Privacy Policy

Last updated: 18 April 2025

1. Who We Are

Darkframe Studio operates the website at darkframestudio.com and the game sites connected to it (together, the “Platform”). We are the data controller for personal data collected through the Platform. If you have questions about how we handle your data, contact us at support@darkframestudio.com.

2. Data We Collect

We collect the following categories of personal data:

  • Account data — your username, email address, and password (stored as a secure hash).
  • Billing data — your subscription and payment history. Full card details are processed and stored by Stripe — we only retain your Stripe customer ID, plan details, and transaction records.
  • Game play data — your progress, choices, puzzle outcomes, inventory, and in-game flags across all game stories you access.
  • Community data — posts, messages, and activity on the community platform (community.darkframestudio.com), governed by a Single Sign-On connection with your Darkframe account.
  • Usage data — IP address, browser type, pages visited, and timestamps, collected automatically when you use the Platform.
  • Communications — emails you send to our support address and transactional emails we send to you (account verification, billing receipts).

3. How We Use Your Data

We use your personal data to:

  • Create and manage your account;
  • Process payments and manage your subscription;
  • Deliver access to game stories and track your in-game progress;
  • Provide community access via Single Sign-On;
  • Send you transactional emails (receipt confirmations, email verification, password reset);
  • Send you optional marketing or story update emails, if you have opted in;
  • Detect and prevent fraud, abuse, and security incidents;
  • Comply with our legal obligations.

Our legal bases under UK GDPR are: contract (to deliver the service you signed up for), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, product improvement), legal obligation (where required by law), and consent (marketing emails).

4. Third Parties

We share data with the following third parties only as necessary to operate the Platform:

  • Stripe — processes all payments. Stripe’s privacy policy is available at stripe.com/gb/privacy.
  • Community — the Darkframe Studio community is built directly into the Platform. Community posts, messages, and activity are stored and processed by us under the same terms as your account data — no third-party platform is involved.
  • Email delivery — transactional emails are sent via our configured SMTP provider.

We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not use advertising networks or tracking pixels.

5. Game Sites

Each Darkframe game story runs on its own website but is connected to your central Darkframe Studio account. Your play data (progress, flags, inventory) is stored on each respective game site and linked to your account ID. We treat this data with the same care as your account data.

6. Data Retention

We retain your account data for as long as your account exists. If you request deletion, we will remove your personal data within 30 days, except where we are required to retain it for legal or financial compliance (for example, billing records which we may retain for up to 7 years as required by UK tax law). Game play data and community data are deleted when your account is deleted.

7. Your Rights

Under UK GDPR you have the right to:

  • Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you;
  • Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate data;
  • Erasure — ask us to delete your data (subject to legal retention obligations);
  • Restriction — ask us to limit how we process your data in certain circumstances;
  • Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format;
  • Object — object to processing based on legitimate interests;
  • Withdraw consent — opt out of marketing emails at any time via the unsubscribe link in any email we send.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at support@darkframestudio.com. We will respond within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with our response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk.

8. Cookies

The Platform uses cookies and similar technologies to:

  • Keep you logged in (session cookie — essential);
  • Remember your preferences (persistent cookie — essential);
  • Protect against cross-site request forgery (security cookie — essential).

We do not use advertising, analytics, or third-party tracking cookies. Because we only use essential cookies, no cookie consent banner is required. You can block cookies via your browser settings, but doing so will prevent you from staying logged in.

9. Security

We take security seriously. Passwords are stored as hashed values and never in plain text. Payment data is handled entirely by Stripe and never touches our servers in raw form. We use HTTPS across all Platform domains. Access to player data within our admin tools is logged and restricted to authorised staff only.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the date at the top of this page. For significant changes, we will notify you by email.

11. Contact

For any privacy-related questions or data requests, contact us at support@darkframestudio.com.