When you create an account we ask for a display name, an email address, and your date of birth. We use your date of birth to confirm that you meet our minimum age requirement of 13. Section 11 explains this in more detail. If you create an account with a password, we store it only as a hash. That means nobody can read or reverse it, including us.

We also record which method you used to create your account (email, Google, or Apple), your email contact preferences, and any referral code that you enter. A referral code links your account to the player who referred you, so that we can credit them. That link is private and is never shown publicly. If you turn on two factor authentication, we store the secret used to verify your codes. That secret is encrypted.

If you contact us, we keep your messages and our replies so that we can answer you and keep a record of communications.

A display name, an email address, and your date of birth are required to create an account, and we cannot create one without them. Anything else, such as a referral code or the details that you add to your profile, is optional.

Sylestia is a social game and much of what you do is stored on your account. This includes your forum posts, your private messages, the details that you add to your profile, the pets that you create and collect along with their lineage, your asset transactions, and other in-game activity.

Anything that you post in a public area of the site, such as the forums or your profile, can be read by anyone on the internet, including people who do not play Sylestia, and it may appear in search engine results. Please do not post personal information there that you would not want others to see.

Our staff can also access anything held on your account. That includes private messages, mail that you send to other players, and the names that you assign to various in-game features (such as party presets). We look at private content only when we have a reason to, such as investigating a report, answering a request for help, dealing with fraud or abuse, or meeting a legal obligation. Nothing that you store or send on Sylestia is hidden from us, so please do not use it for anything that you want to keep truly private.

If you choose to link your Google or Apple account, that provider sends us a permanent identifier unique to your account along with your email address. They may also send your real name. We do not store it and we do not use it. Your account is identified by the display name that you choose. Apple lets you hide your real email address and give us a private relay address instead. We accept that and treat it as a normal email address.

We never receive your Google or Apple password. We also store a token from the provider so that we can disconnect Sylestia from your account if you request us to do so. That token is encrypted while we hold it. Section 7 explains how we use this information and the limits that we accept on it.

Connecting your Discord account is optional. If you choose to connect it, we receive and store your Discord account identifier, your Discord username, your Discord display name, and a reference to your Discord avatar. We also store a token that keeps the connection working and lets us disconnect it when you ask. That token is encrypted while we hold it.

We use this only to link the two accounts together, to add you to our Discord server, to give you the verified member role there, and to set your nickname on that server to your Sylestia display name. You can disconnect Discord at any time in your Account Settings.

Diamonds are purchased through our merchant, PayPal. PayPal handles the payment information itself so that we never see nor store your card number, your bank details, or your PayPal password.

For each purchase, we keep a record of the email address on the PayPal account, the transaction and order identifiers, the amount paid, the number of Diamonds purchased, the status of the payment, and the IP address used. These records let us deliver your purchase, provide support, handle refunds and disputes, and meet our tax and accounting obligations.

When you visit the site, our servers automatically record technical information. This includes your IP address, your browser and its user agent, your operating system and device type, the pages you request, and the date and time of each request.

To keep your account secure, we store a session identifier for as long as you are logged in, along with a device identifier that lets us recognize a device that you have used before. We record login activity such as the IP address, browser, and time of each session. We also keep a general record of when your account was last active.

If you have allowed analytics cookies, we also receive usage information through Google Analytics, such as the pages that you view and events like creating an account or completing a purchase. Section 3 covers cookies in detail and Section 5 explains the choices available to you.

Some of our public forms run a check to confirm that you are a person rather than an automated script. You will see it on our Contact Us form, on our copyright and DMCA form, and when you create an account. The check is provided by Cloudflare, which receives your IP address and basic information about your browser in order to reach a verdict. It does not ask you to solve picture puzzles, and it is not used to track you around the site.

Some of these are stored on the sylestia.com domain even though the information they collect goes to the company named above. That means blocking third party cookies in your browser will not necessarily stop them, so please use the Cookie Settings panel below if you want to turn them off.

Because these cookies belong to those companies rather than to us, they may also be used to collect information about what you do on other websites, over time, and to combine it with what they see on Sylestia. We do not control that, and it is the main reason the advertising and analytics categories are optional.

Strictly necessary cookies cannot be turned off because the site will not work correctly without them. They keep you logged in and keep your account secure. They are never used to advertise to you.

You can change your optional cookie choices at any time using the Cookie Settings panel. You will also find a Cookie Settings link in the footer of every page and the same controls in your Account Settings.

You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings as well, although parts of the site may stop working if you block the necessary ones. To control the ads that Google shows you, visit Google's My Ad Center. To opt out of Google Analytics across all websites, install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We use your account information to create and maintain your account, to save your pets and progress and items, and to run the features that you use such as breeding, exploring, trading, and the forums.

We use your login and device information to confirm that it is really you, to support two factor authentication, to recognize devices that you have used before, and to alert you to unusual activity on your account.

We use your payment records to deliver the Diamonds that you buy, to provide support, to handle refunds and disputes, and to meet our tax and accounting obligations.

We use technical information such as IP addresses to enforce our rules, to limit how many accounts can be created from a single connection, to enforce bans, to check that our public forms are being used by a person rather than a machine, and to protect the game and its players from spam, cheating, and attacks.

We use your email address to send account messages such as email verification, password resets, security alerts, and to reply when you contact us. Where you have chosen to receive them, we may also send news and updates about the game. Every one of those emails includes a link to unsubscribe.

Where you have allowed analytics cookies, we use usage information to see which parts of the game are being used and where players run into problems, so that we can make them better.

We display advertising on parts of the site to help fund the game. Where you have allowed advertising cookies, those advertisements may be personalized. If you have not, you will still see advertising. However, it will not be personalized.

We may use and keep information where we need to in order to comply with the law, to respond to lawful requests, to enforce our Terms of Service, and to establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

The first time you visit Sylestia we ask you to make a choice about optional cookies. There are two optional categories. Analytics covers the cookies that tell us how the site is being used. Advertising covers the cookies used to deliver, measure, and personalize advertising. A third category, called strictly necessary, is always on and cannot be switched off because the site will not work without it.

You can accept everything, reject everything that is not necessary, or choose the two categories individually. Refusing the optional categories does not limit your access to the game in any way.

If you are not logged in, we store your choice in the Sylestia_Consent cookie on your device for 12 months. If you are logged in, we store it on your account instead so that it follows you to every device that you use. When you login, the choice saved on your account takes precedence over the one stored on the device.

We also keep a dated record of the choices that you make. That lets us demonstrate, if we are ever asked, that we had your permission before using optional cookies.

If we materially change the way that we use cookies, we will ask you to make your choice again rather than assume that your earlier answer still applies.

We use Google Analytics to understand which parts of the game are used, how players find us, and where they run into trouble. We also use Google Consent Mode, which means that we tell Google whether you have given us your permission. Until you allow analytics cookies, Google does not store them on your device.

If you would rather opt out of Google Analytics on every website, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

We show advertising through Google AdSense on parts of the site. Advertising helps to keep Sylestia running and free to play.

If you allow advertising cookies, the advertisements that you see may be personalized using information about your activity. If you do not, you will still see advertisements, but they will not be personalized. You can also review and change the way Google personalizes advertising for you at Google's My Ad Center.

Some browsers and browser extensions can send a Global Privacy Control signal on your behalf. If we receive one, we automatically turn advertising cookies off for you no matter what is otherwise saved against your account or your device. You do not need to do anything else and we will not ask you to override it.

We do not respond to Do Not Track signals, only to the Global Privacy Control signal described above.

Some emails are part of running your account and cannot be turned off while your account is open. These include email verification, password resets, security alerts, and messages about a purchase that you have made.

Every other email is optional, including news and updates about the game. You can change your email preferences in your Account Settings, and every optional email includes a link to unsubscribe.

We may disclose information where we believe in good faith that the law requires it or that it is necessary in order to respond to a lawful request from a public authority, to enforce our Terms of Service, to investigate fraud or abuse, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of Sylestia, our players, or the public.

If Sylestia is ever sold or transferred to new ownership, your information may be transferred as part of that sale. We would tell you before that happened, so that you can decide whether you wish to keep your account.

Anything that you post in a public part of the site can be read by other players. That is not something that we share on your behalf, but it is worth keeping in mind when you decide what to post. Section 2 covers this and explains what our own staff can see.

California law uses much wider definitions of selling and sharing than most people would expect. It treats the use of advertising and analytics cookies for targeted advertising as sharing, even where nothing is exchanged for it and even where, as with us, nothing is ever sold in the ordinary sense of the word.

We tell you this because measured against that wider definition, our use of advertising cookies counts as sharing, and we would rather explain it than leave it unsaid. You can opt out at any time by turning Advertising off in Cookie Settings. Section 8 explains this and your other rights in more detail.

When you link a Google account, we receive a permanent identifier unique to that account along with your Google email address. We use them for one purpose only: to create your Sylestia account and to let you back into it. We never use anything we receive from Google during this transaction for advertising and we never sell it. Nobody on our team reads it except where that is necessary for security, for support, or to meet a legal obligation.

Sylestia's use and transfer of information received from Google APIs to any other app will adhere to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including its Limited Use requirements.

You can unlink Google from your Sylestia account at any time in your Account Settings. You can also review and remove Sylestia's access from the security settings of your Google account.

When you link an Apple account, we receive a permanent identifier unique to that account along with an Apple email address. We use them for one purpose only: to create your Sylestia account and to let you back into it. We never use anything we receive from Apple during this transaction for advertising and we never sell it. Nobody on our team reads it except where that is necessary for security, for support, or to meet a legal obligation.

Apple offers to hide your real address and give us a private relay address instead, which forwards messages on to you. We treat a relay address as a real one and use it exactly as we would any other.

Apple sends your name only on the very first occasion that you authorize Sylestia. We do not use it and we do not store it.

You can unlink Apple from your Sylestia account at any time in your Account Settings. You can also review and remove Sylestia's access from the Apple ID settings on your device. If you use a private relay address and later turn off forwarding, our emails will stop reaching you, so please make sure that your account always has a valid email address on file.

If a linked Google or Apple account is your only way into Sylestia, then losing access to it or withdrawing the permission you gave can leave you locked out. We recommend keeping a current email address on your Sylestia account and either setting a password or linking a second provider, so that you always have another way to login.

The provider also gives us a token when you link your account. We store it in encrypted form, we do not use it to reach anything in your provider account, and it is deleted when you unlink.

You can view and update your display name, your email address, and your password in your Account Settings. You can change your cookie choices at any time from Cookie Settings, adjust your email preferences, and unlink a Google, Apple, or Discord account.

You can also ask us for a copy of the information that we hold about you, or ask us to correct or delete it. We will respond to every request, wherever you live.

The California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act, gives you the following rights. Section 2 describes the categories of personal information that we collect and where it comes from, Section 4 explains why we collect it, and Section 6 lists who receives it.

• The right to know what personal information we have collected about you, and to receive a copy of it.
• The right to have your personal information deleted, subject to the exceptions the law allows.
• The right to have inaccurate personal information corrected.
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of your personal information.
• The right not to be treated differently for exercising any of these rights.

We do not sell, trade, or rent your personal information. As explained in Section 6, California law defines sharing more widely than the everyday meaning of the word, and our use of advertising cookies falls within it. You can opt out at any time by turning Advertising off in Cookie Settings.

If your browser or a browser extension sends a Global Privacy Control signal, we treat it as a request to opt out of the sharing of your personal information and we apply it automatically. You do not need to do anything else.

We do not use sensitive personal information to infer characteristics about you, so the right to limit its use does not arise.

Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, Texas, Oregon, Montana, and a growing number of other states have their own privacy laws. The wording differs, but they give you broadly the same rights: to confirm whether we hold information about you and to access it, to correct it, to have it deleted, to obtain a portable copy, and to opt out of targeted advertising.

If we refuse a request, you may appeal that decision by contacting us again and asking us to reconsider. We will tell you the outcome of your appeal and our reasons for it.

The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, along with the privacy laws of several provinces, gives you the right to access the personal information that we hold about you, to ask us to correct it, and to withdraw your consent to our use of it. Quebec residents also have the right to receive their information in a portable form.

Our Privacy Officer is responsible for the protection of personal information at Sylestia. You will find their contact details in Section 14.

If you are not happy with how we have handled your information or your request, you can complain to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada, or to your provincial privacy regulator where your province has one.

Sylestia Games LLC is the data controller of your personal information. We rely on the following legal grounds for using it.

• To provide the game and run your account, because it is necessary in order to perform our agreement with you.
• To keep the game secure and to prevent fraud and abuse, because we have a legitimate interest in protecting Sylestia and its players.
• To use analytics and advertising cookies, because you have given your consent, which you are free to withdraw.
• To keep payment and tax records, because we are legally required to.

You have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation and the United Kingdom GDPR.

• The right to access the personal information we hold about you.
• The right to have inaccurate information corrected.
• The right to have your information erased.
• The right to restrict how we use your information.
• The right to receive your information in a portable form.
• The right to object to our use of your information where we rely on legitimate interests.
• The right to withdraw your consent at any time, where we rely on consent.

Withdrawing your consent does not affect anything we lawfully did with your information before you withdrew it.

If you believe we have handled your information improperly, you may complain to your local data protection authority. In the United Kingdom this is the Information Commissioner's Office.

The Privacy Act 1988 and the Australian Privacy Principles give you the right to access the personal information that we hold about you and to ask us to correct it. You may also ask us not to use your information for direct marketing.

If you are not happy with how we have handled your information or your request, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.

Your own country may give you rights that are not described above. Whether it does or not, the controls at the top of this section are available to every player, and we will do our best to honor any reasonable request about your information no matter where you live.

Please contact us through our Contact Us page and tell us what you would like us to do.

We may need to confirm your identity before we act, usually by asking you to make the request from the email address on your account and verifying your date of birth. We do this so that nobody else can obtain, change, or delete your information.

We will respond within 45 days where California law applies and within one month where the GDPR or the United Kingdom GDPR applies. If a request is unusually complex we may need longer, and we will tell you if that happens. Making a request is free unless it is clearly unfounded or excessive.

You may use an authorized agent to make a request for you. We may ask for proof that you have given them permission to act on your behalf.