Privacy Policy

1 About this policy

This Privacy Policy explains how personal information is handled when you visit the PropGander website or play PropGander through Discord.

PropGander is a free multiplayer prop-hunt party game provided as a Discord Activity. It allows players to authenticate using Discord, join a shared game instance and play together through Discord's embedded Activity environment.

PropGander is operated by:

For the purposes of UK data-protection law, Jamie Myland is the data controller for personal information processed directly through PropGander.

Discord separately controls the personal information it collects and processes through the Discord platform. Google and other service providers may also process information on behalf of PropGander as described below.

2 Information PropGander processes

PropGander is designed to collect and retain as little personal information as reasonably necessary to operate the game.

2.1 Discord account information

When you start PropGander and authorise it through Discord, PropGander may receive:

• your Discord user ID;
• your Discord username;
• your Discord global display name, where available; and
• your Discord avatar reference, where available.

PropGander requests the Discord OAuth scopes identify and rpc.activities.write.

Your Discord user information is temporarily held by the browser Activity during your session. Your Discord user ID and display name are also supplied to the active PropGander game session so that the game can identify you and show your name to other players.

Display names are sanitised and limited to a maximum of 32 characters before being used in the game.

PropGander does not currently maintain a permanent player-profile or account database.

2.2 Authentication and session information

When you join a game, PropGander processes information needed to authenticate you and connect you to the correct multiplayer session.

This may include:

• a temporary Discord authorisation code;
• a temporary Discord access token;
• your Discord user ID;
• the Discord Activity instance ID;
• a short-lived PropGander gameplay ticket;
• the time the ticket was issued and expires; and
• a randomly generated ticket nonce.

The Discord authorisation code is exchanged for an access token on the server. Temporary Discord access tokens may then be returned to the embedded browser Activity and used to maintain the authorised session or request a new gameplay ticket.

Gameplay tickets normally expire after approximately five minutes. Their lifetime may be configured differently but is capped at 15 minutes.

Gameplay tickets are signed using a secret stored on the server. Discord client secrets and bot tokens are not included in the public game build.

Where Discord Activity instance validation is enabled, PropGander may contact Discord to confirm that you are a participant in the relevant Activity instance before allowing you to join.

2.3 Multiplayer identity and game information

During an active multiplayer session, PropGander keeps an in-memory record containing:

• your Discord user ID; and
• your sanitised display name.

This information is used to display player names in places such as:

• the game lobby;
• the player list;
• game announcements; and
• the scoreboard.

Other players participating in the same game session may therefore see your Discord display name and game results.

2.4 Gameplay statistics

PropGander may calculate and temporarily hold statistics for the active match, including:

• score;
• player reveals;
• captures;
• re-hides;
• incorrect pecks;
• honks; and
• time spent stationary while disguised as a prop.

These statistics are used to operate the match and display results or scoreboards.

PropGander does not currently maintain a persistent match-history database or use these statistics to create long-term player profiles. They normally exist only in the memory of the current game server and are lost when that game instance ends, restarts or is redeployed.

2.5 Connection and technical information

When you connect to PropGander, the service and its hosting providers may process technical information such as:

• your IP address;
• a salted, temporary hash derived from your IP address;
• connection timestamps;
• browser or user-agent information;
• request paths;
• Activity instance identifiers;
• connection and validation outcomes;
• capacity or rate-limit events;
• server startup and shutdown events;
• health-check information; and
• technical error messages.

Client IP addresses are used temporarily to apply rate limits and protect the service from misuse. This rate-limit information is held in server memory and normally resets after approximately 60 seconds.

For application-level events, PropGander logs a salted, per-process hash of the IP address instead of deliberately recording the raw IP address. Because the salt is temporary and changes when the process restarts, these hashes are not intended to provide a lasting identifier.

Google Cloud and other network infrastructure may nevertheless process or record raw connection metadata, including IP addresses, as part of providing, securing and monitoring the hosting service.

2.6 Client error reports

If the game encounters a browser or client error, it may send a diagnostic report to PropGander.

A diagnostic report may contain:

• the general type of error;
• a shortened error message or technical detail;
• the current page URL;
• your browser or user-agent information;
• whether WebGL 2 is supported;
• whether the page is operating in a cross-origin isolated context;
• a timestamp; and
• a temporary hashed representation of your IP address in application logs.

Diagnostic fields are selected and shortened before being written to application logs.

PropGander is designed not to include Discord access tokens, gameplay tickets, authorisation codes, passwords or raw request bodies in these logs.

Please avoid entering personal information into any browser console, URL or other field that could become part of an error message.

2.7 Information stored on your device

PropGander may store game preferences in a local settings file, such as settings.json, within the game or browser storage environment.

These settings may include preferences such as audio, display, control or accessibility options.

Local settings remain on your device or within your browser environment unless your browser or platform independently synchronises them. PropGander does not currently upload these settings to a central player-account database.

2.8 Support communications

If you contact PropGander by email, the information processed may include:

• your name;
• your email address;
• the contents of your message;
• information you voluntarily provide about your Discord account or game session; and
• any follow-up correspondence.

Please do not send passwords, Discord access tokens, gameplay tickets or other authentication credentials by email.

2.9 Website information

The PropGander website may receive ordinary web-server information such as IP addresses, timestamps, browser information and requested pages through its hosting provider.

PropGander does not currently use behavioural advertising, marketing analytics or cross-site tracking.

If cookies, analytics or additional tracking technologies are introduced in the future, this policy and any required cookie information will be updated before or when those technologies are introduced.

3 Information PropGander does not deliberately collect

PropGander does not currently:

• process payments;
• display advertising;
• sell personal information;
• use personal information for behavioural advertising;
• build advertising or marketing profiles;
• operate a public text-chat system;
• allow custom content uploads;
• use your personal information, including any data obtained through Discord, to train machine-learning or artificial-intelligence models;
• maintain a permanent match-history database;
• deliberately collect precise location information;
• deliberately collect special-category personal information; or
• deliberately collect passwords for your Discord account.

Discord may process additional information under its own terms and privacy policy.

4 Why PropGander uses personal information

PropGander uses personal information where necessary to:

• provide and operate the game;
• authenticate players through Discord;
• confirm participation in a Discord Activity instance;
• connect players to the correct multiplayer game;
• identify players within a game session;
• display player names, announcements, match information and scoreboards;
• create and verify short-lived gameplay tickets;
• maintain active game instances and connections;
• enforce player and technical capacity limits;
• prevent cheating, abuse, attacks and unauthorised access;
• apply connection rate limits;
• diagnose crashes, connection failures and compatibility problems;
• maintain the security, availability and reliability of the service;
• respond to support, privacy and legal requests;
• enforce the PropGander Terms of Service; and
• comply with applicable legal obligations.

PropGander does not use your information to make decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects through automated processing.

5 Lawful bases for processing

Under the UK General Data Protection Regulation, PropGander relies on the following lawful bases.

5.1 Performance of a contract

Some processing is necessary to provide PropGander under its Terms of Service.

This includes processing necessary to:

• authenticate you;
• connect you to a game;
• identify you during the session;
• run the multiplayer match; and
• display the match and scoreboard to participants.

If this information is not processed, PropGander may be unable to provide the multiplayer service.

5.2 Legitimate interests

PropGander has legitimate interests in operating a safe, reliable and functional multiplayer service.

This includes:

• securing the game and its infrastructure;
• preventing fraud, cheating and abuse;
• applying rate limits and capacity controls;
• diagnosing technical errors;
• improving compatibility and reliability;
• keeping limited service records;
• responding to support requests; and
• establishing, exercising or defending legal claims.

Where legitimate interests are used, the need for the processing is balanced against the rights and reasonable expectations of players. PropGander limits the information collected, uses temporary session state where possible and avoids persistent player tracking.

5.3 Legal obligations

Information may be processed where necessary to comply with a legal obligation, court order or lawful request from an authorised public body.

5.4 Consent

PropGander does not currently rely on consent for its main game-processing activities.

If consent is requested for an optional feature in the future, you will be told what you are consenting to and may withdraw that consent at any time.

6 Sharing and recipients

PropGander does not sell your personal information.

Information may be shared with or processed by the following categories of recipient.

6.1 Discord

PropGander relies on Discord to:

• provide the Discord platform and embedded Activity environment;
• authenticate Discord users;
• provide authorised Discord identity information;
• identify Activity instances; and
• validate participation in an Activity instance.

Discord processes information under its own terms and privacy policy.

6.2 Google Cloud

PropGander currently uses Google Cloud services, including services that may provide:

• application and game-server hosting;
• network routing;
• serverless container execution through Cloud Run;
• secret storage through Secret Manager;
• software-image storage through Artifact Registry;
• infrastructure monitoring;
• application logging; and
• security and operational records.

The main PropGander game service is currently deployed in Google Cloud's europe-west2 region. This does not necessarily mean that every item of operational, support or provider-controlled metadata is exclusively processed in that region.

Google acts as a service provider or processor for relevant customer data, although Google may act as an independent controller for some account, security, billing or service-administration information.

6.3 Website, domain and email providers

Providers used to host the PropGander website, manage the propgander.com domain or provide the propgander.support@gmail.com email service may process limited technical or correspondence information.

The identity of these providers may change as the service develops.

6.4 Professional and legal recipients

Information may be disclosed where reasonably necessary to:

• obtain legal, technical or security advice;
• investigate suspected misuse;
• protect players, PropGander or other people;
• comply with applicable law;
• respond to a court order or valid legal request; or
• establish, exercise or defend legal rights.

7 International transfers

Discord, Google and other service providers may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, PropGander relies on the safeguards made available by the relevant provider and required under applicable data-protection law. Depending on the destination and circumstances, these may include:

• UK adequacy regulations;
• the UK International Data Transfer Agreement;
• the UK Addendum to the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses; or
• another legally recognised transfer mechanism.

You may contact propgander.support@gmail.com for more information about the safeguards relevant to PropGander's service providers.

8 Retention

PropGander keeps personal information only for as long as it is reasonably needed for the purposes described in this policy.

Current or intended retention periods are as follows.

8.1 Browser session information

Discord identity information kept in the browser Activity is normally retained only for the current browser or Activity session and is cleared when the page or Activity closes, subject to the behaviour of Discord and your browser.

8.2 Active game state

Player identities, connections, match state and scoreboard statistics are held in server memory for the active game session.

They are cleared when the game process or service instance stops, restarts or is redeployed. They are not currently written to a permanent match-history or player-profile database.

8.3 Empty game instances

An empty game instance is normally scheduled to stop after approximately two minutes, although shutdown may take longer because of hosting or operational conditions.

8.4 Gameplay tickets

Gameplay tickets normally expire after approximately five minutes and cannot be configured to last longer than 15 minutes.

Server and security logs may retain a record that a ticket was accepted or rejected, but PropGander is designed not to record the complete ticket itself.

8.5 Rate-limit information

IP-based application rate-limit records are normally retained in memory for approximately 60 seconds.

8.6 Application and infrastructure logs

Ordinary PropGander application logs are intended to be retained for no longer than 30 days, unless a longer period is reasonably necessary to:

• investigate a security incident;
• investigate serious misuse;
• resolve a technical fault;
• comply with a legal obligation; or
• establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

Google Cloud may maintain certain provider-controlled, security, access or audit logs for different periods under its own service configuration and legal obligations. Some required audit records may be retained for longer than ordinary application logs.

8.7 Support correspondence

Support, privacy and legal correspondence is retained for as long as reasonably necessary to answer the request, manage follow-up issues and maintain an appropriate record.

Routine support correspondence will generally be reviewed for deletion after 12 months. Information may be retained longer where it concerns a continuing dispute, safeguarding matter, security incident or legal obligation.

8.8 Legal and security records

Information connected with serious abuse, security incidents, disputes or legal claims may be retained for as long as reasonably required to investigate the matter and protect or exercise legal rights.

9 Security

PropGander uses proportionate technical and organisational measures intended to protect personal information.

Current measures include:

• keeping Discord client secrets and bot tokens on the server rather than in the public web build;
• storing important secrets through Google Secret Manager;
• using short-lived, signed gameplay tickets;
• validating ticket expiry and game-instance membership;
• requiring authenticated WebSocket connections;
• validating Discord Activity participation where enabled;
• applying connection rate limits;
• limiting active game and player capacity;
• sanitising and truncating player display names;
• avoiding the deliberate logging of access tokens, gameplay tickets, authorisation codes and request bodies;
• hashing IP addresses in application-level logs using a temporary, salted hash;
• separating public client code from authoritative game-server logic; and
• limiting personal information to what is needed for the current session.

No internet service can guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for protecting your Discord account and should report suspected unauthorised access to Discord as well as to PropGander where relevant.

10 Children and younger players

PropGander is accessed through Discord and is not intended for children below the minimum age required to use Discord in their country.

PropGander does not knowingly seek personal information directly from children who are too young to use Discord.

A younger player who is permitted to use Discord may still be protected by additional privacy rights. PropGander therefore aims to minimise data collection, avoid behavioural profiling and advertising, keep most gameplay information only for the active session and explain its processing in clear language.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that a child below the applicable minimum age has used PropGander or provided personal information, contact:

PropGander will investigate and, where appropriate and reasonably possible, delete relevant information or prevent further access.

Because most player information originates from Discord, you may also need to contact Discord regarding information held in the Discord account.

11 Your data-protection rights

Request access, correction or deletion of your data at any time by emailing propgander.support@gmail.com. Because PropGander holds most player information only in memory for the duration of a game session, there is usually little or no stored data to remove once your session ends.

Depending on the circumstances, UK data-protection law may give you the right to:

• request access to your personal information;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of your information;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to processing based on legitimate interests;
• receive certain information in a portable format;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
• complain to a data-protection regulator.

These rights are not absolute. For example, PropGander may need to retain limited information to comply with law, investigate misuse or defend legal claims.

Because PropGander does not currently maintain permanent player accounts or match histories, there may be little or no centrally retained player information remaining after a game session ends.

To make a request, email:

Please describe the request and provide enough information to identify the relevant session or correspondence. PropGander may need to ask for reasonable evidence that you control the relevant Discord account or email address before disclosing or deleting information.

PropGander will normally respond within one month, subject to any extension permitted by law.

12 Complaints

Please contact propgander.support@gmail.com first so that the concern can be investigated.

You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office.

13 Third-party services and links

PropGander depends on Discord and Google Cloud. Those services have their own terms and privacy policies, and PropGander does not control all processing performed independently by those providers.

The PropGander website or game may also link to other websites. This policy does not govern websites or services operated by other organisations.

14 Changes to this policy

This policy may be updated when PropGander's features, hosting arrangements or legal obligations change.

Material changes will be published at:

https://www.propgander.com/privacy

The effective date at the top of the policy will be updated. Where appropriate, additional notice may be provided through the website, Discord or the game.

15 Contact

For questions, privacy requests or complaints relating to PropGander, contact: