Privacy Policy

PRIVACY POLICY

(Effective as of Feb 1, 2024)

1. Introduction
If you are here, you have reached us by visiting https://metatheory.gg, one of the other websites owned and operated by Metatheory, or our social media channels (the “Site(s)”), or by registering or installing any of Metatheory’s game offerings, such as Gimmecat, (the “Game” or “Games”), our content, events, applications, services, patches, updates, or tools, or by using any of our other online or offline services (collectively, the “Services”). Metatheory Inc. (“Metatheory”) is committed to protecting your privacy. This privacy policy explains our collection, use, disclosure, retention, and protection of your personal information, as well as your rights to your data under US and International Law, including but not limited to EU Directive 2002/58/EC and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”), Brazil’s Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (commonly referred to as the “LGPD”), the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003 (“CAN-SPAM”), the US Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”), and the choices you have associated with that data. We may refer to Metatheory Inc. herein as “Metatheory”, “we” or “us”. Also, please note that, unless we define a term in this Privacy Policy, all capitalized terms used in this Privacy Policy have the same meanings as in our Terms of Service and End User License Agreement, so, please make sure that you have read and understand these. Where we are required to identify a data controller pursuant to regulation, Metatheory is the designated controller of the data we collect.

This Privacy Policy applies to the Site, our Games (including without limitation enhancements thereto or future DLC), and our Services where this privacy policy is referenced, regardless of how they are accessed. This Privacy Policy does not apply to any third-party websites, services or applications, even if they are accessible through our Services.

For our policies in connection with the personal information of job applicants and employees of Metatheory, please refer to our Applicant & HR Privacy Notice at metatheory.gg/applicant-privacy-notice.

This Privacy Policy describes:

the information we collect, how we collect such information and the purposes of our collection;
how we use and with whom we share such information;
how you can access and update your information; and
how we protect the information we store about you.

Disclosure to California Residents**:** In our efforts to comply with applicable regulation, we ask and advise that California residents review the “CCPA Disclosure” at the end of this document. Although we do not sell user data, we will provide notice if at any time those circumstances change.

Disclosure to Residents of Brazil: The LGPD grants residents of Brazil certain rights about the processing of their personal information and we ask and advise that residents of Brazil review the relevant section under the “Your Rights” heading of this Privacy Policy.

2. Information We Collect
When you interact with our Services, we may collect and store information from you directly as described below:

2.1 Information Collected by Customer Support
When you ask for assistance from our Customer Support team, we will collect and store the contact information you provide (generally your name and e-mail address), information about your gameplay or activity on the Games. We will also store the correspondence and any information contained within.

2.2 Technical and Usage Information
When you access our Services, we may collect (i) certain technical information about your computer system, including IP Address, session ID, gameplay and player information, and the current version of your operating system; and (ii) usage statistics about your interactions with the Games, launchers and our Sites. We may collect the name you have associated with your device, device type, country, browser, page views and any other information you choose to provide, such as e-mail address. This information is typically collected through the use of third-parties.

2.3 Location Information
We or our third party providers may collect information for region-locking, and other such purposes, which may include information about the territory or region from which you access the Game by converting your IP address into a rough geo-location. We may use location information to improve and personalize our Services for you.

3. How We Collect Your Information
We may collect information about you in any one or more of the following ways:

Google Analytics (metatheory.gg) - this collects location based on available IP address, language, referrers

3.1 Communications Features
You may be able to take part in certain activities through our Services that give you the opportunity to communicate or share information not just with Metatheory, but also with other users of our Services. These include:

Posting public comments to our channels;
Sending private messages or feedback through our channels; and
Sharing user generated content or photos, if such feature is available.

We may use, record and store archives of these communications to protect the safety and well being of our users and Metatheory’s rights and property in connection with the Services.

3.2 Log Files and Automated Information Collection
When you access our Services, we collect certain technical information in order to (i) analyze the usage of our Services; and (ii) provide a more personalized experience. We and service providers acting on our behalf may use Log Files and tracking technologies to collect and analyze certain types of technical information, including Cookies, Flash Cookies, and Web Beacons.

“Log Files” means certain information about how a person uses our Services, including both registered and unregistered users (either, a “User”). Log Files may include information such as a User’s Internet Protocol (IP) addresses, device name, user language, time played, platform type, number of page clicks, player history, the amount of time spent on particular areas of a Game, Game state and the date and time of activity on our Site or the Games, webpage, and Game interactions and pages viewed, and other similar information.

Please note that companies delivering advertisements on our Sites may also use cookies or other technologies, and those practices are subject to their own policies.

3.3 Other Sources
We may collect or receive information from other sources including third party information providers. We do not condition participation in our Services on you providing more personal information than is reasonably necessary for that activity.

4. How We Use the Information We Collect
In general, we collect, store and use your information to provide you with a customized experience. For example, we may use information collected from you in any one or more of the following ways:

We use your personal information to fulfill a contract with you and provide you with our Services, to comply with our legal obligation, protect your vital interest, or as may be required for the public good. This includes:

to provide technical support and respond to user inquiries;
to prevent, detect, mitigate, and investigate fraud or potentially illegal activities, and enforce our Terms of Service and End User License Agreement;
to provide other services requested by you as described when we collect your information; and
to notify users of in-Game updates, or updates to our Terms of Service and End User License Agreement or this Privacy Policy.

We use your personal information to pursue our legitimate interests where your rights and freedoms do not outweigh these interests. We have implemented controls to balance our interests with your rights. This includes:

to track user retention and aggregated gameplay information to improve the overall user experience for Metatheory’s products and services;
to solicit input and feedback to improve Metatheory’s products and services and customize your user experience;
to use general location information to provide you with location based services; and
to contact you with information that we reasonably believe may be relevant to you.

With your consent, we may use your personal information:

to inform users about new products or promotional offers.

If you have provided your e-mail address to us, we may use it to respond to (i) customer support inquiries, and (ii) keep you informed of your in-game activity. With your consent, we may also send promotional e-mail messages (“Promotional Communications”) directly or in partnership with parties other than Metatheory. Each Promotional Communication will generally offer recipients choices about withdrawing consent so you no longer receive additional messages.

5. Sharing of Your Information
We may share your information (in some cases personal information) with third parties in the following circumstances:

5.1 Third Party Service Providers and Third Party Products and Services
We will provide your information to third party companies to perform certain services, including but not limited to data analysis, e-mail delivery, hosting services, customer service and to assist us in our marketing efforts. We direct all such third party service providers to maintain the confidentiality of the information disclosed to them and to not use your information for any purpose other than to provide services on Metatheory’s behalf.

We do not routinely share personal information with third parties except as may be necessary to provide Services to you. We may share (i) aggregated information (information about you and other users collectively, but not specifically identifiable to you); (ii) anonymous information; (iii) certain technical information (including IP Addresses and device or player IDs) to develop and deliver Services to you; (iv) personally identifiable information, including identify verification and other personal information as may be necessary to provide such Services.

We may also allow third parties to collect these types of information within the Games and they may share it with us. Advertisers may collect this information through the use of tracking technologies like browser cookies and web beacons.

We may disclose aggregated and anonymous information to describe the Services to prospective partners, advertisers, and other third parties, and for other lawful purposes. We may use aggregate, non-personally identifiable information for our own internal promotion or marketing purposes and we may share such aggregate non-personally identifiable information with others for marketing purposes.

In certain instances, you may need to opt in or opt out of advertising directly through our partners.

You may view a complete list of our third party service providers with links to their respective privacy policies as follows:

Third Party Service Provider Policies

5.2 Safety, Security and Compliance with Law
Your information may be disclosed: (i) when we have a good faith belief that we are required to disclose the information in response to legal process (for example, a court order, search warrant or subpoena); (ii) to satisfy any applicable laws or regulations; (iii) where we believe that the Games are being used in the commission of a crime, including to report such criminal activity or to exchange information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction; (iv) when we have a good faith belief that there is an emergency that poses a threat to the health and/or safety of you, another person or the public generally; and (v) in order to protect the rights or property of Metatheory, including to enforce our Terms of Service and End User License Agreement.

5.3 Sale or Merger
In the event that Metatheory undergoes a business transition, such as a merger, acquisition by another company, change of control, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, we may transfer all of your information, including personal information, to the successor organization in such transition.

6. Our Policies Concerning Children
Our Services are intended for a general audience and are not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from users deemed to be children under their respective national laws. If we learn that we have collected personally identifiable information (“PII”) of any child we will take steps to delete such information from our files as soon as possible. We urge parents to instruct their children to never give out their real names, addresses or phone numbers without permission. We recognize a special obligation to protect personal information obtained from young children.

Should you wish to have your child’s personal information deleted from our records, please contact us at through Customer Support. We will be happy to remove your child’s information as appropriate.

7. How to Control Your Information
Under the EU General Data Protection Regulation, individuals residing in the EU and other territories that have adopted GDPR compliance or comparable regulation have a right to:

Access your user data
Correct the data you have provided to us
Have information provided to you in a portable format
Request the deletion of the data we have collected
Restrict processing
Object to processing or the legal basis on which we rely to process your data

To exercise any of the rights identified above, please submit a request through our support site at https://support.metatheory.gg/hc/en-us/requests/new. Place the reason for your request (e.g. “Delete my Data” or “Account Deletion”) in the subject line and include your first name, last name, and e-mail address in the body of the e-mail. We will respond to your request within thirty (30) days. Please note that certain records, for example those pertaining to payments or customer service matters, will be retained for legal and accounting purposes. If you have sent or posted content through the Services, we may not be able to delete it. Accounts created with Metatheory are considered active until we receive a request to delete them or deactivate them. Any request to deactivate or delete an account will not automatically result in information deletion unless so requested by the End User, and only to the extent we are not required to retain such data to satisfy our legal obligations.

Please note that requests to restrict processing or delete your data may require the termination of your user account if we require the information subject to the deletion request to maintain your user account or otherwise provide gameplay services to you.

We are unable to delete data controlled solely by third parties. Similarly, if you access any our of Services through third party social media or service platforms, such as Discord, or if you are routed to a third party service provider’s web page through our Services, you will need to make any deletion requests to those respective third parties separately.

Individuals Located in Brazil: The LGPD grants you certain rights about the processing of your personal information. In addition to any applicable rights mentioned above, eligible residents of Brazil also have the right: (i) to the anonymization, blocking, or elimination of your personal information, if you believe we are processing your personal information in an unnecessary, exceeding or non-compliant manner with the LGPD; (ii) to request the portability of your personal information; (iii) to request information about the entities with which we have shared your personal information; and (iv) to request information about the possibility and consequences of denying consent. While our processing of personal information generally does not include automated decision-making, you are also entitled to a review of our decisions that are made solely based on automated processing of personal information that affect your interests. Notwithstanding any other references to the contrary within this Privacy Policy, in accordance with the LGPD, we will respond to your request within fifteen (15) days after receipt and we will provide any requested information free of charge to you. You may also file a complaint with the National Data Protection Authority in Brazil, the Autoridade Nacional de Proteção de Dados (“ANPD”) for alleged violations of the LGPD, in addition to or alternatively to seeking judicial redress.

8. Opt Out Options

8.1 Opting out of Promotional Communications
You can choose to opt out of receiving promotional e-mails and product updates from Metatheory by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link in any such e-mail. Please note that once we receive your request, it may take an additional period of time for your opt-out to become effective. Your unsubscribe or e-mail preference change will be processed promptly, usually within ten (10) business days.

8.2 Opt Out Limitations
Please note that if you opt-out of our Promotional Communications or other forms of communication, we may still e-mail or communicate with you from time to time if we need to: provide you with information and updates concerning this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Service and End User License Agreement, respond to a customer support or technical support inquiry, notify you of changes to your account (including suspension or deactivation), or for other legitimate non-marketing reasons.

9. Security of Your Information
Accessing your account or any personally identifiable information stored through your account is password protected. It is important that you protect and maintain the security of your Account and that you immediately notify us of any unauthorized use of your Account.

We encrypt all data we store or share, however, while we take reasonable precautions against possible security breaches of our Services, no website or Internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that unauthorized access, hacking, data loss, or other breaches will never occur. Although we strive to protect your personal data, we cannot guarantee the security of your data while it is being transmitted through our Services; any transmission is at your own risk. Once we have received your information, we have procedures and security features in place to try to prevent unauthorized access.

10. Changes to Our Privacy Policy
Any information that is collected via our Services is covered by the Privacy Policy in effect at the time such information is collected. If we decide to make material changes to our Privacy Policy, we will notify you and other users by placing a notice on our https://metatheory.gg or by sending you a notice to the e-mail address we have on file for you, and we’ll update the date above to indicate when those changes will become effective. We may supplement this process by placing notices in the Games and on other Sites. You should periodically check https://metatheory.gg and this privacy page for updates.

11. Sharing Your Information for Direct Marketing Purposes
We do not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless you affirmatively agree to such disclosure, typically by “opting in” to receive information from a third party that is participating in a sweepstakes or other promotion through our Services. To prevent disclosure of your personal information for use in direct marketing by a third party, do not opt in to such use when you provide personal information through our Services.

12. Social Media Communications
You may be able to take part in certain activities through our Services that give you the opportunity to communicate or share information not just with Metatheory, but also with other Users of our Services, generally by engaging with official Metatheory social media accounts. We are not responsible for your use of those services. If you communicate to us or other Users publicly via our social media accounts, you are strongly encouraged to review the privacy policies of those services if you have questions about the use of your data. We only access the information you make available to the public on our social media pages and do not receive any information concerning your social media account from any social media platform.

13. Links to Other Sites
Our Services may contain links to websites and services that are owned or operated by third parties (each, a “Third-party Service”). Any information that you provide on or to a Third-party Service or that is collected by a Third-party Service is provided directly to the owner or operator of the Third-party Service and is subject to the owner’s or operator’s privacy policy. We’re not responsible for the content, privacy or security practices and policies of any Third-party Service. To protect your information we recommend that you carefully review the privacy policies of all Third-party Services that you access.

14. California Residents: Responding to Do Not Track Signals
In September 2013, California enacted amendments to the California Online Privacy Protection Act (California Business & Professions Code §§22575-22579) which require operators of websites to disclose how they respond to “do not track” (“DNT”) signals from browsers used by consumers or other mechanisms that provide consumers a choice regarding the collection of personally identifiable information about the consumer’s online activities over time and across different websites or online services. While some newer browsers have incorporated “Do Not Track” features which, when turned on, send a signal or preference to the web sites you visit indicating that you do not wish your online activity to be tracked, a DNT protocol that can be implemented across multiple devices and sites has not yet been widely adopted. Currently, our computer system does not support, and cannot act on DNT signal headers that we may receive; accordingly, the choices that we provide you concerning our collection and use of personally identifiable information will continue to operate as described in this policy.

15. International Transfer
Your personal information may be transferred to, and maintained on, computers located outside of your state, province, country or other governmental jurisdiction where the privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your jurisdiction. If you’re located outside the United States and choose to provide your personal information to us, we may transfer your personal information to the United States and process it there.

16. Contact Us
If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our Privacy Policy and/or practices, please submit an inquiry through our support site at https://metatheory.gg/support.

Metatheory, Inc.
1 East Erie Street, Suite 525-4017
Chicago, IL 60611
(800) 399-6146

California Consumer Data Rights

Metatheory Inc. complies with the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), effective January 1, 2020. This landmark piece of legislation secures new privacy rights for California consumers.

Categories of Data we Collect and their Uses

In addition to the details provided in Section 2 of our Privacy Policy, we collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or device (“personal information”). In particular, we have collected the following categories of personal information from consumers within the last twelve (12) months:

| Category | Examples | Collected | Reason for Collection (specifically identify business purpose if for business purpose) | Is Information “Sold” to 3rd Pty? | | :---- | :---- | :---- | :---- | :---- | | Identifiers | A real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, driver's license number, passport number, or other similar identifiers. | YES | We collect emails as part of the account creation process. Email is used to communicate with our users and to identify them uniquely. | NO | | Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)). | A name, signature, Social Security number, physical characteristics or description, address, telephone number, passport number, driver's license or state identification card number, insurance policy number, education, employment, employment history, bank account number, credit card number, debit card number, or any other financial information, medical information, or health insurance information. Some personal information included in this category may overlap with other categories. | NO | N/A | N/A | | Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law. | Age (40 years or older), race, color, ancestry, national origin, citizenship, religion or creed, marital status, medical condition, physical or mental disability, sex (including gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy or childbirth and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, veteran or military status, genetic information (including familial genetic information). | NO | N/A | N/A | | Commercial information. | Records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies. | NO | N/A | N/A | | Biometric information. | Genetic, physiological, behavioral, and biological characteristics, or activity patterns used to extract a template or other identifier or identifying information, such as, fingerprints, faceprints, and voiceprints, iris or retina scans, keystroke, gait, or other physical patterns, and sleep, health, or exercise data. | NO | We collect data on how many steps you have walked and distance with your permission via the device’s health app (Apple HealthKit if you use an Apple device, or Google Fit if you use an Android device). | NO | | Internet or other similar network activity. | Browsing history, search history, information on a consumer's interaction with a website, application, or advertisement. | NO | We collect data on how users interact with our Sites, Games and launcher in order to inform product decisions. | NO | | Geolocation data. | Physical location or movements. | NO | Collected to help us observe OFAC sanctions. | NO | | Sensory data. | Audio, electronic, visual, thermal, olfactory, or similar information. | NO | N/A | N/A | | Professional or employment-related information. | Current or past job history or performance evaluations. | NO | N/A | N/A | | Non-public education information (per the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (20 U.S.C. Section 1232g, 34 C.F.R. Part 99)). | Education records directly related to a student maintained by an educational institution or party acting on its behalf, such as grades, transcripts, class lists, student schedules, student identification codes, student financial information, or student disciplinary records. | NO | N/A | N/A | | Inferences drawn from other personal information. | Profile reflecting a person's preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes. | NO | N/A | N/A |

Personal information does not include:

Publicly available information from government records.
De-identified or aggregated consumer information.
Information excluded from the CCPA's scope, like:
- health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data;
- personal information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver's Privacy Protection Act of 1994.

We obtain the categories of personal information listed above from the following categories of sources:

Directly from our end users. For example, from customers who engage us for customer support or to provide customer feedback.
Indirectly from our end users. For example, through information we collect from our end users in the course of providing customer support to them.
Directly and indirectly from activity on our Site or in our Games. For example, from APIs and cookies (described above) embedded in our Site or Games to measure game metrics and progress, play time, and other information related to improving our products.
From third-parties that interact with us in connection with the services we perform. For example, from third party analytics for the purpose of providing the Services.

All such Personal Information is used as otherwise described in Section 4 of our Privacy Policy.

Sharing Personal Information

We may disclose your personal information to a third party for a business purpose. When we disclose personal information for a business purpose, we enter a contract that describes the purpose and requires the recipient to both keep that personal information confidential and not use it for any purpose except performing the contract.

In the preceding twelve (12) months, we have disclosed the following categories of personal information for a business purpose:

Identifiers and Internet or other similar network activity

We disclose your personal information for a business purpose to the following categories of third parties:

Our affiliates.
Service providers.
Third parties to whom you or your agents authorize us to disclose your personal information in connection with products or services we provide to you.
Our vendors.

Your Rights and Choices

Access to Specific Information and Data Portability Rights

You have the right to request that we disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past twelve (12) months. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will disclose to you:

The categories of personal information we collected about you.
The categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you.
Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information.
The categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information.
The specific pieces of personal information we collected about you (also called a data portability request).

We generally do not sell our player data. However, if we do sell your personal information for a business purpose, we will also disclose to you:

The personal information that each category of recipient purchased; and
disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained.

Deletion Request Rights

You have the right to request that we delete any of your personal information that we collected from you and retained, subject to certain exceptions. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request, we will delete (and direct our service providers to delete) your personal information from our records, unless an exception applies.

We may deny your deletion request if retaining the information is necessary for us or our service providers to:

Complete any transaction for which we collected the personal information, take actions reasonably anticipated within the context of our ongoing business relationship with you, or otherwise perform our contract with you.
Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity, or prosecute those responsible for such activities.
Debug products, including our Site and Games, to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality.
Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise their free speech rights, or exercise another right provided for by law.
Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 seq.).
Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the information's deletion may likely render impossible or seriously impair the research's achievement, if you previously provided informed consent.
Enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with consumer expectations based on your relationship with us.
Comply with a legal obligation.
Make other internal and lawful uses of that information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.

Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights

To exercise the access, data portability, and deletion rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by visiting https://support.metatheory.gg/.

Only you or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.

You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access or data portability twice within a twelve (12)-month period. The verifiable consumer request must:

Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative.
Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.

We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you. Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor's identity or authority to make the request.

Response Timing and Format

We endeavor to respond to a verifiable consumer request within forty-five (45) days of its receipt. If we require more time (up to 90 days), we will inform you of the reason and extension period in writing. Any disclosures we provide will only cover the twelve (12) month period preceding the verifiable consumer request's receipt. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable. For data portability requests, we will select a format to provide your personal information that is readily useable and should allow you to transmit the information from one entity to another entity without hindrance.

We do not charge a fee to process or respond to your verifiable consumer request unless it is excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will tell you why we made that decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:

Deny you goods or services.
Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties.
Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level or quality of goods or services.