Shardana — Privacy Policy and Data Requests

This policy explains which personal data are processed when you visit the Shardana website (shardana.alessandromelia.it) and when you use the game and its related services. It is written under Articles 13 and 14 of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR).

1. Data controller

Alessandro Melia, VAT no. IT05219930236, via Alessandro Manzoni 8, 37038 Soave (VR), Italy. Contact: contact form. No Data Protection Officer has been appointed, as one is not required for this kind of activity.

2. In short

The website uses no advertising cookies and no profiling.
Website statistics are anonymous, without cookies and without storing your IP address.
In the game: anonymous statistics exist only in the playtest and full game and are only sent if you agree when the game asks; bug reports are only sent if you send them.
Steam, Discord and other platforms process your data under their own policies.

3. Data processed through the website

3.1 Server logs

Like any web server, the server hosting this site records technical data about requests: IP address, date and time, page requested, browser and operating system. They are needed to run the site and protect it from abuse. Legal basis: legitimate interest in security and operation of the service (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Retention: The site and email are hosted by IONOS SE (Elgendorfer Str. 57, 56410 Montabaur, Germany). Logs stay on IONOS servers for the period set by its default configuration; I do not use them for anything else or copy them elsewhere.

3.2 Anonymous website statistics

To understand which pages are useful and how many people click the links to Steam, the site counts anonymously: page visited, referring site (domain only), campaign parameters (UTM), language, screen-width band and clicks on the main buttons. It uses no cookies or other identifiers stored on your device, does not store your IP address and does not combine the data with other sources. The data stay on the website’s server and are not shared with third parties. Nothing is counted if your browser sends a “Do Not Track” or “Global Privacy Control” signal, or if you switch statistics off in “Cookie preferences”. Legal basis: legitimate interest in improving the site (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). Retention: 13 months.

The site does not know and does not claim the number of wishlists added on Steam: where available, that figure is in Steam reports reserved for the developer and contains no information about you.

3.3 Privacy request form

If you use the form at the bottom of this page we process: name, email, type of request, description and any information you choose to add. The message reaches the controller by email together with your IP address and browser, to prevent abuse. Legal basis: compliance with a legal obligation (Art. 6(1)(c) and Arts. 12–22 GDPR). Retention: as long as needed to handle the request and to show it was handled, up to 24 months.

3.4 Spam protection on forms

Forms are protected by Cloudflare Turnstile, a service by Cloudflare, Inc. that checks a person is submitting the form. It processes technical data such as IP address and browser characteristics. Cloudflare participates in the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework. The widget only loads on pages with a form. Legal basis: legitimate interest in security (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). To limit repeated attempts, the server keeps a non-reversible fingerprint of your IP address for one hour, then deletes it.

3.5 External content

Steam widgets or YouTube videos only load if you consent in the banner or with the “Load” button on the item itself. Once loaded, Valve Corporation or Google process your data as independent controllers and may set their own cookies. Legal basis: consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you can withdraw at any time from “Cookie preferences”.

3.6 External links

Links to Steam, Discord, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn lead to third-party sites, whose policies apply from that point on.

3.7 Preferences saved in your browser

The site stores in your browser (localStorage) your cookie choice, accessibility settings and whether you want sounds on. They stay on your device and are not sent to the server. Details are in the cookie policy.

3.8 News from Steam

The latest news list is requested from Steam by the website’s server, not by your browser: Valve receives no data about your visit.

4.1 Steam

Shardana is distributed through Steam. Purchase, account, Steam Cloud saves, achievements, lobbies and online features go through Valve Corporation, which processes data as an independent controller under its own policy.

4.2 Co-op sessions

In co-op, players’ computers connect to each other through Steam or, if you choose direct connection, through IP address. In the latter case your IP address is visible to whoever hosts or joins the session. The developer does not collect or store these data. Voice chat transmits your voice to the other players in the session, only while you hold the push-to-talk key. Your voice travels over the same connection as the game: through Steam, which may route it via its own relay network, or directly between computers if you use direct connection. It does not go through any other service, and the game neither records nor stores it. You can switch voice chat off in the game settings.

4.3 Bug reports (demo)

In the demo you can send a bug report with the F9 key. Only what you send leaves your computer: your description, the game version, technical information and error logs and, if you choose, a screenshot. Device information collection is switched off. Reports are handled through Forge Logger, a service by Stone Forge Labs (Nové sady 988/2, 602 00 Brno, Czech Republic). Legal basis: legitimate interest in fixing errors, at your initiative (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The data stay in the European Union and are kept for 90 days.

4.4 Anonymous gameplay statistics (playtest and full game)

In the playtest and full game, not in the demo, the game can send anonymous statistics to GameAnalytics ApS (Pilestræde 58, 2, 1112 Copenhagen K, Denmark), which processes them on my behalf as a processor (Art. 28 GDPR): a random identifier for this installation, operating system version and platform, game version, number and length of sessions, gameplay events, performance (frames per second) and technical errors. They contain no name, email or IP address stored by the developer. At first launch the game asks whether you want to send them: until you answer “I agree”, no data leaves your computer and no identifier is stored on it. If you are under 16, answer “No”. You can withdraw your consent at any time in the game settings, under “Anonymous gameplay statistics”: sending stops at once and the identifier is deleted from your computer. Legal basis: consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR). The data are kept for 90 days.

4.5 Discord

If Discord is open on your computer, the game can show what you are doing on your Discord profile (Rich Presence). The information goes through the Discord application installed on your computer; Discord’s policy applies. If you do not want it shown, switch it off in Discord: User Settings → Activity Privacy → share your activity.

4.6 Saves and settings

Saves and settings stay on your computer and, if enabled, on Steam Cloud.

4.7 Children

Shardana contains violence and horror scenes and is recommended for ages 16 and up. The site and the game are not meant for anyone younger and do not knowingly collect their data. If you are a parent and believe your child has sent us personal data, write through the contact form and we will delete it.

5. Recipients and transfers outside the EEA

Data may be processed by the providers listed above: IONOS SE (hosting and email, Germany), Stone Forge Labs (Forge Logger, Czech Republic), GameAnalytics ApS (Denmark) and Cloudflare, Inc. (United States). For Cloudflare, and for any other processing outside the EEA, transfers rely on the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework or the European Commission’s standard contractual clauses. Valve, Discord, Google, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn process data as independent controllers.

6. Your rights

You can ask at any time for: access to your data, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, portability, objection to processing based on legitimate interest, withdrawal of consent (without affecting earlier processing). I reply within one month, extendable where the law allows. To exercise them, use the form below or the contact form. If you believe the processing breaches the GDPR you can lodge a complaint with the Italian Data Protection Authority, Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (garanteprivacy.it), or with the authority of your country of residence.

7. Updates

This policy may change when the site or the game changes. The date at the top shows the latest revision.