Version 3 · 30 September 2026
The short version
- We collect as little as we can. We don't ask for your email, real name or payment details.
- We store your account, your characters and your progress so the game works.
- We keep chat logs, including private messages and nearby chat, for 90 days so we can act on reports of harassment and scams. We keep what was actually typed, even if the chat filter hid some of it.
- We keep your IP address, when you signed in, and performance data about the game and your computer for 90 days to fix lag and stop abuse.
- If you're reported or a moderator acts on your account, we keep a copy of the chat involved with that report or decision, for longer (see below).
- Your character names, skills, collection log and boss kill counts are public on the high scores.
- Big moments (boss kills, pets, deaths and some milestones) are announced to everyone online. Your friends and clan see more of your progress.
- No ads, no tracking cookies, and we never sell your data.
- You can ask for a copy of your data, or for it to be deleted.
Who's responsible for your data
Aldermere Online is run by Benedict Littlefair, an independent developer in the United Kingdom. Under UK and EU data protection law (GDPR), that makes them the “controller” of your data. For anything about your data, email privacy@aldermere.online.
What we collect and why
| What | Why | How long |
|---|---|---|
| Your account: login name, password, when you signed up, which version of these policies you accepted, and the invite code you used, if any | So you can log in. Your password is scrambled (hashed) before we store it, so nobody can read it, not even us. | Until you delete your account |
| Your characters and progress: names, appearance, skills, items, bank, quests, where you are in the world, and when you last played. This includes your Codex and collection log (every creature you defeat, when, and what it dropped), your orders and trades on the market, trades with other players (who, what, where and when), and your deaths (where, and what you lost) | This is the game. | Until you delete your account |
| Friends, ignore lists, parties and clans | So social features work. | Until you delete your account |
| Chat: global, nearby (say and yell), private, party and clan messages, exactly as typed, with who sent them, who received them, when, and for nearby chat where it was said | So we can check reports of harassment, scams and other rule-breaking. Staff only read logs when looking into a report or a suspected rule break, and every time they do it's recorded. | 90 days |
| Connection and performance data: your IP address, when you signed in and with which character, ping, frame rate, memory use and loading times, your graphics settings, where your character was, and a summary of your computer (graphics card, processor, memory, operating system, screen size). The game sends a performance sample about once a minute while you play. | To find and fix lag and crashes, to spot cheating, multi-logging and ban dodging, and to protect the servers from attacks. | 90 days |
| Reports: who reported whom, what they said happened, a copy of the reported player's chat from around that time (and any private messages between the two), and what staff decided | So staff can check a report properly, and so a decision can be reviewed if it's appealed. | 2 years after staff close the report |
| Moderation records: warnings, mutes and bans, the reasons for them, and a copy of the chat they were based on | So rule enforcement is consistent and fair, appeals can be checked, and banned players can't simply start again. | Until you delete your account, then 2 more years |
| Staff access log: which staff member read whose chat or reports, when and why | So we can check staff only look at chat when they have a reason to. | 2 years |
The legal basis (the reason the law allows us to use your data) is:
- running the game you signed up for (your account, characters and progress)
- our legitimate interest in keeping the game safe and working (chat logs, connection data, reports and moderation), and in being able to defend our decisions if they're challenged
If the police or a court ask us to keep someone's records for an investigation, or we have to report something to the authorities (for example anything that puts a child at risk), we keep the records involved for as long as that takes, even past the times above.
What other players and the public can see
- The high scores on this website and in the game list every character's name, overall and skill ranks, levels and experience, and their collection log, Codex and boss kill-count rankings. Anyone can see them, and players can look up any character by name in the game.
- Players near you see your character, name and public chat. Your friends, party and clan see the messages you send them.
- Everyone online sees announcements when you kill a boss, get a pet, reach the skill level cap, get a very rare drop, complete a boss's Codex page or fill 100, 200… collection log slots, and when you die.
- Your friends and clan also see your level milestones, quests, rare drops and Codex progress, and when you're online and which area you're in. If you come back after 30 days or more away, your friends are told you've returned. Other players can send you a fixed “congratulates you” message about these moments; they can't add their own words.
- We don't show your login name or IP address to other players.
What we don't do
- We don't sell or rent your data, or share it for advertising.
- We don't use advertising or tracking cookies.
- We don't ask for your email, real name, address or payment details.
- We don't ban or mute anyone automatically. A person makes that decision. The chat filter only hides words on screen; it never punishes anyone.
Other companies involved
We use a few services to run things. They only handle your data to provide that service to us.
- Hetzner hosts the game servers and database in Germany (EU). If we open a world in North America and you play on it, that world's data is stored in the USA. Our Hetzner server also sends the high scores data and game updates, and like any web server it briefly logs the IP address of whoever asks for them.
- Vercel hosts this website in the USA. Its Web Analytics counts page visits without cookies and without identifying you.
- Google Fonts supplies the fonts on this website, so your browser asks Google (USA) for them, which shares your IP address with Google under its own privacy policy.
- itch.io handles game downloads, under its own privacy policy.
- Discord hosts our community, under its own privacy policy. We can see what you post in our server. If Discord is running while you play, it shows “Playing Aldermere Online” on your Discord profile; nothing else about your character is sent, and you can turn it off in Discord's Activity Privacy settings. We don't post your character names or achievements to Discord.
When data goes to the USA, it's protected by the UK–US data bridge, the EU–US Data Privacy Framework or standard contracts approved by the UK and EU.
Keeping it safe
The connection between the game and our servers is encrypted. Passwords are hashed. Only the developer and trusted staff can access the database.
We back up the game database every hour so progress is never lost. We keep every backup from the last 7 days and one a day after that, for up to 90 days; the most recent backup is always kept. Backups are stored on our Hetzner servers in Germany, with a copy on the developer's own computer in the UK, and are only opened to recover the game after a failure. If we ever restore one, we delete anything from it that is past its time limit above.
We sometimes test updates on a separate private server, also with Hetzner in Germany, using a copy of the game database with passwords, private messages and IP addresses removed. Only the developer and trusted staff can access it.
Your rights
Wherever you live, you can ask us to:
- send you a copy of the data we hold about you
- correct something that's wrong
- delete your account and data
- stop or limit how we use your data, if you think we shouldn't be using it
- give you your data in a format you can take elsewhere
Email privacy@aldermere.online with your character name. We don't have your email address, so we'll ask you to prove the account is yours, usually by doing something simple in the game. We'll reply within one month. It's free.
Deleting a character in the game hides it straight away, but we keep its data until your account is deleted, so we can restore it if you change your mind. If you want it gone for good, ask us.
When we delete your account, we keep your moderation records and the chat copied into them for 2 more years, and reports about you for 2 years after they were closed. After that they're deleted too.
If you're not happy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the UK's Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or to the data protection authority in your own country. We'd appreciate the chance to fix it first.
Children
You must be 13 or older to play. If you're under 16 and live in the EU, some countries require a parent's permission, so check with yours. If we learn an account belongs to someone under 13, we'll delete it.
Changes to this policy
If we change what we collect or how we use it, we'll update this page and the version number at the top. For anything important we'll tell you on Discord and in the game, and ask you to agree again the next time you log in.