Privacy policy

Last updated: 13 November 2026 (self-service account deletion; letters no longer emailed)

This policy explains what personal information Valier Games ("we") collects when you use the official Struggle of Empires services, why, and what you can do about it. We have tried to keep it short and plain. If anything is unclear, write to support@struggleofempires.com.

What this covers

The official services run by Valier Games:

• this website, struggleofempires.com
• the official game server, play.struggleofempires.com (including its public Newsfax pages and press kit)
• the ownership check that Steam copies of the game use
• the official Struggle of Empires Discord server and its bot
• our support email

Game servers run by other people. Anyone can host a Struggle of Empires server. A server run by someone else is controlled by that person, not by us, and they decide what happens to the data on it. The game software stores the same kinds of information described below on every server.

What we collect, and why

Your account on the official game server

• Email address: to sign you in, confirm the address, reset your password and send the notices you choose. If you sign up with Steam, or with Discord without sharing an email, we store a placeholder address instead of a real one.
• Display name: shown to other players and to Game Masters (GMs).
• Password: we only store a salted, one-way hash (PBKDF2-SHA256), never the password itself.
• Linked accounts, if you use them:
  • your Steam ID, plus a signed record that your Steam account owns the game
  • your Discord ID and Discord name
  If you sign in with Steam or Discord, we receive only these identifiers (and, from Discord, your verified email when you create a new account). We don't receive your Steam or Discord password, and we don't keep their access tokens.
• Account settings: your email preferences, roles (such as GM), the date the account was created, and any ban and its reason.

We do not record your IP address, browser or device in your account, and we don't track when you last signed in.

What you do in games

• Your realm's name, the names you give things, your orders and everything that happens in the game are stored in that game's save file.
• Letters between realms can only be read in the game by the realms in the conversation. "Council" letters are open to everyone in the game.
• Letters are stored as plain text on the server, so please don't put anything in a letter you wouldn't want stored. Letters are never copied into emails: an email notice only says that a letter has arrived.
• Pictures you upload to a game are visible to anyone who can view that game.
• GMs can see which account plays which realm, even when a game hides player names from other players. GMs keep a log of moderation actions (such as kicks and bans) with account names and reasons.

Emails we send

We send emails to confirm your address and reset your password. If you choose, we also send game notices: turn results, deadline reminders, letters and trade offers, and GM announcements. You can turn each kind off on your account page, or turn all email off.

Public pages

If a game's GM chooses to publish it, that game's world Newsfax (the world news) is shown on public pages and in a feed. These show the game's name and realm names, never account names or emails. Server listings show game names, turns and seat counts, never player names.

Discord

If you link Discord, our bot uses your Discord ID to give you the server roles that match your rank on the official game server, and to let you into your game's private channels. It checks every ten minutes. The bot does not read members' chat messages. Game channels can receive turn notices and Newsfax posts. These name realms. When someone asks to join a game, the post shows their display name, unless the game hides player names.

Steam ownership check

When a Steam copy of the game, or a game server, checks that a Steam account owns Struggle of Empires, our service asks Steam about that Steam ID and returns a signed answer. It doesn't keep a record of these checks; one-time codes are held in memory for up to two hours. Ownership records signed by this service contain the Steam ID, whether it owns the game, and the purchase and issue times. Note: anyone can ask this service whether a given Steam ID owns the game.

Logs and security

The game server keeps technical logs for 14 days. They don't contain IP addresses or emails; occasionally they contain an account ID or Steam ID when something goes wrong. To stop abuse, the server briefly keeps IP addresses in memory to limit how fast sign-in attempts can be made. These are never written to disk.

Cookies

• Sign-in cookie (soe.auth): keeps you signed in for up to 30 days. It is encrypted.
• Security cookies: a form-protection cookie, and short-lived cookies (10 minutes) used while signing in with Steam or Discord.
• Your browser's local storage remembers your preferences, such as music volume and where you put panels on the screen. These never leave your device.

We use no advertising cookies, analytics or tracking.

Who else handles data

• Cloudflare carries the traffic to this website and the game server (like a delivery network), so it sees your IP address while doing so.
• Our web host (GoDaddy) serves this website and handles our email, and may keep standard server logs.
• Google Fonts supplies this website's fonts, so your browser fetches them from Google.
• Steam (Valve) and Discord handle sign-in and ownership when you choose to use them, under their own privacy policies.

We don't sell personal information, and we don't share it for advertising.

How long we keep it

• Accounts stay until you delete them (or ask us to).
• Logs: 14 days.
• Password reset codes: 1 hour.
• Notices in your in-game inbox: the newest 300.
• Game saves (and their last few backups) are kept as the game's history. A deleted game's files are kept so it can be restored, until we remove them.

Your choices and rights

On your account page you can:

• see your email, name and email preferences, and change your password and preferences
• unlink Discord or Steam
• delete your account yourself, at any time (under "Delete your account")

Deleting removes your account record (email, name, password, linked Steam and Discord IDs and ownership record) and your inbox. The computer takes over any realm you held, and our Discord bot removes your ranks and game-channel access. Realm names stay in the history of games that are still running, and the last few turn backups of a game age out within a few turns.

If you run games as a GM, end them or have them handed to another GM before deleting. If you can't sign in, or want a copy of your data or a correction, email support@struggleofempires.com from your account's email address (or tell us your Steam or Discord name). We'll do it within 30 days.

Depending on where you live (for example in the EU, the UK or California), you have legal rights to access, correct, delete, restrict or object to the use of your personal information, and to complain to your local data protection authority. Our legal reasons for using your data:

• to provide the service you signed up for
• our legitimate interest in keeping it secure and fair
• your consent, for optional emails

Children

Struggle of Empires is not meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect their information. Where the law sets a higher age for agreeing to this yourself (up to 16 in parts of the EU), you need a parent's permission. If you think a child has given us information, tell us and we'll delete it.

Where data is processed

Our servers are in the United States, and Cloudflare operates worldwide. By using the services you understand that your information is processed in the United States.

Changes

If we change this policy, we'll update the date at the top. For significant changes we'll also announce it on our Discord and the game server.

Contact

Valier Games: support@struggleofempires.com