Privacy Policy

What the App collects and does not collect

Variable Software ("we," "us" or "our") operates Startled Manor (the "App"). This policy describes what information the App collects, how it is used, and the choices you have.

The App does not ask for your email address or any other contact information.

The App collects only the information described in the sections below.

Online services

The App offers online features. A server that Variable Software operates keeps the online data these features need, such as your online progress.

The App identifies you by your platform account's identity and display name. There is no separate sign-up for the App.

Players can talk with other players by voice chat. Your voice is passed to the other players while you play.

Your choices

The App has no privacy settings for you to change.

Deleting your data

Uninstalling the App does not delete your online data.

To ask for your data to be deleted, write to support@variablesw.com.

Children

The App is intended for a general audience and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect personal information from children.

Changes to this policy

When this policy changes, the date at the end of this policy changes with it, and additional notice is given where the law requires it.

Contact

Questions about this policy or about how the App handles information can be sent to:

support@variablesw.com

Additional information

Who the App is for

Startled Manor is for adults 18 and older. On Meta Quest, the App reads the age category of your Meta account and lets you in only when Meta reports you as an adult. If Meta reports you as under 18, or reports no age category, the App does not let you in. On PC VR, the App asks you once to confirm that you are 18 or older, and the game server keeps your answer with your Steam account. The App does not store your age category.

Online play

Startled Manor is a social game. You meet other players in a shared Lobby on a game server that Variable Software operates, and you can play alone, with friends or with other players. This section describes the information the App uses and the game server keeps.

What the App uses

• Your platform account. On Meta Quest the App uses your Meta account, and on PC VR your Steam account. The App reads your account's identifier and display name and checks with the platform that you own the App. The game server checks with the platform that your sign-in is genuine.
• Your display name. Other players see your platform display name and nothing else about your account, not even which platform you play on.
• Your friends list. If you turn on "Decline all invites", the App reads your friends on the same platform when an invite arrives, only to let your friends' invites through. The list is used for that check and is not stored.
• Your movements and your mask. The position of your head and hands and the mask you wear are shared with the other players in the same space while you play.

What the game server keeps

The game server keeps a record for each player under a reference derived from the platform account identifier, so the identifier itself is not stored in it. The record holds your chosen mask, your "Decline all invites" setting, your PC VR 18+ confirmation, whether you have seen the House rules card, the players you have muted or blocked, your Recently met list (the players you met in your current and last session), and your completion record with the Marks it earns. Each muted, blocked or Recently met entry holds that player's display name. The record follows your platform account to every device of the same platform. A Meta account and a Steam account are two separate players. The game server does not keep voice recordings, your age, your location, or contact or payment information.

The App also keeps a copy of this record on your device, together with changes made while the connection is down, so that it can keep working until the connection returns.

Settings on your device

Your comfort settings (movement, vignette, turning, play position and main hand), the reduce-startle setting, the personal-space bubble setting and your volume settings are kept only on your device. They are not restored from your account after a reinstall or on another device.

Voice chat

Voice chat with other players, including players you do not know, is on when you start. Your voice is sent through the game server to the players who can hear you. It is not recorded or stored. You can mute your own microphone, or mute or block any player, at any time.

Reports, muting and blocking

You can report another player from the in-game safety tools and, on Meta Quest, from the system button. A report holds the player who made it and the player it is about, each by their player reference and display name, the report category, the time and the place in the game. It holds no voice recording. Reports go to a review queue that Variable Software reads, and each report is deleted after a fixed period. The player you report, mute or block is not told.

Deleting your online data

The App has no in-app option to delete your online data. To have it deleted, write to support@variablesw.com and include the Player ID shown in the App's Settings. Variable Software then deletes the game server's record for that Player ID, which is the record described under "What the game server keeps". Uninstalling the App does not delete that record. After the deletion, your display name can still appear in other players' muted, blocked or Recently met lists until those lists change, and in a report until that report is deleted.

Meta and Steam

Meta and Valve collect and process information about your device and your account under their own terms and privacy policies: the Meta Privacy Policy and the Steam Privacy Policy. Apart from what this policy describes, Variable Software does not receive that information.