Privacy Policy
Welcome to The Long Winter (On the Mammoth Steppes). We believe in minimal data collection and complete transparency. This Privacy Policy explains what information is collected when you explore the planetary chronicle, how it is stored and shared within the multiplayer settlement, and the controls available to you.
1. Information We Collect & Store
By default, you can play as a guest using Firebase Anonymous Authentication, which assigns a random technical identifier (UID) without requiring any personal information.
If you choose to sign in with Google Sign-In, Firebase Authentication receives your basic Google profile information (display name, email address, and profile avatar URL) to link your expedition progress across devices.
Because The Long Winter is a shared persistent world, gameplay actions are synchronized in real time via Google Cloud Firestore. This includes your scout's designation (name), hex coordinates, health/stamina status, supply cairn deposits, discovered terrain chunks, and entries inscribed into the Central Archive.
Your browser's localStorage (under key the_long_winter_gamestate_v1) is used to cache your current expedition state on your device for instant loading and offline resilience.
Our hosting and database infrastructure (Google Firebase Hosting & Cloud Firestore) automatically processes standard network metadata such as IP addresses, browser user-agent strings, and request timestamps to deliver the site and prevent abuse.
2. How We Use Your Information
We use the information collected strictly to operate and maintain the game experience:
- Persistence & Synchronization: Saving your scout's location, inventory, and generational lineage across sessions.
- Multiplayer Visibility: Displaying your chosen scout name and hex position to fellow scouts exploring the Mammoth Steppes, and attributing terrain discoveries and supply cairns in the Living Chronicle.
- Security & Integrity: Validating game rules through Firestore Security Rules so that canon records and player states remain protected against unauthorized tampering.
3. Shared World Visibility
When you sign in with Google for the first time without an existing scout name, the game may initialize your surveyor's name using your Google display name (or a generated colonist name). Your active scout name is visible to other players on the map and in chronicle dispatches.
You can change your scout's public designation at any time directly from the Scout Panel in the game interface. Your email address and Google profile photo are never publicly displayed to other players in the settlement.
4. Third-Party Infrastructure
The Long Winter relies on Google Firebase (Firebase Authentication, Cloud Firestore, and Firebase Hosting) to provide authentication, real-time database synchronization, and static web hosting. Google processes authentication and infrastructure data in accordance with the Privacy and Security in Firebase documentation and the Google Privacy Policy.
5. Your Choices, Data Retention & Deletion
- Resetting Local Data: You can clear all locally cached game state on your device at any time by clicking the Reset Save button in the top navigation bar or by clearing your browser's site data.
- Signing Out: If you signed in with Google, you can sign out at any time using the sign-out button next to your profile badge in the header.
- Renaming Your Scout: You can rename your scout at any time to remove or replace any display name associated with your surveyor record.
- Revoking Google Access: You can revoke this application's access to your Google account at any time from your Google Account Permissions page.
6. Policy Updates & Contact
As the planetary chronicle evolves across new seasons and features, we may update this Privacy Policy to reflect changes in our data practices. Any updates will be posted on this page with a revised effective date.
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to request deletion of your cloud player record, please reach out via the project repository or colony administrator contact channel.