Original Effective Date: June 16th, 2016
Last Updated: April 27th, 2022

Cygames, Inc., as well as its subsidiary and affiliated entities, (“Cygames,” “we” or “us”) take the protection of your personal information very seriously. The following Privacy Policy will provide you with information about the personal information that is collected and how it is processed and used.

PLEASE READ THIS PRIVACY POLICY CAREFULLY BECAUSE BY USING THE SERVICES, YOU CONSENT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY AND TO OUR PROCESSING OF PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES STATED BELOW. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SERVICES.

In order to ensure the secure processing of your personal information, we have implemented all safeguards required by law.

  1. Scope of This Privacy Policy

    This Privacy Policy applies only to the websites and applications in relation with “Shadowverse” controlled by Cygames where this privacy policy is posted, as well as events related to “Shadowverse”, such as esports competitions, sweepstakes events, and contests (collectively, the “Services”).

  2. Information Collected (Categories and Sources of Personal Information)

    We collect several types of personal information from you.
    Cygames considers personal information to be any information concerning the personal or material circumstances of an identified or identifiable individual (e.g. name, date of birth, and other information which enables the identification of specific individuals), as well as email addresses and other information associated with an individual. We may collect:

    • your name and email address if you contact us with a question;
    • your Internet Protocol (IP) address, a number that lets devices attached to the Internet know where to send you data, such as the webpages you view; and
    • your name, date of birth, e-mail address, and/or telephone number if you participate in the events described in Article 1.
      Furthermore, Cygames may collect information on the situation concerning access to the Services and how it is being used. This includes the information below.
    • Device information
    • Location information
    • Log information
    • Cookies and anonymous IDs.
  3. Cookies

    We use cookies in the Services, a small text file that may be used to collect information about your activity on the Services and to make the use of our Services as comfortable as possible for you, not only for your current use of the respective service but also for latter uses. For example, when someone visits a web page within the Services, a cookie is placed on the user’s machine (if the user accepts cookies) or is read if the user has accessed the Services previously. These cookies enable us to collect information including user ID, app version, operation system, device name, and any error codes. If you would like to opt out on the particular device on which you are accessing this Privacy Policy, please go to https://shadowverse.com/privacy/optout.php. You may also set most browsers to notify you if you receive a cookie, or you may choose to block cookies with your browser. If you do so, you may not be able to take advantage of the personalized features enjoyed by other users of our Services. Some of the cookies we use may be Adobe or “flash” cookies, which may not be deleted when other cookies are deleted. Please check your system requirements for deletion of this type of cookie.

    For residents of the European Economic Area and the UK, the following shall also apply:
    We will process cookies (except for strictly necessary cookies) as well as your personal data obtained through cookies for the for the purposes outlined in Article 5 based on your consent. You may withdraw your consent to this processing at any time. However, this will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdrew your consent.

  4. Cookies of Third Party Providers and Other Tracking Tools

    We use the following cookies:

    A. Linkage with Facebook
    Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) may collect information under Meta’s own privacy policies. You can link the game data with your Facebook account. To do this, you need to have a Facebook account prior to linking the game data or have access to Facebook. Only “public information” on your Facebook profile will be transmitted to us.
    You can find a more detailed account of Meta’s privacy policy here: https://www.facebook.com/policy.php.

    B. Google Analytics
    Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC (“Google”), collects anonymous statistical and analytical information about how our users use Services. For example, Google gathers and aggregates data on page views and clicks on the Services. These analytics are not used to track your journey to other websites or to identify you. The information generated by the Google Analytics cookies about your use of the Services (including your IP address) will be transmitted to and stored by Google on servers in the United States.
    You can find a more detailed account of Google’s privacy policy here: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en.

    C. Gamesight
    Gamesight, an advertisement tracking tool provided by Innervate, Inc., may access and collect certain data on Steam users, including Steam account identification number, web browser information, operating system version, IP address, installed fonts, and screen resolution. The collected data will be used to monitor and analyze the effectiveness of advertising.
    You can find a more detailed account of Gamesight’s privacy policy here: https://console.gamesight.io/privacy-policy.

    D. Adjust
    The Services use Adjust, an advertisement tracking tool for smartphone apps provided by Adjust GmbH. This tool makes it possible to measure and analyze the effectiveness of smartphone advertising. Adjust collects personal information as described below and aggregated information (information about groups or categories of persons, which does not identify and cannot reasonably be used to identify an individual person). Adjust uses IDFA, GPS, ADID, and log files to help the app analyze how users use the app. The information held in log files includes the user's IP address, internet service provider, and date/time stamp, as well as user activity. Furthermore, Adjust utilizes a variety of tracking methods to collect information.
    You can find a more detailed account of Adjust’s privacy policy here: https://www.adjust.com/ja/terms/privacy-policy/

  5. Use of Personal Information

    We may process your personal information for the purposes detailed below:

    • To deliver content such as games, video, and music, and provide related services;
    • To develop services, compile statistics, analysis, questionnaires, and other marketing activities intended to improve services;
    • To contact and communicate with you to respond to your inquiries and complaints;
    • To provide you with special offers, updated information and other new services from Cygames or other third parties, or to forward promotional materials if you have requested this information or provided your consent for us to do so;
    • To complete a transaction or service requested by you;
    • To fulfill marketing or promotional purposes;
    • To ensure that the Services are relevant to your needs;
    • To help us create and publish content that is the most relevant to you;
    • To notify you about a change to this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service Agreement, if necessary;
    • To allow you access to limited-entry areas of the Services;
    • To deliver newsletters or other information that you request;
    • To resolve disputes with you; and
    • In other manners as disclosed within this policy or at the time of collection.

    If we need to process your personal information for a purpose not set out in this privacy policy, we will inform you accordingly and, where required, obtain your consent.

    For residents of the European Economic Area and the UK, the following shall also apply:
    We will always process your personal data based on one of the legal bases provided for in the GDPR (Articles 6 and 7). We process your personal data for the purposes stipulated in the preceding paragraph based on the following legal grounds.
    (1) Performance of a contract (Article 6(1)(b) of the GDPR)
    We process your personal data for the following purposes because it is necessary for the performance of a contract or in order to take steps at the request of the data subject prior to entering into a contract.

    • To deliver content such as games, video, and music, and provide related services;
    • To contact and communicate with you to respond to your inquiries and complaints;
    • To complete a transaction or service requested by you;
    • To notify you about a change to this Privacy Policy or the Terms of Service Agreement, if necessary;
    • To allow you access to limited-entry areas of the Services; and
    • To resolve disputes with you;

    (2) Legitimate Interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR)
    We process your personal data for the following purposes because it is necessary to do so in order to pursue our legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f) of the GDPR).

    • To develop services, compile statistics, analysis, questionnaires, and other marketing activities intended to improve services;
    • To fulfill marketing or promotional purposes;
    • To ensure that the Services are relevant to your needs;
    • To help us create and publish content that is the most relevant to you
    • To share personal information to promoters who hold e-sports events regarding the Services as explained in detail in 6. Disclosure to Third Parties below; and
    • To process strictly necessary cookies.

    (3) Consent (Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR)
    We process your personal data for the following purposes based on your consent; (Article 6(1)(a) of the GDPR).

    • To process cookies (except for strictly necessary cookies) as well as your personal data obtained through such cookies.
    • To provide you with special offers, updated information and other new services from Cygames or other third parties, or to forward promotional materials if you have requested this information or provided your consent for us to do so; and
    • To deliver newsletters or other information that you request.

    Provision of personal data described in 2 above (except for non-strictly necessary cookies) is a contractual requirement, and we will not be able to provide you services if you don’t provide such personal data.

    For residents of California, the following information is also provided:
    We may have collected the following categories of information from and about you in the preceding 12 months:

    Identifiers, which may include name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, or other similar identifiers

    • Source(s)

      Directly from you

      Indirectly from you (e.g., from observing your actions on our Services)

      From third party service providers, such as data analytics providers

    • Purpose(s)

      To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information, e.g., to respond to an inquiry, tell you about contests or new products, process your order, fulfill promotional terms, evaluate the effects of advertisement

    • Disclosure to Third Parties

      Disclosure for business purposes to: internet service providers, payment processors, cloud service providers, promoters who hold e-sports events regarding the Services as explained in detail in 6. Disclosure to Third Parties below.

    Personal Information categories contained in customer records, which may include name, signature, address, telephone number, bank account number

    • Source(s)

      Directly from you

    • Purpose(s)

      To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information, e.g., to respond to an inquiry concerning Services, fulfill promotional terms, evaluate the effects of advertisement

    • Disclosure to Third Parties

      Disclosure for business purposes to: internet service providers, payment processors, co-sponsor of promotions, cloud service providers, delivery companies

    Commercial information, which may include records of personal property, products or services purchased, obtained, or considered, or other purchasing or consuming histories or tendencies

    • Source(s)

      Directly from you

    • Purpose(s)

      To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information, e.g., to respond to an inquiry, process your order, evaluate the effects of advertisement

    • Disclosure to Third Parties

      Disclosure for business purposes to: internet service providers, payment processors, co-sponsor of promotions, promoters who hold e-sports events regarding the Services as explained in detail in 6. Disclosure to Third Parties below.

    Internet or other similar network activity, which may include browsing history, search history, information on a consumer’s interaction with a website, application, or advertisement

    • Source(s)

      Indirectly from you (e.g., from observing your actions on our Services)

      From third party service providers, such as data analytics providers

    • Purpose(s)

      To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information, e.g., to provide targeted advertising, evaluate the effects of advertisement

    • Disclosure to Third Parties

      Disclosure for business purposes to: internet service providers, cloud service providers, promoters who hold e-sports events regarding the Services as explained in detail in 6. Disclosure to Third Parties below.

    Geolocation data; which may include physical location

    • Source(s)

      Directly from you

      Indirectly from you (e.g., from observing your actions on our Services)

    • Purpose(s)

      To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information, e.g., to respond to an inquiry, process your order, provide targeted advertising, evaluate the effects of advertisement

    • Disclosure to Third Parties

      Disclosure for business purposes to: internet service providers

    Inferences drawn from other personal information, which may include a profile reflecting a person’s preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes

    • Source(s)

      Indirectly from you (e.g., from observing your actions on our Services)

      From third party service providers, such as data analytics providers

    • Purpose(s)

      To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information, e.g., to provide targeted advertising, administer Services, maintain and analyze data, evaluate the effects of advertisement

    • Disclosure to Third Parties

      Disclosure for marketing purposes to: independent contractors, promoters who hold e-sports events regarding the Services as explained in detail in 6. Disclosure to Third Parties below.

  6. Disclosure to Third Parties

    We may share or disclose your personal information specified in Article 2 to the extent necessary with third parties. The personal information disclosed to third parties may only be used by third parties for the purposes specified below, and such third parties may only use the personal information for the term necessary to fulfill such purposes:

    • To fulfill a service to you. For example, if you choose to engage with games or services on the Services, we may share your personal information in order to provide the service to you. Also, if you are entering a sweepstake or contest, we may use your personal information in order to fulfill the terms of that promotion. This means that we may share the information for prize fulfillment purposes including, for example, sharing your postal address with a postal service or mail carriers. We may also share your information with the co-sponsor of that promotion.
    • To store and manage data on the server, we may transfer your personal information to Akamai Technologies, Inc., Amazon Web Services, Inc. and other cloud services providers.
    • To evaluate the effects of advertisement, we may transfer your personal information to the companies specified in Article 4 (Cookies of Third Party Providers and Other Tracking Tools).
    • To process and fulfill orders, provide customer service, maintain and analyze data, send customer communications, and collect entries, select winners and fulfill prizes for contests, sweepstakes and other promotions. Delegated third parties, including unaffiliated third-party service providers such as delivery companies, agents or independent contractors, such as Zendesk Inc., Explay, Inc., GREE Inc, and Keywords International Co., Ltd. providing customer service, who help us maintain our Services and provide other administrative services to us will be handling this. When delegating third parties to handle some or all personal information, Cygames enters into confidentiality agreements and other agreements for the protection of personal information with the delegated parties and requests consent to the terms and agreements thereof so as to safely manage personal information. Third party service providers that help us administer our Services will have access to users’ personal information. If you do not wish for our unaffiliated third party service providers to have access to your information, please do not register or submit any personal information to us.
    • To comply with laws and regulations, we may share personal information when necessary or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary under the requirements of the law, a legally-binding court order, or governmental order from an investigation agency or competent regulatory authority that is issued through due process, to protect and defend our rights or property, including the rights and property of Cygames, or to act in urgent circumstances when it is necessary to protect the life, body, or property of a person, and the consent of the identified individual is difficult to obtain.
    • To third parties as part of any corporate reorganization process including, but not limited to, mergers, acquisitions, and sales of all or substantially all of our assets.
    • To comply with the Statement of User Respect, we may share personal information to promoters who held e-sports events regarding the Services such as CyberZ, Inc. When it is necessary for promoters to enforce measures such as prohibiting the participation to events regarding the Services, to protect users of the Services from discriminatory, slanderous, libelous (or otherwise defamatory), or offensive statements.
  7. Security

    No data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you understand that any information that you transfer to Cygames is transmitted at your own risk. Cygames specifies rules for the protection of personal information, and incorporates appropriate administrative, technical, organizational, and physical security measures that are required under applicable regulations. We use firewalls to protect your information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, please note that this is not a guarantee that such information may not be accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed by breach of said firewalls and secure server software.
    If we learn of security systems breach, we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take the appropriate protective measures. By using these Services or providing personal information to us, you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy, and administrative issues relating to your use of these Services. We may post a notice on our Services if a security breach occurs. We may also send an email to you at the email address you have provided to us in these circumstances.

  8. Access, Portability & Correction of Personal Information

    You have the right to access and to request the correction or transfer of the information that we hold about you or to object to the processing of any data relating to you, by using the contact details in Article 21. When Cygames receives a request from you for access to, transfer of, correction of, addition to, deletion of, or objection to the processing of personal information due to error (hereinafter referred to as Correction), Cygames shall conduct any necessary investigation without undue delay and provide you or a nominated third party with your personal information and perform a Correction as soon as possible.

    For residents of the European Economic Area and the UK, the following shall apply:
    If certain conditions are satisfied, you will have the right to receive personal data concerning you in a structured, commonly used, and machine-readable format and the right to transfer those data to another controller without hindrance from us (Article 20 of the GDPR).

    For residents of California, the following shall apply:
    California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits California residents to request certain information regarding disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. We do not share personal information for third parties’ direct marketing purposes.

    You have the right to know and right to access information about the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, as well as the categories of sources from which such information is collected, the purpose for collecting such information, and the categories of third parties with whom we share such information. You also have the right to know if we have sold or disclosed your personal information. You may request a copy of the personal information we have collected, and upon request, we will provide this information to you in electronic form.

    You have the right to request information about our sale or disclosure for business purposes of your personal information to third parties.
    California residents have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of these rights. If you would like to exercise one or more of these California rights, please contact us using the contact information provided in Article 21. You may also designate an authorized agent registered with the California Secretary of State to make a request on your behalf. The authorized agent must have written permission to submit requests on your behalf. Whenever feasible for verification, we will match the identifying information provided by you to the personal information already maintained by us. If, however, we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request additional information.

  9. Discontinuation & Deletion of Personal Information

    You have the right to request that we stop processing your personal information and/or delete the information that we hold about you by using the contact details in Article 21. If you request the deletion or erasure of personal information (hereinafter referred to as "Discontinuation") because the information allegedly was handled in a manner exceeding the purpose of collection, or was acquired through deceit or other unlawful means, Cygames shall, upon confirming that the person making the request is the identified individual, conduct any necessary investigation without undue delay and, based on its results, perform the Discontinuation free of charge as far as this is possible for Cygames and notify you. However, we may retain a copy of your personal information where we are required or permitted to do so by law.
    Once the purpose of collection/use of the personal information is achieved, we destroy your personal information without delay; provided, however, that certain information that must be retained for a statutorily-prescribed period and is destroyed after the expiration of such period. Personal information that is separately stored in such case is not used for any other purpose unless provided for under a law.
    For electronic data files, we employ technical methods to destroy them so that the subject data cannot be restored or reconstructed. For hard copies and paper documents, we destroy them through incineration or shredding.

    For residents of the European Economic Area and the UK, the following shall apply:
    - Rectification or erasure of personal data: You have the right to have us rectify inaccurate personal data concerning you without undue delay and the right to have us complete any incomplete personal data (Article 16 of the GDPR). Also, if certain conditions are satisfied, you will have the right to have us delete personal data concerning you without undue delay (Article 17 of the GDPR).
    - Restriction on processing of personal data: If certain conditions are satisfied, you will have the right to have us restrict processing of personal data concerning you (Article 18 of the GDPR).
    - Objection to processing of personal data: If certain conditions are satisfied, you will have the right to object to processing of personal data concerning you (Article 21 of the GDPR).
    - Not to be subject to automated decision-making: If certain conditions are satisfied, you will have the right not to be subject to solely data-based, automated decision-making (including profiling) that produces any legal or similar material effect on you (Article 22 of the GDPR).

    For residents of South Korea, the following shall also apply:
    If we use consent as the legal ground to process personal information, after you withdraw your consent to the processing, we will then stop processing your personal information unless there is another legal basis for such processing (e.g. statutory retention periods).

    For residents of California, the following rights shall also apply:
    You have the right to opt out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. Please note, we do not sell your personal information at this time.
    You also have the right to request the deletion of your personal information, subject to certain legal exceptions.
    California residents have the right not to be discriminated against for exercising these rights. If you would like to exercise these California rights, please contact us using the contact information provided in Article 21. You may also designate an authorized agent registered with the California Secretary of State to make a request on your behalf. The authorized agent must have written permission to submit requests on your behalf. Whenever feasible for verification, we will match the identifying information provided by you to the personal information already maintained by us. If, however, we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request additional information.

  10. Accounts Information

    Your account information and access to our Services are sometimes accessible only through the use of an individual user ID and password. To protect the confidentiality of personal information, you must keep your password confidential and not disclose it to any other person. Please note that we will never ask you to disclose your password in an unsolicited phone call or email. CYGAMES IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ACTIONS TAKEN REGARDING YOUR ACCOUNT WHILE A USER IS LOGGED IN USING YOUR USER ID AND PASSWORD.

  11. Transmission of information about the Services

    We may send you communications or data regarding the Services, including but not limited to (i) notices about your use of the Services, including any notices concerning violations of use, (ii) updates, and (iii) information or materials regarding transactions, products, and/or services that you may have purchased or selected.

  12. Retention Period

    We will not retain your personal information longer than necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected for, unless there is another legal basis for such processing (e.g. fulfillment of legal obligations). Afterwards, we will delete your personal information. The individual retention periods depend on the type of personal information and the purpose of its processing.

  13. International Transfer of Information

    If you choose to provide us with personal information, it will be stored in Japan. Cygames may transfer (by any means including sending or allowing access) that information to its subsidiaries, affiliated entities, and other third parties explained in Article 6 across borders, and from your region to other regions around the world in accordance with applicable laws and regulations regarding the international transfer of personal information. Such personal information may be processed by such parties for the term necessary to fulfill purposes specified in Article 6.

    For residents of the European Economic Area and the UK, the following shall also apply:
    We share or disclose your personal data to a third country on the basis of adequacy decision (Article 45 of the GDPR) if adequacy decision is made to such third country. We share or disclose your personal data to a third country by executing with the transferee the standard data protection clauses (Article 46(2)(c) and (5) of the GDPR) approved by the European Commission if no adequacy decision is made to such third country.

  14. Chat Rooms, Forums and Other Public Posting Areas

    Please note that any information you include in a message you post to any chat room, forum or other public posting area is available to anyone with Internet access. If, for example, you do not want people to know your email address, do not include it in any message you post publicly. PLEASE BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL WHEN DISCLOSING ANY INFORMATION IN CHAT ROOMS, FORUMS AND OTHER PUBLIC POSTING AREAS. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE USE BY OTHERS OF THE INFORMATION THAT YOU DISCLOSE IN CHAT ROOMS, FORUMS AND OTHER PUBLIC POSTING AREAS.

  15. Push Notifications

    We may occasionally send you push notifications through our mobile applications to send you game updates and other service related notifications that may be of importance to you. You may at any time opt out from receiving these types of communications by turning them off on your device through your settings.

  16. Third Party Services

    This statement applies solely to information collected on the Services. The Services may contain links to other webservices. We are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of these other web services.

  17. Changes to this Privacy Policy

    We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will also revise the “last updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. For some changes to this Privacy Policy we may attempt to obtain your consent before implementing the change by placing a notice on the Services. Continued use of the Services following such notice will be viewed as consent to such changes unless otherwise specified. We do not substitute your consent to the processing of your personal information with your consent to this Privacy Policy; provided, however, we may process your personal information without your consent to the extent that such processing is permitted under applicable laws.

  18. Online Tracking

    Certain web browsers and other programs may be used to signal your preferences to us about how or whether we or third parties may collect information about your online activities. Because there is not yet an accepted standard for how to respond to a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal, Cygames does not support DNT browser settings and does not currently participate in any DNT frameworks that would allow us to respond to signals or other mechanisms from you regarding the collection of your personal information or non-personal information.

  19. Our Policy Regarding Children

    We do not knowingly collect or solicit personal information from anyone under the age of 13 or knowingly allow such persons to use the Services. If you are under 13, please do not send any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. No one under the age of 13 may provide any personal information. In the event that we learn that we have collected personal information from a child under the age of 13, we will delete the information as quickly as possible. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under the age of 13, please contact us using the online form (https://www.cygames.co.jp/en/form/policy/).

  20. Right to Complain

    If you are not happy with the way in which we are processing your personal information, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority.

  21. Contacting Us

    If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, our privacy practices, or regarding information, correction, blockage or deletion of data, please contact us using the online form (https://www.cygames.co.jp/en/form/policy/).

    Contact of our EU and UK representative:
    Ashurst LLP (UK company number OC330252)
    E-mail: EURepresentative.Cygames@ashurst.com

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