GEARBOX PUBLISHING®, LLC
PRIVACY POLICY
LAST UPDATED 02.04.2022
Welcome to Gearbox!
In order to make Gearbox experiences as entertaining—and transparent—as possible, we have adopted the following Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy” or “Policy”) to explain how we collect, use, and share your personal information, and how to exercise the rights available to you. By using our Online Services (defined below), you agree to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy so please take the time to familiarize yourself with it and reach out to us if you have any questions.
Use of the Online Service is voluntary. This includes any channels provided for interacting with other members of the Gearbox community. Some members like to run with the pack, while some don’t; we understand both preferences. If you are uncertain about sharing data at all, please forego use of the Online Service entirely until you achieve whatever level of comfort you need. We have no desire to make the experience awkward or difficult.
Please don’t be bashful with your constructive compliments and criticisms—both are welcome. If you have any thoughts or ideas about where things are/aren’t working well, we want to know that. You can reach out to us directly to share your ideas at [email protected].
To foster the member community, we intend to convey—and support—various promotions via emails to members. We’re determined to keep this from becoming annoying; if we’re failing, please let us know. Members who wish to do so, may use the “unsubscribe from this list” or “update your preferences” links located at the bottom of most emails you receive from Gearbox; or you can delete your account to stop such communications.
All members of the Gearbox community must be over the age of 15 to use our Online Services, and at least 18 years of age to access certain games. Gearbox does not intentionally collect personal information from children under the age of 16. If you are a parent or guardian and are concerned about the transfer of personal information about your child, please do contact us at [email protected]. If we learn that a child has provided us with personal information in violation of applicable law, we will delete any personal information we have collected, unless we have a legal obligation to keep it, and terminate the child’s account if applicable.
To fully enjoy the services available from Gearbox, individuals should create a Gearbox SHiFT account, and must respect the rights of others throughout their use. Like a bad roommate, members who detract from the Online Service will be promptly evicted from the Gearbox community. No member is entitled to use of the Online Service or its content at the expense of others.
Members understand and agree that the Online Service is provided “AS-IS” and without warranties or duties of any kind.
Gearbox is a valid licensee, and participating member of the Entertainment Publishing Rating Board’s Privacy Certified Program (“ESRB Privacy Certified”). To help protect your privacy, we have voluntarily undertaken this privacy initiative. As a licensee in this privacy certification program, we are subject to audits of our Online Services and other enforcement and accountability mechanisms administered independently by ESRB Privacy Certified. Our Online Services containing the ESRB Privacy Certified seal have been reviewed and certified by ESRB Privacy Certified to meet established online information collection and use practices.
Again, the official Policy is below…game on!
PRIVACY POLICY:
Gearbox Publishing, LLC, a United States company, and its affiliates (collectively “Gearbox”) respects the privacy rights of those who access and use their services and are committed to protecting the information collected through their websites, games, applications, and other online products and services (collectively the “Online Services”). We have adopted this Privacy Policy to explain how we collect, use, store, disclose, and transfer (collectively, “Process”) the information we collect in connection with our Online Services (the “Privacy Policy”), and the rights available to you.
PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY. PLEASE NOTE THAT (i) WE MAY PROCESS YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WHICH MAY HAVE DIFFERENT AND SOMETIMES LESS STRINGENT PRIVACY PROTECTIONS THAN YOUR COUNTRY; (ii) WE MAY PROCESS YOUR DATA IN ACCORDANCE WITH THIS PRIVACY POLICY; (iii) BY REGISTERING FOR OR USING OUR ONLINE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO ABIDE BY OUR TERMS & CONDITIONS AND ANY OTHER POLICIES THAT MAY APPLY. THIS PRIVACY POLICY SUPPLEMENTS THE PRIVACY DISCLOSURES PROVIDED TO YOU WITH YOUR PUBLISHING PRODUCT AND/OR BY YOUR CONSOLE MANUFACTURER.
This Privacy Policy will explain:
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT CERTAIN INFORMATION GEARBOX COLLECTS
HOW WE USE COOKIES, TRACK IP ADDRESSES, AND USE OTHER PASSIVE MEANS TO COLLECT INFORMATION
HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
HOW WE SHARE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
YOUR RIGHTS TO REVIEW, CONTROL, CORRECT & DELETE THE USE OR DISPLAY OF DATA
SAFEGUARDS USED TO PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
SCOPE OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY
This Privacy Policy applies only to information collected on or through the Online Services, including information shared with Gearbox by certain third parties (as further described in this Privacy Policy). It does not apply to any other information collected by Gearbox through any other means. For example, it does not apply to information you may submit to Gearbox through other online means (for example, direct emails from you to individuals at Gearbox) or offline. Nor does it apply to third party sites, even if you use those sites to connect to our Online Services or we link to the sites from our Online Services.
CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
The Last Updated date at the top of the Privacy Policy indicates the last time we revised it. We will make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please check back often. If we make a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you here, by email, or by means of a notice on our home page. In some cases, when required under applicable law, we will give you additional choices regarding the change prior to it becoming effective. As permitted by applicable law, your continued use of our Online Services signifies your acceptance of such changes.
INFORMATION GEARBOX COLLECTS
Personal information is information that identifies, relates to or could reasonably be linked with you or your household, and may include information that can be used to contact you online or offline (such as your name, postal address, telephone number, and email address), account and payment information (such as your credit card details, as collected via our third-party payment providers), and unique technical information (such as device and network identifiers).
Gearbox collects personal information in three ways: (i) personal information you provide us on a voluntary basis; (ii) personal information we collect automatically when you use our Online Services; and (iii) personal information we receive from other third parties. Each of these will be described in more detail throughout this Privacy Policy.
When you submit personal information to Gearbox, it will usually take the form of:
- Registration for or on our Online Services, including creating a SHiFT account;
- Subscribing to newsletters or alerts;
- Posting in or commenting on our message boards, forums, blogs, chat rooms, or other Online Services;
- Purchasing products or services through or on our Online Services;
- Using “tell a friend,” “email this page,” or other similar features;
- Requesting technical support or otherwise contacting us with a question, comment or complaint;
- Downloading demos, programs, or Publishing from or on our Online Services;
- Participating in polls, surveys, and questionnaires;
- Participating in our Playtesting Community; or
- Otherwise through use of our Online Services, including console products, where personal information is required for use and/or participation.
The types of information collected in connection with the activities listed above can vary depending on your activity. The information we collect may include your:
- first and/or last name;
- e-mail address;
- residential address;
- telephone number;
- photographic images, if uploaded by user;
- credit card information, if provided to our third-party payment processors for purchases;
- purchase data, if a purchase is made;
- shipping information, if provided for purchases;
- country;
- game device identifier;
- screen name; or
- demographic information (age, gender, date of birth, marital status, race, level of education, etc.), if you choose to provide it in profiles, surveys or forums, such as in an application to become one of our playtesters.
Prize winners may be required to provide additional information for prize fulfillment.
In addition, we may automatically collect information about your network or devices, such as your hardware configuration, language preferences, device or console ID, device type, gaming service ID, Publishing products played, MAC address, mobile carrier, mobile advertising and other unique identifiers, browser information, location information (including approximate location derived from IP address), Internet service provider, and IP address. We may also receive information about your gameplay without any additional notice to you or actions taken by you. This may include game achievements, game scores and performance, and other information and statistics regarding your usage of the Online Services. Information about gameplay may be collected while you are offline and transmitted to Gearbox when you next connect to the Internet through your console, handheld, mobile device, computer, or other gaming platform.
We may combine information we collect automatically or receive from third parties with the personal information you provide to us voluntarily, as described in the sections below.
SPECIAL NOTES ABOUT CERTAIN INFORMATION GEARBOX COLLECTS
Third-Party Platforms. You may be able to login through or connect certain third-party accounts to your account with us. For example, you will see this option when you create or log into your SHiFT account. When you use these third-party accounts, you are subject to the respective terms and conditions of each third-party platform. You may be able to connect and interact with and share game information with your friends and network from that third-party account. You may also be able to make purchases through or earn rewards (subject to applicable program terms) from that third-party account. The third party may also share certain information with us, which may include your name, third-party account ID, email address, friends list, and other public profile information.
Public Information Including Message Boards, Forums, Blogs, Comments, and Profiles: We strongly encourage you not to disclose any personal information while using our Online Services or use personal information to identify yourself while using our Online Services (for example when selecting a screen name). Any personal information, including photos and video, that you disclose in public areas of our Online Services, such as on a message board, chat room, comment field, or profile page, will be in the public domain and is not subject to privacy protections. Even if it were later removed, other users would have had access to it and could have read, collected, copied, and otherwise used it without your consent or knowledge. If your screen name contains your real name or email address, that information will be made publicly available on leaderboards and elsewhere. Ultimately, you are responsible for any information or content you post using our Online Services, but we strongly discourage you from disclosing any personal information in public areas.
E-mail Correspondence: We may provide e-mail addresses or forms to which you can send us questions or comments, or which you can use to request customer support. In the process of receiving and responding to such requests, we may collect personal information about you, such as your e-mail address, other contact information you provide, or any other personal information contained in the body of your e-mail message. We only use the information for the purpose of responding to your questions and/or comments or to provide customer support and otherwise improve our products and Online Services. In most cases, your message is deleted immediately after we’ve resolved your inquiry; however, in some instances, copies of your requests may be kept on file for our records, for legal and/or quality control purposes, or to provide ongoing support services you have requested. If we obtain actual knowledge that the person with whom we’re communicating is a child (as defined under applicable law), we promptly delete the child’s e-mail address and messages, except where we are required to retain it under applicable law.
In addition to responding to your email correspondence and sending you information you have requested via our email lists, we send activation emails and other transactional emails to your e-mail address as necessary. If you do not wish to receive such messages, you have the option to deactivate your account.
Resumes: Gearbox allows for the online submission of resumes. Personal information collected from resumes will be used solely for the purpose of accepting and evaluating candidate submissions for job postings, and is therefore not governed by this Privacy Policy. Information obtained from resumes may be shared within Gearbox by parents, subsidiaries, or affiliates. You can view our job applicant privacy policy here: https://gearboxpublishing.com/applicantprivacypolicy/.
HOW WE USE COOKIES, TRACK IP ADDRESSES, AND USE OTHER PASSIVE MEANS TO COLLECT INFORMATION
Gearbox uses cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking devices for certain Online Services to collect information. If you choose to provide us with personal information, it may be linked to the information collected by these technologies.
- Cookies: A “cookie” is a small text file with a unique identifier that websites often place on a user’s computer. Our cookies are typically used to quickly identify a user’s computer, browser, or device and to “remember” things about prior visits (such as the user’s use of various features). You can disable cookies or set your browser to alert you when cookies are being sent to your computer; however, disabling cookies may affect your ability to use certain Online Services. For more information about the cookies we use and your opt-out options, please visit our Cookie Policy.
- Web Beacons, clear GIFs and pixels: These are electronic images or graphics with a unique identifier that function in a similar way to cookies. They are used to track your activity on our Online Services, including to count users who visit certain web pages and view certain advertisements, as well as to personalize content on and off our Online Services. We also use these in our emails to let us know when they have been opened or forwarded, so we can gauge the effectiveness of our communications.
- Log Files: We collect certain activity information from log files. Log file information is automatically reported by your browser to our servers when you access our Online Services. We record certain information from these log files, including web requests, IP address, browser type and version, language information, referring and exiting URLs, links clicked, pages viewed and other similar information. We use these log file entries for our internal marketing, service design, technical support, and demographic studies, so we can constantly improve the Online Services we provide you.
- Advertising Service Providers: Some of our Online Services are supported by advertising provided by Gearbox or various third-party advertising agents, such as ad networks, data exchanges, traffic management service providers and marketing analytics service providers (“Advertising Service Providers”). Such Online Services may place and use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to collect information about your device and your use of Online Services. The information such Advertising Service Providers may collect, or we may share with them, includes your device type, IP address, MAC address or other device ID, browser type, language, operating system and generalized geographic location; the types of pages, content and ads you, or others who are using your device, visited or viewed and the frequency of your visit/viewing; and information regarding your use of or activities in connection with an Online Service (e.g., time spent using an Online Service or your purchases). This information may be collected or shared when you use an Online Service, click on a webpage or an advertisement, or launch one of our games, and may be used: (1) to ensure that an Advertising Service Provider is accurately and properly paid for an advertisement it placed on our behalf (e.g., an ad that led you to purchase or download one of our games or other Online Service); (2) to help prevent you from seeing the same ads over and over again; (3) to help select and display targeted ads or other content that may be of particular interest to you; (4) to measure and analyze advertising effectiveness and/or traffic in our Online Services and determine the popularity of certain content; and (5) to monitor and analyze the usage of our Online Services, so that we can continually enhance and improve them.
We may use third-party tools to process analytics information on our Services. Some of our analytics partners include:
- Google Analytics. For more information, please visit Google Analytics’ Privacy Policy. To learn more about how to opt-out of Google Analytics’ use of your information, please click here.
- New Relic. For more information, please visit New Relic’s Privacy Policy. To opt-out of interest-based advertising click here(or, if located in the European Union, click here).
- For more information, please visit Hotjar’s privacy policy. To opt out, please visit here.
- For more information and instructions on how to opt out, please visit Bugsnag’s privacy policy.
Some of our advertising partners include:
- Google (Audiences and DoubleClick). For more information, see Google’s privacy policy. To opt out, please visit here.
- Facebook. For more information including how to opt out, please visit here.
For more information about the advertising-related cookies we use and your opt-out options, please visit our Cookie Policy. Additionally, for information and to opt out of receiving targeted ads from participating third-party ad networks, please go to:
- S. Users: aboutads.info/choices(Digital Advertising Alliance) (You can also download the DAA AppChoices tool in order to help control interest-based advertising on apps on your mobile device) or https://www.networkadvertising.org/managing/opt_out.asp (Network Advertising Initiative)
- EU Users: eu(European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance)
- Canada Users: ca/choices/(Digital Advertising Alliance of Canada)
Opting out of tracking by participating ad networks does not opt you out of being served advertising. You may continue to receive generic or “contextual” ads on our Online Services. You may also continue to receive targeted ads on other websites, from companies that do not participate in the above programs.
DO NOT TRACK
Do Not Track (“DNT”) is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers. Please note that we do not respond to or honor DNT signals or similar mechanisms transmitted by web browsers.
HOW WE USE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
While the purposes for which we may process personal information will vary depending upon the circumstances, in general, we use personal information for the business and commercial purposes set forth below. Where GDPR or other similar laws apply, our processing is pursuant to our contract with you, with your consent, and/or as needed to comply with our legal obligations or further our legitimate business objectives. Some of our bases for processing are described below:
- Providing our Online Services: We and our service providers use the information we collect to operate our Online Services, including to administer tournaments, contests, sweepstakes and promotions; to communicate with users about their access to and use of our Online Services; to respond to user inquiries, comments and complaints; to fulfil orders and requests; to process payments; to provide troubleshooting and other technical support; and for other customer service and support purposes.
These uses of the personal information we collect are necessary for us to perform our contract with you, on the basis of your consent, and/or to serve our legitimate business interests.
- Protecting the integrity of the Online Services: We use the information we collect to verify your identity; to detect and prevent fraud, cheating and unauthorized activities; to facilitate Publishing updates; to secure our systems and the Online Services; to prevent hacking, cheats and spamming; to enforce our End User License Agreement and other applicable terms; and to protect the rights and safety of our users. Gearbox reserves the right to terminate any Gearbox license upon violating these policies.
These uses of the personal information we collect are necessary for us to perform our contract with you, on the basis of your consent, and/or to serve our legitimate business interests. They may also be necessary to comply with the law.
- Analyzing and improving the Online Services: We use the information we collect to better understand how users access and use our Online Services; to evaluate and improve the Online Services and our business operations; to develop new games, features, offerings and services; to conduct surveys and other evaluations; and for other research and analytical purposes.
We collect and process this information on the basis of your consent, and/or as needed to serve our legitimate business interests.
- Personalizing the Online Services: We use the information we collect to tailor content we send or display on our Online Services (e.g., for your geographic area); to offer personalized help and instructions; to tailor your gameplay experiences; and to otherwise personalize your experiences with the Online Services.
These uses of the personal information we collect serve our legitimate business interests, and may also be processed on the basis of your consent.
- Advertising, marketing and promotional purposes: We use the information we collect to send or display targeted marketing; to reach you with more relevant ads and to evaluate, measure and improve the effectiveness of our ad campaigns; to send you newsletters, offers or other information we think may interest you; to contact you about our Online Services or information we think may interest you; and to administer promotions, sweepstakes and contests. Where required by applicable law, we will obtain your consent to use your personal information for marketing and related purposes.
These uses of the personal information we collect serve our legitimate business interests. In some circumstances, we will also obtain and rely upon your consent, which you can then withdraw at any time.
- Defending our legal rights: We may use the information we collect to manage and respond to legal disputes and claims, and to otherwise establish, defend or protect our rights or interests.
These uses of the personal information we collect serve our legitimate business interests. They may also be necessary to comply with the law.
- Complying with legal obligations: To comply with applicable legal or regulatory obligations, including as part of a judicial proceeding; to respond to a subpoena, warrant, court order, or other legal process; or as part of an investigation or request, whether formal or informal, from law enforcement or a governmental authority.
These uses of the personal information we collect serve our legitimate business interests. They may also be necessary to comply with the law.
HOW WE SHARE INFORMATION WE COLLECT
In this section, we describe how we may disclose your personal information. When required by applicable law, we will obtain your consent prior to disclosure.
- Service Providers: We may engage third-party service providers to provide services to us or to users on our behalf, such as support for the internal operations of our Online Services (e.g., payment processing, forum operations, contest operations, email fulfillment, technical support processing, etc.), as well as related offline product support services, data storage and other services. In providing their services, the service providers may access, receive, maintain or otherwise process personal information on our behalf. We endeavor to ensure that our contracts with these service providers do not permit use of your personal information for their own marketing and other purposes. In the event we offer services or promotions where your personal information is separately collected and used according to the privacy policy of a third party, we will endeavor to inform you of that at the time of collection and you may elect not to participate in the service or promotion.
- Affiliates:We may share your personal information and other information (including gameplay and analytics information) with our affiliates, including for their own direct marketing, to assist us with marketing our Online Services, analytics, research and demographic studies, development, for administrative purposes, including activities such as IT management, and to help us improve and tailor the Online Services we provide. The affiliate companies with whom we share your personal information are subject to this Privacy Policy when they use your personal information.
- Advertising and Analytics Partners: We may, at times, engage third parties that provide advertising, campaign measurement, analytics, and related services to us (with your consent, where required by applicable laws). They may use this information to help us better reach individuals with relevant ads and to measure and improve our ad campaigns, or to better understand how individuals interact with our Online Services. In addition, these third parties may combine the information collected from us and our Online Services with information collected about you from third-party sites, apps and services, in order to make inferences about you and your interests, to better tailor advertising and content to you across multiple sites, apps, and services, and to collect associated metrics.
- SNS features: Some of our Online Services offer SNS features and widgets, such as the Share This button. These third-party SNS features may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly and may collect information about you when you use them, such as your IP address and which page you are visiting on our site. SNS features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly by our Online Services. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the feature. Please review each company’s governing policies before using their services.
- APIs/SDKs. We may use third-party Application Program Interfaces (“APIs”) and Publishing Development Kits (“SDKs”) as part of the functionality of our Services. For more information about our use of APIs and SDKs, please contact us as set forth in “How to Contact Us” below.
- Legally Required:We may also disclose your personal information if we believe in good faith that we are required to do so by law, or that doing so is reasonably necessary to comply with legal processes; when we believe necessary or appropriate to disclose personal information to law enforcement or other governmental or regulatory authorities or the courts, such as to investigate actual or suspected fraud or violations of law, breaches of security, or breaches of this Privacy Policy, our End User License Agreement or other applicable terms; to exercise our rights; to respond to any claims against us; and to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Gearbox, our customers, or the public.
- Corporate Transactions:Your personal information may be disclosed as part of a proposed or actual merger, sale, or transfer of Gearbox assets, acquisition, bankruptcy, or similar corporate transaction.
- With Consent:We may disclose your personal information where you have consented or requested that we do so.
- Public Disclosure: Online gaming and social networking services are by their very nature open communities where gameplay information including user names, game activity, and leaderboard rankings are publicly posted for other people to see. Therefore, Gearbox will automatically post certain information and gameplay statistics, within the game, on social networking services, and on our other Online Services. We will endeavor not to post information that we know directly identifies you (such as your real name or email address) unless you provide that information voluntarily for such use. As with other gameplay information services, your gameplay, leaderboards, and multiplayer match information may appear nested in our games or third-party webpages via frames or widgets. Your participation in tournaments or other online game events is conditional upon our collection, use, storage, transmission and public display of statistical data (such as your scores, rankings, and achievements) generated through your participation.
Notwithstanding anything else in this Privacy Policy, we may share aggregate or de-identified information with third parties for research, marketing, analytics and other purposes, provided such information could not reasonably be used to identify a particular individual.
YOUR RIGHTS TO REVIEW, CONTROL, CORRECT & DELETE THE USE OR DISPLAY OF DATA
Email Communications. If you do not want to receive certain communications such as newsletters or promotional offers, you may indicate your preference at the time your personal information is requested or later opt-out by using the methods listed below. In addition to the methods below, along with most communications sent to you, Gearbox gives you the opportunity to discontinue receiving future communications by providing links at the bottom of the email communication. If for any reason you wish to unsubscribe from Gearbox mailing lists, please log in to manage your account or use the “unsubscribe from this list” or “update your preferences” links at the bottom of most Gearbox email messages.
Your Privacy Rights. In accordance with applicable law, you may have the right to:
- Access Personal Information about you, including: (i) confirming whether we are processing your personal information; (ii) obtaining access to or a copy of your personal information;
- Request Correction of your personal information where it is inaccurate, incomplete or outdated. In some cases, we may provide self-service tools that enable you to update your personal information;
- Request Deletion, Anonymization or Blocking of your personal information when processing is based on your consent or when processing is unnecessary, excessive or noncompliant;
- Request Restriction of or Object to our processing of your personal information when processing is noncompliant;
- Withdraw your Consent to our processing of your personal information. If you refrain from providing personal information or withdraw your consent to processing, some features of our Service may not be available;
- Request data portability and receive an electronic copy of personal information that you have provided to us;
- Be informed about third parties with which your personal information has been shared; and
- Request the review of decisions taken exclusively based on automated processing if that could affect your data subject rights.
To delete your Gearbox account, sign into your SHiFT account at https://shift.gearboxpublishing.com, click the “Other” link, then click “Delete My Account.”
In addition to the above methods, you may exercise the rights above by making a request via e-mail to [email protected], or you may write to us at Gearbox Publishing, ATTN: Privacy Policy, 5757 Main St., Suite 500, Frisco, TX 75034. Please indicate your country of residence in your correspondence.
DATA RETENTION
We will retain your personal information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide the relevant services. After such time, we will either delete or anonymize your information or, if this is not possible (e.g., because the information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your information and isolate it from any further use until deletion occurs, as required under applicable law. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your personal information to provide you services, please contact us as described above. If your account is inactive for a period of time, it may be deleted. If information is changed or deleted, we may still retain some of your information in our files to resolve disputes, enforce our End User License Agreement or other applicable terms, administer our services, comply with technical and legal requirements, and/or other constraints related to the security, integrity, and operation of our Online Services.
In all cases for our Online Services, we will respond to your request for access to update, delete, or correct inaccuracies to your personal information.
LINKS TO OTHER SITES
You should be aware that while you are on our Online Services you could be directed to other websites and services that are operated by third parties and, therefore, governed by different privacy policies and terms of use. The fact that we link to a third party’s website or online service is not an endorsement, authorization, or representation of our affiliation with that third party. We recommend reading the privacy policy and terms of use of any third-party website or online service you link to before you submit any of your personal information.
CHILDREN’S PRIVACY
Gearbox’s Online Services are not intended for users under the age of 16. Gearbox does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 16 years old. If we become aware that a child under 16 has submitted information to Gearbox, we delete this information following its discovery. We encourage parents to instruct their children to never give out their real names, addresses, or phone numbers, without permission, when using the Internet. If you are a parent or guardian and are concerned about the transfer of personal information about your child, please do not allow your child to access the Online Services and contact [email protected]. If we become aware that a child has provided us with personal information in violation of applicable law, we will delete any personal information we have collected (unless we have a legal obligation to keep it), and terminate the child’s account if applicable.
SAFEGUARDS USED TO PROTECT YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
To protect your personal information, Gearbox follows generally accepted industry standards and maintains reasonable safeguards to attempt to ensure the security, integrity, and privacy of the information you have provided. Gearbox has security measures in place designed to protect against the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. However, no system can be 100% secure and human errors occur, so there is the possibility that there could be unauthorized access to your information. By using our Online Services, you assume all such risks.
YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS
This section provides information for California residents. Gearbox may require proof of California residency before responding to requests made under this section.
Your Rights Under California’s Shine-the-Light Law
Since 2005, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits our customers who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. You may send inquiries regarding our disclosure policy to Gearbox Publishing, LLC, ATTN: Privacy Policy, 5757 Main St., Suite 500, Frisco, TX 75034.
CALIFORNIA CONSUMER PRIVACY ACT OF 2018
Categories of Personal Information Collected and Shared
In the chart below, we identify each category of personal information that we have collected about our users in the last 12 months using the categories enumerated in the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). For each category of personal information we have collected, we also identify (i) the source(s) from which the information was collected; and (ii) the purpose(s) for which it was collected. Below the chart, we identify the categories of third parties, if any, with which it has been shared.
Each category of information is collected for the purposes listed below and described above in this Privacy Policy.
| Categories of Personal Information | Sources | Purposes for Collection | Categories of Third Parties Information is Disclosed to for a Business Purpose |
| Personal Identifiers, such as your account name, SHiFT ID, name, email address, phone numbers, social media handles |
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· Data Analytics providers
· Service Providers · Other users (Shift ID and social media handles you share via the Online Services) · Advertising networks (hashed email only) |
| Protected Classifications, such as your age/date of birth |
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· Data Analytics providers
· Service Providers
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| Commercial Information, such as your order details/history, subscriptions, refunds, payments, shipping details |
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| Activity Information, such as your region, activity log, cookies, operating systems and versions, forum content |
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| Inferences about a Person, such as your reputation, experience |
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| Geolocation Data, such as your geolocation based on IP address, IP address |
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| Customer Service, such as your account restriction history, case details, complaints and penalty histories, issue raised |
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| Tournament/Match Data, such as your match details, team profile, performance stats, tournament details, player handle |
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| Game Data, such as your purchased items in game, unlocks, social, progression |
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In addition to the sharing described above, we may share the above personal information with affiliates government entities and law enforcement. The purposes for which we share the personal information is described in detail above.
Rights of California Residents
Right to Know: If you are a California resident, you may submit, free of charge, but no more than twice in a 12-month period, a verifiable request for the following information:
- The specific pieces of personal information we have about you;
- The categories of personal information we collected, sold, or disclosed for a business purpose about you within the last 12 months;
- The categories of sources from which the personal information was collected;
- The purposes for which the information was collected or sold; and
- The categories of third parties to whom the information was sold, disclosed for a business purpose, or otherwise shared.
If possible, we will provide this information to you in a readily usable format that allows transmission to another entity.
To submit a request, please email us at [email protected]. Email requests must include “Your California Privacy Rights” in the subject field. Within 10 days of receipt, we will let you know we received your request. We will provide a substantive response within 45 days, unless we need more time, in which case we will notify you. If we need additional information to verify your identity, we will contact you to request that information (e.g., we may ask you to answer questions regarding your use of our Online Services). If we are not able to verify your identity, we will deny your request, but if applicable, we will refer you to the applicable sections of this Privacy Policy that address our data collection and use practices. If we deny your request, even if only in part, we will explain the reason in our response.
Right to Delete: If you are a California resident, you may submit a verifiable request for us to delete any personal information we have collected about you. To submit a request, please email us at [email protected] or by regular mail at Gearbox Publishing, LLC, ATTN: Privacy Policy, 5757 Main St., Suite 500, Frisco, TX 75034. Email requests must include “Your California Privacy Rights” in the subject field. Within 10 days of receipt, we will confirm receipt of your request. We will provide a substantive response within 45 days, unless we need more time, in which case we will notify you. If we need additional information to verify your identity, we will contact you to request that information. If we are not able to verify your identity, we will deny your request to delete. If we deny your request, even if only in part, we will explain the reason in our response.
Right to be Free from Discrimination: We may not discriminate against you because you have chosen to exercise your rights, including, for example, by denying you access to our Online Services or charging you different rates or prices for the same online services, unless that difference is reasonably related to the value provided by your data.
Right to Opt-Out: California residents may opt out of the “sale” of their personal information, as defined by the CCPA. This does not include when:
- You direct us to disclose your personal information or use us to interact with a third party and the third party does not sell the personal information;
- We use or share an identifier solely to alert a third party you have opted out of the sale of your personal information;
- Your personal information is transferred as an asset as part of a transaction in which the third party assumes control of all or part of our business, in which case the third party would have to tell you in writing if it materially changes how the information is used or shared; and
- We use or share your personal information under a written contract with a service provider necessary to perform a business purpose. Here, the service the service provider performs is on our behalf, and our written contract prohibits it from keeping, using or disclosing your personal information for any purpose other than for the specific purpose identified in the contract.
In these cases, the disclosure of your personal information would not be considered a “sale” under CCPA. We use and share your information as described in this privacy policy. We have not sold personal information about you in the last 12 months (as the term “sale” is defined under the CCPA) and currently have no plans to do so in the future. However, we have provided you with a system to record your preference that your data not be sold in the future. You may make this request by contacting us at [email protected] or mailing it to us at Gearbox Publishing, LLC, ATTN: Privacy Policy, 5757 Main St., Suite 500, Frisco, TX 75034.
Exercising Your Rights: To submit a verifiable request or to otherwise contact us for more information about how to exercise your rights, please follow the instructions above. If you would like to designate an authorized agent to make a request on your behalf, please be sure the agent can (i) demonstrate you have provided written permission for the agent to submit the request on your behalf, and (ii) provide proof of his or her own identity. If the agent does not satisfy these requirements, we will deny the request.
Children: Our Services are not directed to children, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 16. Nor do we knowingly sell personal information of children under 16 years old. If you learn that a child has provided us with personal information, then you may contact us as indicated above.
Refer-a-friend programs. As described above, we may offer “refer-a-friend” programs. We may offer incentives to you such as discounts or promotional credit in connection with these programs, wherein you provide personal information regarding your friends or colleagues (such as their email address) and receive rewards when they sign up to use our Online Services. (The referred party may also receive rewards for signing up via your referral.) These referral programs are entirely voluntary and allow us to grow our business and provide additional benefits to you. The value of the referred party’s data to us depends on whether the referred party ultimately uses our Online Services. Said value will be reflected in the incentive offered for each referral.
Accessibility. This Privacy Policy uses industry-standard technologies and was developed in line with the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, version 2.1. If you wish to print this policy, please do so from your web browser or by saving the page as a PDF.
Right for minors to remove posted content. Where required by law, California residents under the age of 18 may request to have their posted content or information removed from the publicly-viewable portions of the Services by contacting us as set forth below, or by logging into their account and removing the content or information using our self-service tools, where available.
NOTICE FOR NEVADA RESIDENTS
If you are a resident of Nevada, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of certain Personal Information to third parties who intend to license or sell that Personal Information. You can exercise this right by contacting us at [email protected] with the subject line “Nevada Do Not Sell Request” and providing us with your name and the email address associated with your account. Please note that we do not currently sell your Personal Information as sales are defined in Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 603A.
WHERE INFORMATION IS STORED
All information collected or received by Gearbox in connection with the Online Services is collected in, processed in, or transferred to the United States of America. While your information is in another jurisdiction, it may be accessed by the courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities pursuant to the laws of those jurisdictions. . Backup data, matchmaking data, and administrative data may also be stored on media or servers located in the United States of America. We endeavor to safeguard your information consistent with the requirements of applicable laws.
HOW TO CONTACT US
For all questions or complaints about this Privacy Policy, contact our Data Protection Officer via email at [email protected]; or by regular mail at Gearbox Publishing, LLC, ATTN: DPO, 5757 Main St., Suite 500, Frisco, TX 75034. If you have a disability that makes exercising any of your rights in this Privacy Policy difficult, we want to help you through alternative means. Please contact us using the contact information above and let us know how we may best help you.
If you are located in the European Union, please indicate that in your email or letter, with the understanding that you may also have the right to complain to an EU data protection authority.
As mentioned above, Gearbox is a member of the ESRB’s Privacy Certified Program. If you believe we have not responded to your inquiry or your inquiry has not been satisfactorily addressed, you may contact ESRB Privacy Certified by email at [email protected] or via its online contact form available at https://www.esrb.org/privacy/contact/.
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