Privacy policy

Who looks after your data

Jonathan Rolleston operates Seat of Deceit as a UK-based individual and is responsible for deciding how your personal information is used (the “data controller”). Email support@phonicvibe.com for privacy questions, requests or complaints. Please do not send passwords, payment card details or wallet keys.

What we collect and why

You provide most account and game information directly. We also create records when you play, sign in or buy something, and receive payment confirmations from payment providers.

Your account

Email address, account and character names, custom faction name, selected portrait, frame and title, unlocked cosmetics, achievements, gold balance, account dates and settings. We store a password hash rather than a readable password, and protected sign-in and email verification records. We need these to provide and secure your account. We also store your 18+ declaration, its version and date, and any account restriction status; we do not collect a date of birth through the age screen. Email is required for registration, activation and recovery; the wiki and local practice can be used without registering.

Your games

Room membership, chosen matchmaking region and language, character identities, roles, ability selections, votes, chat, private conversations, journal entries, results and rewards. We use them to run and resume matches, apply the rules, investigate abuse, and understand class balance. Chosen matchmaking region is separate from optional device location.

Purchases

Items, gold amounts, prices, currency, dates, order and transaction references, payment status, credits and payment review information. For Stripe orders this can include the billing country and tax totals returned by Stripe. Cryptocurrency records include the payment address, transaction identifiers, confirmations and exchange-rate quote. These connect payment to the correct account and help resolve failed payments, duplicate credits, fraud or disputes.

Activity and optional location

We record daily signed-in activity for usage statistics. If you choose to share location, your browser asks permission and rounds the position to a broad 5° grid cell before sending it to us. We do not receive the original GPS coordinates through this feature. This cell is linked to your account; it is approximate, not anonymous. The administrator’s map shows only groups of at least five consenting players over completed 7, 30 or 90-day periods. You can play without location and stop sharing in the lobby; stopping removes the saved cell from your account and existing activity records.

Technical and support records

Sign-in and abuse controls, account changes, administrative access and relevant server events. Web hosting, email and security services also process connection information such as IP addresses, request times and device/browser details. If you contact support or send a privacy request, we receive your message and keep the review, response and relevant incident records. Please use the minimum personal details needed.

Our reasons under UK and EU data protection law: providing the account, matches and purchases you request is necessary for our service contract. Account security, abuse prevention, technical troubleshooting, gameplay statistics and fair-play review rely on our legitimate interests in running a reliable game, balanced against your rights. Optional location and analytics rely on your consent. Where tax, accounting or another law requires records, we rely on that legal obligation. You may object to processing based on legitimate interests or withdraw consent for optional features.

Who can see your game information

Other players see your chosen game identity, cosmetics, title and messages according to the channel and match rules. Public messages and publicly revealed roles or results can be seen by the court. Journals can become public when your character dies. Some variants hide account names until the ending. Players may keep their own screenshots or copies of messages.

Private game chat is private from ordinary opponents, not from the operator. Authorised administrators can observe live matches and see all channels, abilities and unreleased information, including Warden and Seer conversations. Access is provided for support, security and game oversight. These messages are not end-to-end encrypted. Avoid putting your address, health information, financial details or other real-life secrets into a game message or journal.

Game AI uses rules and the information available to its character to interpret claims and decide actions. This code runs with the game; there is no external language-model chat service in the current implementation. Local guided practice runs in your browser without saving its match to your online account.

Services we use

• Hosting, storage and email: our server is hosted by OVH in France. The game, wiki and operator-run mail service use that server to deliver the sites, keep records, and send activation and password-recovery emails. Our map infrastructure supplies map tiles for the administrator’s grouped regional view.
• Stripe: if you choose card checkout, Stripe collects card and billing details on its hosted page and handles payment and fraud checks. We send order, package and internal account references; our game database does not store full card details or your full Stripe billing address. Stripe may act as a processor or independently for its own legal and fraud-prevention purposes. Read Stripe’s privacy policy.
• Cryptocurrency networks: payments are verified through wallet/node services. Bitcoin transactions are public and cannot be erased from the blockchain. Monero provides different transaction privacy, but our payment-to-account records are still personal data and are not anonymous to us.
• Google Analytics: only if you choose to allow analytics on the game site, Google receives website usage and technical information, which can include a general location inferred from your IP address. This is separate from the game’s optional 5° location-sharing feature. Our page-view code strips URL queries and fragments and does not deliberately send your account name, email, chat or payment details. Advertising personalisation and Google Signals are disabled in our integration.
• Google reCAPTCHA: when you load the security check for an account-data download, Google processes browser/device and interaction information, including your IP address, to detect automated requests. This security check is separate from optional analytics. Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. If the check is inaccessible or you prefer not to use it, you can request your data by email.

Automatic AdSense loading is paused on the current game and wiki while an appropriate advertising consent setup is arranged. Earlier site versions loaded AdSense and game analytics automatically; this notice does not describe those past loads as consented. Contact us about information collected before this update.

We may share relevant records when legally required, to investigate misuse or protect rights, or with professional advisers handling a genuine dispute. We do not sell the player-account database.

Cookies, storage and choices

The game’s necessary sign-in cookie lasts up to 30 days, unless you sign out or it is revoked sooner. Browser storage remembers choices such as sound and visual effects; temporary browser storage keeps purchase-retry information. The installed app caches public artwork, music and application files for updates and offline practice. It does not cache the account API as public offline content.

Optional analytics is off until you choose it. Your privacy choice is stored for up to 180 days on that browser and site, after which we ask again. The game and wiki have separate browser storage. Where analytics is allowed, our Google Analytics cookie settings use a maximum 180-day duration without extending it on every visit. You can reject optional analytics and still play, or change your choice using Privacy choices. A Global Privacy Control signal is treated as a refusal of optional tracking. If someone reports being under 18, or a signed-in account is restricted, this browser also stores a necessary restriction flag and disables optional analytics. The flag contains no account ID or date of birth and remains until an eligible account with an 18+ declaration signs in; analytics then still needs a fresh opt-in.

Withdrawing analytics permission stops future tracking from this version, clears accessible analytics cookies and offers a reload to fully remove already loaded analytics code. It does not automatically delete data Google already received. Browser controls can also clear site data, but this can sign you out and remove offline files and preferences.

Open privacy choices. Location has its own control in the game lobby. Essential security checks and payments you request are not enabled by the analytics choice.

How long information stays

• Daily activity: records older than 90 days are removed by the scheduled cleanup. You can remove associated location cells sooner by stopping location sharing.
• Accounts and sign-in records: unverified accounts are eligible for removal after 30 days. Activation links expire after 24 hours, password-reset links after 30 minutes, and sessions after up to 30 days; bounded scheduled cleanup removes expired records. Verified accounts and owned cosmetics remain while the account is maintained, unless erased after review.
• Matches and chat: detailed completed and settled court records, including chat, journals and AI notes, are eligible for removal after 90 days. Numerical monthly class/faction statistics are kept without account, room, seat, name or message identifiers. An approved account erasure can remove shared completed-court detail sooner because other players may have quoted the person's information.
• Security, changes and requests: security and name-change audits, export history and cosmetic-purchase receipts are eligible for removal after 12 months. Privacy requests and incidents are kept while open and for 12 months after closure. Owned items and account achievement totals are separate from these receipts.
• Payments: necessary payment and credit records are kept for six years after their latest relevant transaction update. Open payments, disputes or documented preservation holds need review before removal. Provider transaction ownership markers may remain to prevent duplicate credits; these do not retain a player-account link. We do not retain the rest of an erased profile for this purpose.
• Google Analytics: on 27 October 2026 we checked the property settings: event-level data retention is two months, user-level retention is 14 months, and new activity resets the user-level retention period. An active user’s data can therefore remain longer than 14 months from their first visit. These settings do not set a deletion deadline for standard aggregated reports or every record Google holds. See Google’s retention explanation.
• Backups and logs: daily database backups normally expire after 14 days and deployment backups after 30 days. The current rollback copy and specifically held evidence are excluded until replaced or reviewed. Seat web-access logs use minimal request metadata without IP addresses, full URLs, queries, referrers or user-agent strings; their rotation keeps 14 daily archives. Error, mail and third-party logs may have different schedules and can require a separate review.

Cleanup runs in bounded batches, so a record may remain briefly after its eligibility date. Active courts, unresolved payments and documented legal holds are checked before deletion; holds need periodic review. Restricted accounts cannot play or make new purchases, but can sign in to use privacy tools. Deletion from live storage does not immediately erase a backup: backups are reserved for recovery, and a separate minimal erasure journal is reapplied before a restored database is returned to service. External providers' copies require separate handling. We explain any exceptions when responding to a request.

Your rights and your download

Depending on where you live and the circumstances, you can ask to access or receive a portable copy of your data, correct it, delete it, restrict its use, object to processing, or withdraw consent. Rights have legal exceptions; for example, a payment record may need to be kept to meet a legal obligation. Withdrawing consent does not make earlier lawful processing unlawful.

Use Account → Manage my data to record a privacy request and see its response, or correct your player name in Account. An email or historical-record correction is reviewed through a request. Requests can also be made by email without an account. To download a file, open Account → View my data to download a JSON file. You must confirm your password and complete the security check. Non-administrator accounts can generate one self-service export every seven days; administrators are exempt from that interval. Failed checks do not use the seven-day allowance.

The file includes allowlisted account, economy and activity records and your recorded participation and authored game information. It excludes passwords and authentication secrets, wallet credentials, other people’s private records and unreleased game information. Server logs, backups, provider records and mixed conversations may require a separate review. A download is a convenient starting point, not an assertion that it contains every item of personal data concerning you.

The seven-day interval and CAPTCHA do not restrict your legal rights. Email support@phonicvibe.com for a full access request, an accessible alternative, deletion, correction, an objection, or an explanation of a redaction. You do not have to create an account or complete a CAPTCHA to email us. We may request proportionate information to verify identity; please do not send identity documents unless we explain why they are necessary.

We respond within the period required by the applicable law: normally one month for UK/EU rights requests, or 45 days for access, correction and deletion under applicable US state laws. Other rights, such as opting out of sale or sharing, may require a faster response. If a lawful extension is needed, we explain it. We do not charge for ordinary requests or penalise you for exercising your rights. If you disagree with a response, reply asking for a review or appeal.

You may complain to the UK Information Commissioner’s Office, an EU/EEA data protection authority, or your relevant US state regulator. You do not need our permission to complain.

International processing

We operate from the United Kingdom, with our OVH server and operator-run mail service hosted in France. Other service providers, including Google and Stripe, may process information in the UK, EEA, United States or other countries. Your payment or optional analytics choice may therefore involve international processing.

The operator is still completing the inventory of provider locations, processing agreements and international-transfer safeguards. We cannot currently claim that a particular adequacy decision, contractual clause or other safeguard has been verified for every service. You can ask us for the arrangements that apply to your data. Completing this review is an outstanding compliance action.

Adults only

Seat of Deceit is intended only for people aged 18 or over. Please do not register, use online chat or make purchases if you are under 18. Signup asks for your age group before collecting account details. Existing account holders must also confirm they are 18+ before online play, chat, new purchases or administration. This declaration does not independently verify age. An account holder reporting that they are under 18 is restricted from play and new purchases while we review it; privacy tools and support remain available. If you believe a child has provided personal data, contact us so we can investigate and remove unnecessary information. An incorrect restriction can be challenged through support. We have not implemented a parental-consent service.

Security and automated decisions

We use HTTPS, password hashing, restricted sessions and administrator checks, server-side payment verification, rate limits and selective game-data disclosure. The download has additional password and bot checks. No system is perfectly secure; keep your password and downloaded data private.

Matchmaking, role assignment, game AI, win conditions, rewards and payment validation use automated rules. These are game and account operations, not credit, employment or similar eligibility decisions. If you think an automated payment or account outcome is wrong, contact support for review. We do not use your chat to make real-world decisions about your health, employment or creditworthiness.

United States visitors

US privacy laws vary by state and some apply only when an operator meets particular thresholds. We have not established that every state’s comprehensive privacy law applies to this service. Where a law applies, we honour its access, correction, deletion, portability, opt-out and appeal rights, including requests made by a properly authorised agent where required.

The categories above include identifiers/contact details, commercial records, online activity, approximate location if shared, and user-created content. We use them for the purposes and disclose them to the recipients described above. Online advertising disclosures can count as “sale” or “sharing” under some state laws even without money changing hands. Advertising is paused in this release, optional analytics can be refused, and we respect Global Privacy Control. Contact us to opt out or ask about earlier disclosures; you do not need to log in to do so. We do not offer a financial incentive for giving privacy consent.

Changes to this notice

We update this notice as the service or our practices change and show the date at the top. If we introduce a materially different purpose or optional tracking service, we will provide an appropriate notice and obtain consent where needed. This notice explains the present service; it is not a claim that all operational compliance work is finished.