This Privacy Policy explains what personal information Albus, Inc. ("Albus", "we", "us") collects when you use our mobile apps, our web client at albus.games, and any related services (together, the "Service"), how we use it, and the choices you have. We've tried to write it in plain language. If anything is unclear, email us at privacy@albus.games.
We collect what we need to run a casual gaming and live-streaming platform — your account info, gameplay events, stream and chat content, and payment data when you buy Coins. We don't sell your personal data. You can request a copy or deletion at any time.
Who we are
Albus, Inc. is the data controller for the personal information described in this Policy. You can reach us by email at privacy@albus.games or through our Support page. If you live in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you can also reach our representative through the same channels.
What we collect
Information you give us
- Account info: username, email address, password (hashed), date of birth, profile picture, and any social login identifier (e.g. Google, Apple).
- Profile content: bio, avatar, friend list, and any preferences you save.
- Communications: chat messages sent during streams, gift messages, and any support requests you send us.
- Streamed content: the live audio and video you broadcast, plus its recorded VOD.
Information we collect automatically
- Device & technical data: device model, OS version, app version, browser type, IP address, language and region, and crash logs.
- Gameplay events: games played, session length, scores, achievements, artifact use, and other in-game telemetry sent through the Albus SDK.
- Stream & chat metadata: stream start/end times, viewer counts, chat message timestamps, and gifting events.
- Approximate location: derived from your IP address (country and region only).
Information from third parties
- Payment processors (Apple, Google, Stripe) confirm to us that a purchase succeeded; we do not receive your full card number.
- Social login providers share basic profile info if you choose to sign in with them.
How we use it
We use your information to:
- Create and operate your account, friends list, and wallet.
- Run multiplayer matches, live streams, chat, and gifting.
- Process Coin purchases and prevent fraud.
- Send service notifications (and, if you opt in, marketing).
- Moderate content, enforce our Community Guidelines, and protect users from harm.
- Improve the Service through aggregated analytics.
- Comply with our legal obligations.
If you're in the EEA or UK, we rely on the following legal bases: performance of our contract with you (to run the Service), legitimate interests (security, fraud prevention, product improvement), legal obligation (tax, financial reporting, child safety law), and your consent (for marketing emails and certain cookies).
Who we share with
We share personal information only when needed and only with:
- Other users. Your username, avatar, friend status, public streams, and chat messages are visible to other users by design.
- Service providers. Cloud hosting (AWS), payment processors (Apple, Google, Stripe), analytics, error monitoring, push notification providers, and customer support tooling — all bound by contracts to use data only for us.
- Legal & safety. Law enforcement or other parties when we're legally required, or to protect users from imminent harm.
- Corporate transactions. A buyer or successor entity if Albus is acquired or restructured. You'll be notified before your data moves.
We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising.
Cookies & tracking
The web client uses cookies and similar technologies to keep you logged in, remember your preferences, secure your session, and measure basic usage. For details on each category and how to manage them, see our Cookie Policy.
Streaming & chat
When you stream gameplay, your audio, video, and game state are broadcast to viewers through our streaming infrastructure. Public streams are visible to anyone on Albus; Friends-Only streams are visible to your accepted friends; Invite-Only streams are visible only to people you invite.
Streams are recorded as VODs and retained for up to 48 hours, after which they are deleted (except where we are required to retain them for moderation or legal reasons). Chat messages are retained for the duration of the stream and its VOD window.
Reports of harmful content, copies of moderated messages, and related metadata may be retained longer for safety enforcement and legal compliance.
Payments & Coins
Coins are an in-app virtual currency. When you buy Coins:
- On mobile, Apple or Google handles your payment under their own privacy terms; we receive a confirmation and the transaction ID.
- On the web (where available), Stripe handles your card data; we receive the last four digits, card brand, and a transaction token.
We store your Coin balance, gifting history, and tournament transactions on our servers, and we use them to detect fraud, comply with tax and accounting rules, and resolve disputes.
Children & teens
Albus is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. In some regions the minimum age is higher (16 in parts of the EEA, for example) and our age-gate enforces those limits.
For users between 13 and 18:
- Coin purchases and gifting may require verified-adult status in regions that legally require it.
- Streaming privacy defaults to Friends-Only.
- Direct messages from non-friends can be disabled.
If you believe a child has given us information without parental consent, email privacy@albus.games and we'll delete it.
Your rights
Depending on where you live, you have the right to:
| Right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Access | Get a copy of the personal data we hold about you. |
| Correction | Fix data that's inaccurate or incomplete. |
| Deletion | Have your account and personal data erased, subject to limited exceptions (e.g. records we must keep for tax law). |
| Portability | Receive your data in a machine-readable format. |
| Objection | Object to certain processing, including direct marketing. |
| Withdraw consent | Opt out of any processing based on your consent. |
| Complain | Lodge a complaint with your local data-protection authority. |
To exercise any of these, email privacy@albus.games or visit our Support page. We'll respond within 30 days.
Data retention
We keep different kinds of data for different lengths of time:
- Account data — until you delete your account, plus a short grace period.
- VOD recordings — up to 48 hours after the stream ends.
- Chat logs — duration of the stream's VOD window; reported messages may be kept longer for moderation.
- Transaction records — typically 7 years to meet tax and accounting requirements.
- Server logs — generally 90 days, longer if needed for security investigations.
Security
We protect your data with HTTPS in transit, encryption at rest for sensitive fields, role-based access controls, mandatory two-factor authentication for staff, and routine security review. Payments handled by our processors are PCI-DSS compliant.
No system is perfectly secure. If we ever discover a breach affecting your data, we'll notify you and the relevant authorities as required by law.
International transfers
Albus operates internationally. Your data may be processed in countries other than where you live, including the United States. Where required, we use Standard Contractual Clauses or other approved mechanisms to protect data transferred outside the EEA, UK, and Switzerland.
Changes to this Policy
We'll update this Policy from time to time. If we make material changes, we'll notify you in-app and by email at least 14 days before they take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top always reflects the current version.
Contact us
Questions, requests, or complaints about this Policy:
- Email: privacy@albus.games
- Mail: Albus, Inc., Attn: Privacy Team, [Company address]
- Support: support.html