Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

We may collect the following types of information:

a. Information You Provide Voluntarily

• Email address (e.g. for newsletters, updates, support requests, or community sign-ups)
• Usernames or display names (e.g. Discord or in-game identifiers if provided)
• Messages or feedback you send to us

b. Automatically Collected Information

When you use our game or website, we may automatically collect:

• Device type and operating system
• IP address (used for security, analytics, or performance)
• Gameplay data (e.g. match duration, game modes played, basic performance metrics)
• Crash logs and error reports

This data is used to improve game performance, balance gameplay, and fix bugs.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

• Operate and improve Birds of War
• Fix bugs and improve performance
• Balance game mechanics and features
• Communicate updates, announcements, or support responses
• Monitor security and prevent abuse or cheating
• Analyze usage trends and player behavior (in aggregate)

We do not sell your personal information.

3. Cookies and Analytics

Our website may use cookies or similar technologies to:

• Remember preferences
• Analyze traffic and usage
• Improve website performance

We may use third-party analytics tools (such as Google Analytics or Steam-provided analytics) to understand how players interact with our website or game. These services may collect anonymized usage data in accordance with their own privacy policies.

4. Third-Party Services

Birds of War may integrate with or be distributed through third-party platforms, including but not limited to:

• Steam
• Discord
• Analytics or crash-reporting services

These platforms operate under their own privacy policies. We encourage you to review them separately.

5. Data Sharing

We only share information:

• When required by law
• To protect the rights, safety, or security of our players or the game
• With trusted service providers who assist in operating the game (analytics, hosting, etc.), and only when necessary

6. Data Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your information from unauthorized access, loss, or misuse. However, no online system is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

7. Children's Privacy

Birds of War is not intended for children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided personal information, please contact us and we will take steps to remove it.

8. Your Rights and Choices

Depending on your location, you may have rights regarding your personal data, including:

• Requesting access to the data we hold
• Requesting correction or deletion of your data
• Opting out of marketing communications

You may contact us at any time to exercise these rights.

9. Bird Gang Social Relay (Discord)

Bird Gang Social Relay groups new Birds of War video links into Discord announcements. It reads Pingcord notifications in our configured social-inbox channel, waits seven minutes to group cross-platform posts, and publishes eligible links in our socials channel. It mentions only the opt-in Social Support role and does not send direct messages or @everyone pings.

Information the relay accesses and stores

Discord provides channel messages to the relay, which checks the sender and only processes notifications from the configured Pingcord bot. It uses message text and available embed timestamps to extract social links and reject old posts. Other members' messages may be received during this channel check, but their text is not stored or used for announcements. A message ID may be kept as the position from which the next channel check resumes.

• Stored records include public social URLs, platform and video IDs, source Discord message IDs and timestamps, verification and retry status, grouped announcement records, the relay's outgoing message text, and sent-message IDs.
• Server, channel, source-bot and Social Support role IDs are used as configuration. The relay does not maintain a list of role members or their reactions.
• Public YouTube metadata, including channel, title, description, publication time and video format, is checked to validate Shorts from our configured channels. The title and description are not saved in the relay database, and the relay does not download video files.
• Operational logs can include message IDs, public social links, processing status and error details for troubleshooting.

This information supports link validation, the seven-minute grouping window, duplicate prevention, recovery after interruptions and troubleshooting. The relay does not collect DMs, track presence, profile members, sell Discord data, or use message content to train AI or machine-learning models.

Hosting, sharing and retention

The relay runs on Railway and stores its operational database outside Discord on a persistent Railway volume. Railway provides storage-level encryption at rest. Operators with access to the hosting project can access its database and logs. Public social links are reposted to Discord channels and are visible to people who can access those channels, including members without the Social Support role.

Pingcord supplies social notifications, Carl-bot handles the reaction-role signup, and Discord hosts channel messages and role assignments. These services, Railway and the linked social platforms also handle data under their own policies. Clicking a social link takes you to that platform.

The current relay has no automatic deletion schedule or 30-day purge. Database records remain until manually removed. Expiring an announcement or rejecting an old link changes its processing status; it does not delete the stored record. Hosting logs have separate provider-managed retention. Removing a reaction, leaving the server, deleting a source message or removing the bot does not automatically erase the relay's stored records or existing announcements.

Your choices, deletion requests and support

React with the camera emoji on our Ping Roles message to join Social Support. Remove that reaction to stop role notifications. This controls pings only, not data collection or deletion. The relay has no in-bot data opt-out or deletion command. Server administrators can stop its channel access or remove it.

To request access, correction, deletion or that we stop processing a relevant record, or to report a problem with the relay, email hexnestgames@gmail.com. Include "Bird Gang Social Relay" and the relevant social URL or Discord message link or ID. We handle requests manually and may ask for information needed to verify the request. Do not send passwords, bot tokens or verification codes. Deleting a relay database record does not by itself delete the original social post, Discord announcement or records held by other services; please identify any announcement you also want us to review for removal.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Continued use of Birds of War after changes means you accept the updated policy.

11. Contact Us

If you have questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy, you can contact us at:

hexnestgames@gmail.com