Starry Studio’s supernatural looter shooterOnce Humanwas released this week to the tune of hundreds of eagerfans desperately downloadingso they could hop in and start grinding. However, as they worked through the opening screens, some were put off by the game’s incredibly invasive privacy policy.
Fans immediately hopped onto theOnce Humansubredditto check with others whether what the privacy policy was asking for was normal because it seems to say it’ll access more information than other privacy policies in similar games usually mention. Some fans attempted to calm things down, but so many were directly askingOnce Human‘s social accounts about the document that Starry Studios has had to issue a statement clarifying why it is asking for each user’s permission to process personal data.
Data will only be used under specific circumstances
In a statement on Twitter, theOnce Humanaccountposted a lengthy explanationof why the game’s privacy policy asks for permission to access so much data. Among those that users were most concerned about is government ID and social media account information.
Dear Metas,Thank you for your attention and continued support of Once Human. We are truly grateful for all your feedback!We would like to take this opportunity to address concerns we’ve seen regarding the game’s privacy policy and confusion about the use of the NetEase…pic.twitter.com/oVTs4lgQ6P
However, as you can read above, the privacy policy lists all of the information that Starry Studio might be required to access for any user for a wide array of reasons. For example, a government ID might be required for distributing prizes for in-game competitions, or for verifying a user’s age. Social media account information may be used as part of surveys, but just like government IDs, this information isn’t stored and will be deleted after a set period of time. If you’re concerned, you can read through the Privacy Policy section of thegame’s launch FAQfor more information.
Perhaps the most important part of that launch FAQ is this line: “We will only use your data lawfully and reasonably and in accordance with local legal compliance requirements.” This really outlines exactly why the privacy policy asks for so much data. Starry Studios is frontloading you with this document to ask permission to process as much information as possible based on what other similar games have had to process to avoid updating the documentation, requiring multiple checks in many languages in the future.
The other element to these privacy policy concerns is the NetEase Launcher. This is the platform users must download to playOnce Humanif they download the game directly fromStarry Studios’ website. The NetEase Launcher is, in the developer’s opinion, a great platform for both users who play multiple games hosted on it, and for developers running several games who want a single system to distribute them through.
Starry Studios is very clear that you don’t have to download the NetEase Launcher to playOnce Human, though. The game is available onSteamas well, so there’s no need to you to use that platform if you’re uncomfortable doing so. There’s no denying that privacy policies like this can be scary, especially if they appear and block a game’s opening cutscene, which I’ve heard reports of inOnce Human.
However, in this case, the developer is attempting to be transparent about what personal data it might require in the future instead of acting like a shady megacorporation that steals your data in the background. Questioning the privacy policy is sensible, and thanks to the users who have, we have a satisfying explanation of what this document means in terms anyone can understand, not just lawyers.
