent safeguards. The Game is offered as-is to players outside the United States; by playing you acknowledge that your data is processed as described here.

11. Changes to this policy

We will update this policy when the Game changes what it collects or whom it shares it with, and we will change the "Last updated" date above. For a material change we will also tell you in the Game or on the store page before it takes effect. Continuing to play after that date means you accept the updated policy; if you do not, stop playing and delete your account as described in Section 7.

This policy describes how we handle personal data. The terms that govern your use of the Game, including any limits on our liability and the rules for purchases, are in the Starcade FACTIONS Terms of Service, which take precedence over this policy if the two conflict on anything other than privacy.