Gameplay analytics and automatic Unity error diagnostics are optional. You can decline and keep playing. They are sent to Aberratic's own collector only after the corresponding consent choice. Bug reports are sent only when you submit them; screenshots, diagnostic attachments and save archives remain separate choices.
01 / Who is responsible?
Aberratic SRL, company number 0792.529.095, with its registered office at Préfayhai 33/D, 4900 Spa, Belgium, is the controller for the processing described in this policy.
For privacy questions and requests, contact contact@aberratic.com, or write to our registered office with the reference “Fear Tide privacy”.
This policy covers Fear Tide and its playtests in their current configuration. Distribution platforms, including Steam, also apply their own policies to their services. Information about visiting aberratic.com is available in our legal and website privacy notice.
02 / What data do we process?
Gameplay analytics and automatic error diagnostics, with your consent
Current builds use Aberratic's private Analytics service at collect.aberratic.com. The data includes:
- session starts, periodic session activity and session ends;
- quests, attempts, progression, expeditions, maps, combat, deaths, crafting, trading and sleep actions configured by the game;
- the project, playtest campaign, build version, event identifiers and UTC dates and times;
- a pseudonymous player identifier derived from the authenticated Steam account and a session identifier;
- for automatic diagnostics: Unity Error, Exception or Assert type, a limited message and stack trace, an error fingerprint, occurrence counts, first and last occurrence times and a truncation flag.
Identical errors are grouped before transmission and on the private site. A repeated upload is deduplicated before occurrence counts are added. Messages and stack traces are limited, and common paths, email addresses, Steam identifiers, URLs and credential patterns are masked. These filters reduce exposure; they cannot guarantee that every piece of personal information in an arbitrary error message is recognised.
This data is pseudonymous, not anonymous. The player identifier can link sessions for the same Steam account within Fear Tide, including its main application and playtest. Steam tickets are checked to authenticate the application and account; the raw Steam account identifier is not stored in the Analytics event payload. The current collector does not forward these Analytics events or automatic error diagnostics to Unity Analytics or Google.
Automatic error diagnostics do not take screenshots, upload save archives or submit a written bug report. Error text and stack traces are available only to authorised Analytics members of the project and are excluded from public shared analyses.
Bug reports and feedback, when you submit them
A submitted report includes its category, the text you enter, the game version, relevant scene, report identifier, campaign and receipt time. If you choose the corresponding attachment options, it may also include a screenshot; a diagnostic snapshot with device information, performance, loaded scenes, gameplay state, recent actions and grouped Unity errors; or a limited archive of selected game save data.
Character position means an in-game position, not physical location. Save archives are attached only when you choose that option, within the game's file and size limits. Text, screenshots, save data and diagnostics can contain personal information: avoid passwords, contact details or sensitive information. Delivery and hosting services may process network data such as the IP address needed to receive requests.
Local preferences and queued data
Consent preferences and the Analytics outbox are stored on your device. Events recorded with consent may wait there while the connection is unavailable, then be retried with their original identifiers and campaign. When an updated consent choice is required, an earlier gameplay-only choice does not enable automatic error collection. Declining or withdrawing the relevant consent stops collection and clears the pending Analytics outbox according to the game controls.
03 / Purposes and legal bases
| Processing | Purpose and legal basis |
|---|---|
| Gameplay analytics and automatic diagnostics | Understanding progression, sessions and returning players; balancing gameplay; detecting stability problems and comparing error impact between campaigns and builds. Legal basis: your consent, under Article 6(1)(a) GDPR. We may share aggregated gameplay statistics with prospective publishing partners; public shares exclude individual event histories, player identifiers and error message/stack text. |
| Reports and chosen attachments | Investigating the problems and suggestions you submit and improving Fear Tide. Legal basis: our legitimate interest in maintaining and improving the game, under Article 6(1)(f) GDPR. Attachments remain optional. |
| Privacy requests | Answering requests and meeting data protection obligations. Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation, under Article 6(1)(c) GDPR. |
See the GDPR for the legal provisions referenced here. We do not use this tracking for targeted advertising, sell your data or make automated decisions producing legal or similarly significant effects concerning you.
04 / Your choices in the game
The game lets you allow or decline the Analytics collection described here. Without the required consent, gameplay tracking and automatic error diagnostics remain disabled. Declining does not restrict access to the game. Updated builds ask for a new choice before enabling the added automatic error diagnostics; an earlier gameplay-only choice is insufficient for that new collection.
You can reopen the Analytics choice in the game's General settings. Withdrawing consent stops future collection and clears pending local Analytics events. It does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out on the basis of consent before withdrawal.
The local clear/delete control stops collection and clears the local outbox; it does not by itself erase records already received by Aberratic. To request server-side erasure, contact contact@aberratic.com. Authorised project administrators can review and confirm a server-side deletion covering stored and pending events. Minimal event receipts can remain to prevent a later retry from recreating deleted events.
Bug reports remain separate: you can submit a report even if you declined Analytics. Choosing Analytics or automatic diagnostics does not automatically submit a report, screenshot or save archive. Erasing Analytics records does not automatically erase submitted Feedback or data held by Steam or a provider used by an older build.
05 / Providers and international transfers
Within Aberratic, access is restricted to authorised people who need the information to analyse the game, investigate stability, handle feedback or answer requests. The current service uses:
- Hostinger for the private application, collection server and databases. See Hostinger's privacy information.
- Cloudflare R2 for private storage of optional Feedback attachments. See Cloudflare's privacy information.
- Valve / Steam for distribution, platform services and game-session ticket verification. Valve applies its Privacy Policy Agreement.
These providers operate internationally. Processing locations and applicable transfer arrangements depend on the service configuration and contractual terms. Contact contact@aberratic.com for information about the locations and safeguards relevant to a request. Earlier builds may have used other services, including Unity Analytics or Google-based report reception; historical records held by those services remain subject to their arrangements and the relevant privacy requests.
06 / How long do we keep data?
- Private gameplay and error records: retention depends on their usefulness for the current playtest, investigating an active stability issue and comparing regressions between builds. A fixed automatic expiry is not yet configured for every record in the private collector. The former Unity Analytics service's retention period does not describe this collector. Data that is no longer needed for these purposes must be removed or effectively anonymised; you can request erasure without waiting for an automatic expiry.
- Bug reports and attachments: no longer than 12 months after receipt, with deletion organised through reviews of reports and associated files. Identifying information is removed earlier when unnecessary to investigate an issue.
- Local choices and queued events: until the relevant choice is changed, the outbox is cleared, records expire under the game's queue limits or the local application data is deleted.
- Privacy requests: while handling the request, then only information needed to demonstrate the response or meet a legal obligation, for the period applicable to that obligation or a dispute.
Backup copies follow their rotation cycles. Minimal deletion receipts are retained to prevent resubmitted events from reappearing. Information retained exceptionally for a legal obligation or dispute is restricted to that purpose. Effectively anonymous statistics may be retained to monitor development.
07 / Exercising your rights
Subject to the conditions set out in the GDPR, you may request access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing and portability of data processed on the basis of your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time and object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to processing based on our legitimate interests.
Email contact@aberratic.com and explain your request. For Feedback, include its report reference, date or details that help locate it. For Analytics, mention the campaign, approximate play time and Steam account concerned so that we can locate the pseudonymous records and verify ownership proportionately. Do not send your Steam password, access tokens or authentication ticket. Local deletion alone does not erase server records.
We normally respond within one month. If the complexity or number of requests warrants an extension permitted by the GDPR, we will inform you during that first month. We request identity verification only where we have reasonable doubts and only to a proportionate extent.
You may lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority in the country of your habitual residence, place of work or the alleged infringement. In Belgium, this is the Data Protection Authority, Rue de la Presse 35, 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
08 / Children
Fear Tide is not specifically directed at children. We do not seek to knowingly collect data from children who cannot consent independently under applicable law. If you are a parent or legal representative and believe a child has provided such data, please contact us so we can investigate and take appropriate action.
09 / Security and updates
We limit transmitted data to the needs described here and use HTTPS connections for transmission. Access to reports and analytics tools must remain restricted to authorised people. No transmission or storage system can, however, guarantee absolute security.
We will update this policy when features or processing practices change. The version and date appear at the top of the page. Where a change requires renewed consent, we must ask for it before enabling the relevant processing.
Questions? Contact Aberratic.