How long we keep your data
Our mission is to keep as little data as possible, for as short a time as possible. This page explains what we keep, for how long, and what happens when you delete your account or simply stop playing.
What happens to your data depends on one thing: your standing
| In good standing, everything goes | With an active penalty, the penalty stays |
|---|---|
|
Delete your account or ask us to erase your data, and we delete everything: your account, your personal information, and the biometric references created at verification. Requests are actioned within one month; deletion completes after a 28-day processing window so any penalty reports already in progress are resolved first. Stop playing, and we delete you automatically. An account with no interaction for 3 years is deleted in full, biometric references included. We email you 3 months, 1 month, 1 week and 1 day beforehand, so you can keep your account by simply signing in. |
Your personal data is still substantially deleted on request: game and activity history (other than penalty evidence), display name, preferences, settings and marketing data are deleted or anonymised. You may still be able to sign in, but your account can no longer access PlaySafe Protected games or services. What remains is a limited record, the Penalty Record, kept so the penalty follows the PlaySafe ID and cannot be evaded by deleting the account. |
Exactly what a Penalty Record contains
The penalty itself: the offence category, and the date you were notified of it and of its retention period.
The evidence relating to that penalty.
Pseudonymised biometric references which are created after completing the privacy-preserving verification: an encrypted token that only our verification provider (Onfido, an Entrust company) can decrypt, under specific circumstances, and an alpha-numeric embedding held by the provider. Neither can be turned back into a face or image. While a penalty is active these references are retained as part of the Penalty Record: a deletion request does not remove them. They are permanently destroyed when the retention period ends, or earlier if the strictest applicable statutory maximum is reached, after which the rest of the Penalty Record carries the remainder of the period.
The identifiers of connected game accounts at the time of the penalty, so penalised accounts cannot be moved to a different PlaySafe ID.
Your date of birth, retained for identity-matching and duplicate-account-prevention purposes.
Your email address, retained solely so we can correspond with you about the penalty, any appeal, and the status and eventual deletion of the Penalty Record.
How long each offence category is kept
| Offence category | Retention period |
|---|---|
|
Child offences Grooming, child sexual abuse material, sexual offences against minors |
Retained indefinitely, subject to periodic review |
|
Fraud Payment fraud, chargeback fraud, account selling and farming, fraudulent account creation |
Up to 6 years; extendable on documented review |
|
Serious cheating Cheating involving prizes, wagers or betting markets; match manipulation; repeat offenders upgraded after a third penalty within 36 months |
Usually up to 5 years; extendable on documented review |
|
General cheating Use of cheats, unauthorised software or hardware, automation |
Usually up to 3 years; extendable on documented review |
|
Special cases Exceptional conduct designated case by case, for example terrorist content or large-scale account selling and real-money-trading operations, each with its legal basis recorded |
Set per case, subject to review |
One family, one standing
A penalty on any profile in a family account applies to all members of the family. Parents and guardians are told this prominently before adding a child profile. Any child account added under a parent exist only as profiles under a parent's or guardian's verified account: no biometric data about them is ever created.
Your location never reduces your protections
Every user, wherever you are, receives the strictest standard we operate, including the destruction rules of US state biometric privacy laws. Our destruction guidelines: for accounts in good standing, the biometric references are permanently destroyed at your request, when you delete your account, or under the automatic inactivity rule, whichever comes first. For accounts with an active penalty, the references are retained as part of the Penalty Record and are permanently destroyed when the purpose for holding them has been satisfied or at the strictest applicable statutory maximum from your last interaction with us, whichever comes first; after that, the Penalty Record and non-biometric identifiers carry the remainder of the retention period.
Where a written biometric release is required by law before verification, it is shown before any capture.
Every penalty can be appealed
Appeals are made to the game or community that issued the report; if it overturns the penalty, that penalty ends immediately, for you and, in a family account, for every member. Your account returns to good standing once no penalties remain on it. We keep a record of the appeal and the underlying evidence for a limited period afterwards, marked as overturned, for audit purposes and in case of legal proceedings; an overturned penalty is not a penalty.
Talk to us
privacy@playsafeid.com for anything about your data, or see our Privacy Policy for the full legal detail.