SMU Guildhall Games Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to us. This Southern Methodist University (SMU) Guildhall Games Privacy Policy ("Policy") will help you ("user" or "player") understand how SMU Guildhall ("us", "we", "our") uses and protects the personal information you provide to us when you play one of our published games ("Game"). Our Games may be published on or otherwise distributed through a portal, platform, or storefront (e.g. Steam, Epic Games Store, app stores, etc.) hosted by a third party ("Gaming Platforms") and will identify SMU Guildhall as publisher. The Policy does not apply to games published by any other publishers.
This Policy also does not apply to websites, applications, or services that do not display or link to this Policy, are not operated by us, or that display or link to different privacy statements. This Policy also does not apply to our website located at https://www.smu.edu/guildhall ("Website") or any other SMU websites. For information on how our Website (or any SMU websites) process your personal information, please visit our Privacy Statement located at https://www.smu.edu/LegalDisclosures/PrivacyStatement.
For purposes of this Policy, personal information means information relating directly or indirectly to an identifiable individual, except as may be set forth in applicable law.
PLEASE READ THIS POLICY CAREFULLY TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE HANDLE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THE GAMES, ENGAGE WITH US REGARDING THE GAMES, OR OTHERWISE PROVIDE US YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE GAMES.
Table of Contents
Personal Data We Collect
When you download, install, play, or otherwise interact with our Games, we may collect the information set forth below through the means discussed below:
Information We Collect Directly From You or Your Device
We may collect the below information when you provide it to us or when it is collected through automated means.
- Device information such as IP address, MAC address, network performance information (e.g. bandwidth and ping time), and peripheral information such as the make and model of your controller and keyboard. Some data may be used to infer nonspecific location information.
- Feedback or correspondence such as information you provide if you contact us with questions, feedback, or otherwise correspond with us online.
You are responsible for the personal information you provide or make available to us. If you provide personal information of a third party, you are responsible for providing any notices and obtaining any consents necessary for us to collect and use such personal information as described in this Policy.
Information We Receive From Third Parties
We may receive personal information about you from third-party sources such as Gaming Platforms. If you download and play our Games through a Gaming Platform, that Gaming Platform may collect and share with us additional information governed by that Gaming Platform’s own privacy policy. Please see the section Third Party Sites and Applications below for more details. Typically, such information is aggregated with other players' information and may include:
- Game analytics such as detailed Game and performance data and Game download analytics.
- Location data of non-specific nature based on Game analytics
- Player performance data such as achievements, Game feature unlocks, and Game progression details.
- Device information such as peripherals used and hardware information used to access the Service and Game.
Additionally, you may be asked by the Gaming Platform to voluntarily share detailed hardware information or other specific data as part of a survey.
How We Use Your Personal Information
We may use your personal information for the following purposes:
- To provide, improve, secure, optimize, and support our Games, including to:
- Better understand your needs as a player and how our Games perform on various hardware configurations
- Improve our Games and your gameplay experience
- Provide replays/spectator modes
- Allow players to share information through social media platforms at their election
- For educational purposes, such as to teach our students about game development and prepare them for careers in the game industry.
- Respond to your requests for information, such as for questions regarding our Games.
- To comply with any procedures, laws, and regulations which apply to us or our processing, for example to comply with subpoenas and other court orders.
- Establish, exercise, or defend our legal rights where we determine it is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others, or for fraud prevention.
- Other legitimate purposes as required or permitted by applicable law.
How we Share and Disclose Your Personal Information
We may share your personal information in the following ways:
- Gaming Platforms. We may share your information with Gaming Platforms or other third parties for the purposes set forth above.
- Protection of SMU and Others. We may disclose the information we collect and maintain about you if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, retention or disclosure is reasonably necessary, including to: (a) comply with legal process (e.g., a subpoena or court order); (b) enforce this Policy or other contracts with you; (c) respond to claims that any content violates the rights of third parties such as rights of privacy or intellectual property; and/or (d) protect the rights, property or personal safety of SMU, its agents affiliates, students, or users, and/or the public.
- Consent. We may share your information when we have your consent or at your direction, such as if you choose to enable any replay or spectator modes or share gameplay or any other of your information through social media platforms.
- Game Transfers. We may transfer Games to third parties. In such transactions (including in contemplation of such transactions), your information may be transferred.
- Aggregate/Deidentified Information. From time to time, we may share aggregate/deidentified information about use of the Games, such as by publishing a report on usage trends. The sharing of such data is unrestricted.
- Other SMU entities, affiliates, and subsidiaries. We may share your information with other SMU academic entities and organizations to operate our academic institution, for example, if we need to communicate with our academic programs in other parts of our university regarding your use of our Games.
We do not as a matter of course "sell" or "share" personal information as those terms are specifically defined in certain US state data privacy laws.
Aggregate/Deidentified Data
We may aggregate and/or deidentify any information collected through the Games so that the information can no longer be linked to you or your device. We may use and share the aggregated and/or deidentified information for any purpose.
How Long We Retain Your Personal Information
We retain your information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it. To determine the appropriate retention period for your information, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your information, the purposes for which we process your information and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.
When we no longer require your personal Information, we will either delete or, if possible, aggregate or otherwise de-identify it or, if this is not possible, securely store it in accordance with this Policy and cease use of the information until deletion is possible. If we de-identify your information (so that it can no longer be associated with you), we may retain this information for longer periods and use it as permitted by applicable law.
We are committed to securing your personal information and keeping it confidential. We employ reasonable practices to prevent theft, unauthorized access, or disclosure of your personal information. Despite the measures we take, transmission via the Internet is not completely secure and we cannot guarantee the security of your information.
International Transfer
SMU is based in the United States and the information we collect is governed by U.S. law. Your information may be stored and processed in the United States or any other country in which SMU or its partners, affiliates, service providers, subsidiaries or agents (if any) maintain facilities and by using our Games, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. Data protection laws in the U.S. and other jurisdictions may be different from those of your country of residence. If your data is collected in Europe, we will transfer your personal information subject to appropriate or suitable safeguards. If you are located in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland, please see the section below titled Regional Privacy Policy Information.
Children
The Games are not directed to individuals under the age of 13 and such individuals are not permitted to use the Games, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If you are a parent or guardian and believe we have collected such information in a manner not permitted by applicable law, please contact us as set forth in the section entitled "Contact Us" below, and we will remove such data to the extent required by applicable law.
Third Party Sites and Applications
Our Games may provide links to or make available integrations with third-party games, applications, or websites ("Third-Party Sites"). Third-Party Sites also includes Gaming Platforms. Such Third-Party Sites are outside our control and not covered by this Policy. We are not liable for any information, content, products, services, software, or other materials available on or through Third-Party Sites. The use of a Third-Party Site or any information or other content found on Third-Party Sites is subject to and governed by the terms and conditions of such Third-Party Sites. We encourage you to review the privacy notices posted on such Third-Party Sites.
Rights and Choices
You may choose not to provide personal information. If you choose not to provide personal information (or ask us to delete it), we may not be able to provide you with our Games or certain functionality of the Games. We will tell you what information you must provide to receive the Games’ functionality by designating it as required at the time of collection or through other appropriate means.
Regional Privacy Policy Information
This Regional Privacy Policy Information section provides additional information to individuals in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and United Kingdom ("Europe") as required under the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), the UK GDPR, and the Swiss FADP, as applicable (the "Relevant Laws").
Personal information collected on or about individuals located in Europe is collected on the following legal bases for processing:
- Necessary for Performance of a Contract: If we or our affiliates have entered into a contract with you, we may need to process your personal information.
- Consent: Where you have provided your consent.
- Legitimate Interest: We may need to process your personal information where we have a legitimate interest in doing so, such as for research and development, operation, security and optimization of our Games and related programs and for fraud prevention.
- Comply with Legal Obligations: Where we are required to comply with laws or legal obligations.
Individuals located in Europe have certain rights related to the processing of their personal information we process, as set forth below:
- Access: You may request to receive a copy of your personal information in machine-readable form.
- Delete: You may request we delete some personal information, subject to certain exceptions.
- Correct or Rectify: You may correct or change some personal information that we store about you; in particular, to correct inaccurate information.
- Object to or Restrict Processing: You may object to our processing of some personal information about you or restrict or limit our use of some personal information about you.
- Transfer: You may request, to the extent feasible, the transfer of your personal information to another data controller.
- Consent Withdrawal: You may withdraw consents you previously granted to us.
Certain other details regarding the processing of personal information that individuals located in Europe may be entitled to receive are contained in other provisions of our Privacy Policy. If you would like to exercise any of your rights above, please contact us as set forth below. Please note that we may be required to verify your identity before fulfilling your request and we may not be able to fulfill your request depending on our legal obligations. If you wish to file a complaint about our use of your personal information or our response to your requests regarding your personal information, you may contact the data protection or other Supervisory Authority in your region.
Changes to this Policy
We reserve the right to change this policy at any time. If you want to make sure that you are up to date with the latest changes, we advise you visit this page frequently.
If you have questions about this Policy, or our personal information practices, please contact us as follows:
By email: gamelab at smu.edu
By mail: SMU Guildhall, PO Box #750309, Dallas, TX 75275-0309 USA
Last updated: December, 2023
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