Privacy Policy

When you visit this website, certain personal data is collected and processed. This policy explains what data is collected, why, and what rights you have. The full details are set out in the sections below.

The party responsible for data processing on this website (the "controller") is: Techtive Games GmbH Am Sportplatz 1 82041 Oberhaching Germany Represented by: Simon Suckut Email: [email protected]

The provider of the pages automatically collects and stores information in so-called server log files, which your browser automatically transmits to us. These are: browser type and version, operating system used, referrer URL (the previously visited page), host name of the accessing computer, time of the server request, and IP address.

The basis for data processing is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest), which allows the processing of data for the technically error-free presentation and optimization of the website.

If you send us inquiries via the contact form or email (e.g., for game support), your details from the inquiry form, including the contact data you provided there, will be stored by us for the purpose of processing the inquiry and in the event of follow-up questions.

The processing of this data is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR if your request is related to the fulfillment of a contract or is necessary for the performance of pre-contractual measures. In all other cases, the processing is based on our legitimate interest in the effective processing of the inquiries addressed to us (Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR).

This website uses cookies and browser local storage to ensure core functionality and, where you have given your consent, to analyze website usage.

Essential (always active): — "sidebar:state" (cookie, 7 days): remembers whether the sidebar is open or closed. — "ardem-store-cart" (localStorage, persistent): saves the contents of your shopping cart between sessions. — "ardem-changelog-dismissed-version" and "ardem-banner-dismissed-at" (localStorage): remember which update notices you have already dismissed so they are not shown again.

Analytics (only with your consent): — "ardem_visitor_id" (localStorage, persistent): a randomly generated, anonymous ID used exclusively to count unique page views on our wiki. It contains no personal data and cannot be used to identify you. — Vercel Analytics and Speed Insights cookies (see Section 5): set when you accept analytics cookies.

You can manage or withdraw your cookie consent at any time by clicking the cookie banner that appears on your first visit. Your choice is saved in local storage under the key "ardem-cookie-consent". Withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.

The legal basis for essential cookies is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in the technically correct operation of the website). The legal basis for analytics cookies is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (your consent).

With your consent, this website uses Vercel Analytics and Vercel Speed Insights, services provided by Vercel Inc., 340 Pine Street, Suite 701, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA.

These services collect anonymized data about page views, navigation paths, and Core Web Vitals (loading performance, interactivity, visual stability) in order to help us improve the website. No personally identifiable information is transmitted. Vercel processes data on servers within the EU/EEA where possible.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR (your consent). You can withdraw consent at any time via the cookie banner. For more information, see Vercel's privacy policy at vercel.com/legal/privacy-policy.

Our website uses plugins from the video portal YouTube. The operator is Google Ireland Limited ("Google"), Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland.

To protect your privacy, we use YouTube in "Enhanced Privacy Mode" (youtube-nocookie.com). Furthermore, we have implemented a "Two-Click Solution": by default, no data is transferred to YouTube when you visit a page with an embedded video. Instead, a placeholder image is displayed. Only when you actively click on the video (the "second click") is a connection to YouTube's servers established and the video loaded.

Once you activate the video, your IP address and the information that you have visited our website are transmitted to YouTube. If you are logged into your YouTube account, you enable YouTube to associate your surfing behavior directly with your personal profile.

The use of YouTube is based on your consent pursuant to Art. 6 (1) (a) GDPR. You can withdraw this consent at any time for the future by reloading the page.

You may sign in to your Ardem account using your existing account at one of the following providers: Google (Google Ireland Limited, Gordon House, Barrow Street, Dublin 4, Ireland), Discord (Discord Inc., 444 De Haro Street, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA), Twitch (Twitch Interactive Inc., 350 Bush Street, 2nd Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104, USA), or Steam (Valve Corporation, P.O. Box 1688, Bellevue, WA 98009, USA).

Using these sign-in methods is entirely voluntary. When you choose to authenticate via one of these providers, you are redirected to their login page, where their own privacy policy applies. Upon successful authentication, we receive only the data necessary to create or identify your Ardem account (typically a unique user ID, username, and email address). We do not receive your password.

Steam is an exception in two respects. Valve does not provide us with an email address, and signing in or linking your account through Steam enables further processing that goes beyond authentication — including verification of game ownership and playtime. That processing is described separately in Section 13.

Any cookies set during the OAuth login flow are set by the respective provider and are governed by their privacy policies. The legal basis for processing the data returned to us is Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of a contract — providing you with an account).

We use Cloudflare Turnstile, a CAPTCHA-alternative service provided by Cloudflare Inc., 101 Townsend St, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA, to protect forms on this website from automated abuse and spam.

Turnstile runs entirely client-side and may set cookies or store data in your browser solely for the purpose of determining whether the form submission originates from a human user. No personal data is transmitted to Cloudflare beyond what is necessary for this security check.

The legal basis is Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (legitimate interest in protecting the website against misuse). For more information, see Cloudflare's privacy policy at cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.

Our website contains links to external platforms such as Steam (Valve Corp.), Discord, and various social media networks. These are not embedded plugins but simple hyperlinks. When you click these links, you leave our website and connect directly to the servers of these providers. Their respective privacy policies apply.

This section concerns outbound links only. If you have linked your Steam account to your Ardem profile, we additionally query Valve's Steam Web API about your account from our own servers. That is a separate processing activity and is described in Section 13.

Our official Discord community server contains a dedicated, clearly labeled suggestions forum channel. If you post a suggestion there, an automated application (bot) operated by us reads the title and the first message of your thread and transfers them to our website, where the suggestion is displayed publicly on our feature-request board. The bot does not read, process, or store messages from any other channels on the server.

Data we process The thread title (up to 200 characters), the text of the first message in the thread (up to 2,000 characters), your Discord username, and your Discord user ID. If you have linked your Discord account to an Ardem account, the suggestion is additionally associated with that Ardem account.

Use and purpose This data is used for one purpose only — to display your suggestion on our public feature-request board so that the whole community, including players who are not on Discord, can see and vote on it. The suggestion is shown together with your Discord username as its author.

Legal basis Processing is based on Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in collecting and publicly displaying community feedback about our game). Posting in the suggestions channel is entirely voluntary — if you do not want your suggestion processed, simply do not post in that channel.

Storage and security The data is stored in our application database on servers located in the EU/EEA. It is transmitted and stored using encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS).

Retention and deletion If your thread is edited on Discord, the website entry is updated accordingly. If your thread is deleted on Discord, the corresponding entry is deleted from our database. You may also request deletion at any time by contacting us at the address in Section 2.

The data is not sold, rented, or transferred to any third party, and it is not used to train machine-learning or AI models.

Please note that our games may collect anonymized telemetry and crash data to improve the gaming experience and fix technical issues.

If you apply to the Ardem Creator Program, we may request access to data from the following third-party platforms to verify that you own the channel or account you claim and to assess your eligibility.

YouTube (Google API Services) This section explains how Ardem accesses, uses, stores, and shares data obtained through Google APIs, specifically the YouTube Data API. Access: When you connect your YouTube channel as part of a Creator Program application, you are redirected to a Google sign-in page where you grant Ardem read-only access to your YouTube account through the scope "https://www.googleapis.com/auth/youtube.readonly". This is the minimum scope required to confirm that you are the authenticated owner of the channel. We do not request write access and cannot modify, upload, or delete anything on your YouTube account. Data we access: Through this scope we read and store the following data from your YouTube channel: channel ID, channel name, custom handle, subscriber count, total view count, and total video count. Use and purpose: We use this data for one purpose only — to verify that you own the channel and to evaluate and administer your Ardem Creator Program application. If your application is approved, the channel statistics above are used to populate and maintain your creator profile within Ardem. The data is processed automatically; we carry out no advertising, profiling, or automated decision-making beyond determining Creator Program eligibility. We do not use Google user data to train, fine-tune, or improve any artificial intelligence or machine-learning models. Storage and security: The data is stored in our application database on servers located in the EU/EEA. It is transmitted and stored using encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), and access is restricted to a limited number of authorized personnel solely for operating the Creator Program. Sharing: We do not sell, rent, or transfer YouTube API data to any third party, and we do not use it for advertising or for any purpose unrelated to operating the Creator Program, except where disclosure is required by law. Retention and revocation: We retain your YouTube data only for as long as your account is active or until you withdraw your application or disconnect your channel. You can disconnect your YouTube channel at any time from the Creator Program application page, which deletes the stored YouTube data from our systems. You may also revoke Ardem's access to your Google account at any time at https://myaccount.google.com/permissions. To request full deletion of all creator-related data, contact us at the address in Section 2. Limited Use: Ardem'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 the Limited Use requirements. For the full policy, see https://developers.google.com/terms/api-services-user-data-policy.

Twitch If you sign in with Twitch, we receive your Twitch username, display name, follower count, and account creation date via the Twitch API. This data is used solely to verify your Twitch channel for Creator Program eligibility.

Discord A Discord account linked to your Ardem profile is required before you can submit a Creator Program application. We verify this link via our internal account system. In connection with the Creator Program, we do not read your Discord messages or any data beyond what you provided when connecting your account. Suggestions you voluntarily post in the dedicated suggestions channel of our Discord community server are a separate processing activity, described in Section 10.

Data Retention Creator application data (including any platform data collected during the application) is retained for as long as your account is active or until you withdraw your application. You can disconnect your YouTube channel at any time from the Creator Program application page, which removes your stored YouTube data. To fully delete all creator-related data, contact us at the address listed in Section 2 (Controller).

If you link a Steam account (Valve Corporation, P.O. Box 1688, Bellevue, WA 98009, USA) to your Ardem profile, we process data about your Steam account that goes beyond the sign-in itself. Linking Steam is voluntary and you can use Ardem without it, although some playtests require it.

Access Steam uses the OpenID 2.0 protocol, which has no permission or scope system. When you sign in through Valve, the only information Valve returns to us is your public SteamID64. We never receive your password, and Steam does not provide us with your email address — for accounts created through Steam we generate an internal placeholder address instead. None of the further data described below is sent to us by Valve at sign-in: we retrieve it ourselves from the Steam Web API using our own developer key, and only to the extent that your Steam profile is publicly visible.

Data we access Your SteamID64, Steam display name, avatar, profile URL and online status. Whether you own Ardem on Steam, and your recorded playtime for Ardem. Whether the "Game details" section of your Steam profile is set to public. If it is set to private, the two points above cannot be read at all. Whether Ardem appears on your Steam wishlist, the total number of items on your wishlist, the date on which you added Ardem to it, and the position Ardem holds in your own wishlist ordering.

Use and purpose Game ownership and playtime are used to determine your eligibility for playtests that require them, and to unlock features reserved for owners of the game. The visibility status of your Steam profile is used solely so that we can tell you why a check could not be completed, instead of presenting you with an incorrect result. Wishlist data is used only to produce aggregate figures about interest in our own game. It has no effect on your account, your profile, or your access to anything on Ardem. We record it once per day. We do not store a per-user list of the other games on your wishlist; those are counted per game across all users and stored only in that aggregated form.

Legal basis Processing of your SteamID, profile details, game ownership and playtime is based on Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR (performance of a contract — providing your account and the playtest access you have applied for). Processing of wishlist data is based on Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR (our legitimate interest in measuring interest in our own game). You may object to this at any time under Art. 21 GDPR, without giving reasons, by switching off "Wishlist tracking" in your Ardem profile under Connections. This stops all further collection immediately.

Storage and security The data is stored in our application database on servers located in the EU/EEA. It is transmitted and stored using encryption in transit (HTTPS/TLS), and access is restricted to a limited number of authorized personnel.

Sharing We do not sell, rent, or transfer Steam data to any third party. Internally it is reported in aggregate, and wishlist figures are never reported in a form that identifies an individual player.

Retention and revocation You can disconnect Steam at any time from your Ardem profile under Connections. Disconnecting deletes your stored SteamID, ownership status, playtime and profile-visibility status from your account, and stops all further retrieval from Steam. Wishlist records that are linked to your account are deleted when your Ardem account is deleted. Aggregate per-game counts contain no reference to you and cannot be traced back to you; these are retained.

As a data subject, you have the following rights under the GDPR:

Art. 15 GDPR: Right to access your stored data. Art. 16 GDPR: Right to correction of incorrect data. Art. 17 GDPR: Right to deletion of your data ("Right to be forgotten"). Art. 18 GDPR: Right to restrict processing. Art. 20 GDPR: Right to data portability. Art. 21 GDPR: Right to object to processing based on legitimate interests.

If you believe that the processing of your data violates data protection law, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority (e.g., the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision).