Updated 10th Feb 2020
The GTA Network (“GTANet”) has published this Privacy Policy to explain how GTANet collects, uses and shares personal information when you use GTANet websites (the “Network”), including:
- GTANet.com
- GTAForums.com
- GTAGarage.com
- GTAModding.com
- GTAChinatown.com
- GTALibertyCityStories.net
- GTASanAndreas.net
- GTAVice.com
- GTAV.net
- GTA4.net
- GTA3.com
1. Who controls your personal information?
Any personal information provided to or gathered by GTANet via the Network is controlled by GTANet.com, contactable at [email protected]
2. What types of information do we collect from you?
The amount and type of information we gather depends upon your use of the Network and, in some cases, what type of information you choose to disclose. We may collect the following information from you:
Information Provided by You to GTANet
When you sign up for a GTANet account, or in order for you to use certain aspects of the Network, you will be asked to provide GTANet certain limited personal information about yourself, such as your e-mail address, and password (encrypted) to login to your account.
Information You Choose to Make Public
The Network contains features that allow you to upload, post, transmit, display, perform or distribute content, including personal information about yourself. For example, you may choose to include personal information within your GTANet profile, which is available and accessible to all registered users of the Network. Any information that you choose to disclose by means of such features becomes public information over which GTANet is unable to exercise control. You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information by means of such features.
Information About Your Device and Internet Connection
When you use the Network, we automatically gather information made available by your web browser (such as Firefox or Google Chrome), Internet service provider (such as Comcast or BT), and device (such as your computer, mobile phone, or tablet), depending on your settings for each. For example, we may collect your IP address, information about the operating system or type of device you use, and the location of your device.
Information Provided by Third-Parties
We receive information about you and your activities on and off GTANet from third-party partners, such as partners who provide us with analytics regarding the Network or help us serve advertising on the Network. GTANet is largely funded through third-party advertising, and without such ads, GTANet would be unable to provide the Network and related services to its many users with free accounts.
GTANet may use third-parties for advertising and analytics for Networks that we host. These third parties may place Cookies on your machine, use web beacons, gather IP addresses and log data to collect traffic and activity data in order to deliver relevant metrics, content, and advertising. By using our Network, you consent to us sharing a hashed (non-human readable) version of your email with our partners who will drop a Cookie (as explained in Section 3 below) on your browser and match your email with its marketing file to create a link between your browser and our partner’s record of you, which may include your personal information (such as IP address, browser or operating system type and version, and demographic or inferred-interest information). This link may be shared by our partner globally for the purpose of identifying you on unaffiliated Networks, apps, or online services and improving the relevance of online advertising and content, including emails, based on your browsing habits by third parties that are unaffiliated with our Network. You may opt out of your data being used for this purpose at our partners’ opt-out centers located at:
http://www.youronlinechoices.com/uk/your-ad-choices
http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/
http://www.aboutads.info/choices/
3. How do we use Cookies (and what can you do to control them)?
“Cookies” are files that are placed on your computer by Networks you visit. The purpose of a Cookie is to identify you as a unique user of the Network. GTANet uses Cookies on the Network for the following purposes:
For Verification – GTANet uses Cookies to verify your account and, if you choose, make it so you do not have to re-enter your login information each time you visit the Network. Cookies can also help us identify if someone may be trying to access your account without permission — for example, by making numerous failed login attempts in a row.
For Analytics and Performance – As explained above in Section 2, we use Cookies, including those placed by third-party vendors, to gather information that helps us understand how you and other users engage with the Network and improve its performance.
For Security – We may use cookies, including those placed by third-party vendors, to gather information that helps us maintain the security of our software and systems.
For Advertising – As explained above in Section 2, we use Cookies, including those placed by third-party partners, to deliver ads to you and other users via the Network. Cookies may allow us and our partners to ensure you do not see the same advertisements repeatedly, help us identify and block unwanted advertising, and help us provide advertising customized to your interests, including by displaying ads to you for other Networks you’ve previously visited. Cookies may also help us and our partners measure how often users click on ads or view ads. Cookies may further help us and our partners identify advertising fraud, for example identifying bots, multiple clicks, or fake clicks on ads.
You have the ability to delete and control Cookies. If you do not wish to have Cookies placed on your device, you can set your browser (such as Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome) to refuse Cookies before accessing the Network, with the understanding that certain features of the Network may not function without the aid of Cookies.
You can learn more about how to delete or control Cookies at https://www.aboutcookies.org
4. How do we use your information?
We may use the information we’ve gathered from you, including through Cookies, for the following purposes:
To Improve and Secure the Network
GTANet uses the information we collect from you and other users to provide, improve and secure the Network and related services. For example, we look at IP addresses to determine if they are on the “ban list” for a given forum, so that we can prevent access to the forum. As explained above in Section 2, we use Cookies, including those placed by third-party vendors, to gather information that helps us understand how you and other users engage with the Network and improve its performance, as well as for security.
To Provide Advertising
As explained above in Section 2, GTANet uses Cookies, including those placed by third-party partners, to deliver ads to you and other users via the Network. GTANet is largely funded through third-party advertising, and without such ads, GTANet would be unable to provide the Network and related services to its many users with free accounts.
To Customize Your Network Experience
GTANet uses Cookies to determine if you are logged in or not. For example, we use information gathered from you to update and display your “last login time,” and this information may also be used to calculate the displayed number of “users online” for a given forum and identify your account as being online for other users to view. GTANet uses information gathered from you to customize your experience on the Network according to your interests and preferences. For example, we may use a Cookie to identify if a sidebar should be displayed as “open” or “closed.”
To Communicate with You
When you register with the Network, you consent to receive periodic email communications regarding GTANet, including promotional emails for new products and services, promotions, and other offers. GTANet uses the email address you provide to send these communications to you. You can unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link that is conveniently located at the bottom of each email, but we will still send you any necessary, non-promotional emails about your account or updates to our policies and terms. We also use your contact information to respond to you when you contact us.
5. Who do we share your information with?
GTANet’s Network and related services facilitate participation in online forums with other users. We make this possible by sharing your information in the following ways:
Information You Choose to Share Through GTANet
The Network contains features that allow you to upload, post, transmit, display, perform or distribute content, including personal information about yourself. Once you have chosen to divulge information about yourself to another user, multiple users, or the public at large through the Network—including in a “members-only” forum, direct message or otherwise—such information can be copied, transmitted or displayed by the recipient(s) and is no longer within GTANet’s ability to control. For example, when you share information in a public forum, it may be indexed by search engines (such as Google, Bing, or Boardreader). You should exercise caution when deciding to disclose personal information by means of such features.
Similarly, when you share information in a forum, whether private or public, you are contributing to an online conversation or thread. In GTANet’s experience, threads are deprived of necessary context, and are sometimes rendered false or misleading, when select posts are altered or deleted after the fact. For this reason, GTANet does not allow you to delete your content or associated username from published posts en-masse. In addition, your ability to edit or delete your content may depend on forum-specific rules and settings designated by moderators or administrators, so you should think carefully about what you post before you do so.
Information Shared with Forum Users
When you join, access, or post on a forum, information may be shared with other members (such as forum moderators, administrators, or other users), including the content you posted, your IP address, email address, gender (unless set to “private” by you in your user settings), and birthdate (unless set to “private” by you). For example, when you visit a forum, your IP address is logged and may be viewable by those staff members that have been given the ability to view this information (moderators and administrators).
Information Shared with Related Companies
We may share information collected about you within GTANet. Please note that the GTANet family of Networks and companies is hosted within the United States, Canada, France and the United Kingdom. Thus, if you are located within the European Economic Area (“EEA”), your information may be transferred to countries outside of the EEA, including the United States and Canada, for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
In addition, in the event of a merger, acquisition, or bankruptcy, GTANet reserves the right to transfer all user information to a successor company. GTANet will provide notice to you by email in such an event.
Information Shared with Third-Party Partners
As explained throughout this Privacy Policy, GTANet works with third-parties to improve and secure the Network and related services, and to provide advertising, which makes it possible for GTANet to offer the Network and services to its many users with free accounts. The following are the types of third-parties GTANet may share your information with:
- Analytics services;
- Advertising companies, networks and affiliates;
- Search engines that specialize in the indexing of public forum content;
- Mobile application providers that make GTANet forums available for viewing through mobile apps;
- Data and Network security providers;
- Live chat and support providers;
- Email delivery providers;
- Data analysis service providers that may allow us to identify content in violation of our Terms of Service;
- Notification service providers that help deliver relevant notifications to your devices;
- Providers that you have opted-in to receive services from; and
- Service providers that may allow us to update and enhance our services.
- Information Shared to Comply with the Law and Legal Process
GTANet may disclose your information when required to do so by law, such as in response to a subpoena or court order, or when GTANet, in its sole discretion, believes that disclosure is necessary to report, address or prevent fraud or other illegal activity or misconduct, or to protect the property or rights of GTANet, third-parties or the public at large.
6. How do we secure your information?
GTANet has implemented and maintains reasonable security procedures and practices to protect against the unauthorized access, use or disclosure of your information. Among other things, we:
- Host our servers with in secure data center facilities;
- Use the services of Cloudflare to block DDoS attacks, bots, malicious traffic, and secure our login systems with HTTPS/SSL;
- Store passwords in a secure format, not plain text;
- Use firewalls and a secure VPN to provide further security to our systems; and
- Maintain a thorough Cyber Security Response Plan.
7. How can you manage information we’ve collected from you?
You can manage the content and information you share by logging into your account. You can request the disabling of your account or the information we hold about you at any time. Bear in mind that your posts, and all other information you have shared with third-parties through GTANet will not be removed from the Network when you delete your account. When you delete your account, your username remains associated with all posts you have made, but it is no longer linked to your profile. GTANet stores data for as long as is necessary to provide the Network and related apps or services, so the information associated with your account will be kept until your account is deleted and said information is no longer needed to provide the Network and related apps or services.
8. How do we protect the privacy of children?
GTANet does not solicit or knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. If GTANet obtains actual knowledge that it has collected personal information from a child under the age of 13, GTANet will immediately delete such information from its database. Because GTANet does not collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13, GTANet has no such information to use or disclose to third-parties. GTANet has designed this Privacy Policy in order to comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
9. Do we respond to Do Not Track (DNT) Signals?
DNT is a feature offered by some browsers which, when enabled, sends a signal to Networks to request that your browsing is not tracked. GTANet does not currently respond to DNT requests.
10. What about third-party Networks?
This Privacy Policy only applies to GTANet, and not any third-party Networks that you may visit as a result of clicking on a link or ad within the Network. Third-party Networks are under no obligation to comply with this Privacy Policy. Before visiting or providing personal information to a third-party Network, you should inform yourself of the privacy policies and practices (if any) of that third-party Network, and should take those steps necessary to, in your discretion, protect your privacy.
11. How do we notify you of changes to the Privacy Policy?
Each time you use the Network, the then-current version of this Privacy Policy will apply. Although most changes are likely to be minor, GTANet reserves the right to modify this Privacy Policy by posting such modification on this page; however, if changes are significant, GTANet may provide a more prominent notice or email you. Unless GTANet obtains your express consent, any revised Privacy Policy will apply only to information collected after the effective date of such revised Privacy Policy, and not to information collected under any earlier version.
12. How can you contact us?
With this privacy policy we want to give you clarity about the way we handle your data. If you have questions about this document or the processing of data by Grand Theft Auto Network, you can get in contact with us via our support email [email protected]
For California Residents: CCPA Information
Rights and Choices
The CCPA provides consumers located in the state of California with certain rights regarding their personal information and data. The following section describes those rights and explains how to exercise them:
Access to Specific Information and Data Portability Rights
You have the right to request that GTA Network disclose certain information to you about our collection and use of your personal information over the past 12 months. Once we receive and confirm your verifiable consumer request (as described in the section “Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights”), we will disclose to you:
- The categories of personal information we collected about you.
- The categories of sources for the personal information we collected about you.
- Our business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling that personal information.
- The categories of third parties with whom we share that personal information.
- The specific pieces of personal information we collected about you (also called data portability request)
- If we sold or disclose your personal information for a business purpose, two separate lists disclosing:
- Sales, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient purchased, and
- Disclosures for a business purpose, identifying the personal information categories that each category of recipient obtained
Non-Discrimination
We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CCPA rights. Unless permitted by the CCPA, we will not:
- Deny you goods or services.
- Charge you different prices or rates for goods or services, including through granting discounts or imposing penalties.
- Provide you a different level or quality of goods or services.
- Suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for goods or services or a different level of quality of goods or services.
Any CCPA-permitted financial incentive we offer will reasonably relate to your value and contain written terms that describe the program’s material aspects.
Exercising Access, Data Portability, and Deletion Rights
To exercise the access, data portability, and deletion rights described above, please submit a verifiable consumer request to us by emailing us at [email protected]
Only you, or a person registered with the California Secretary of State that you authorize to act on your behalf, may make a verifiable consumer request related to your personal information. You may also make a verifiable consumer request on behalf of your minor child.
You may only make a verifiable consumer request for access of data portability twice within a 12-month period. The verifiable consumer request must:
- Provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected personal information or an authorized representative.
- Describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it.
We cannot respond to your request or provide you with personal information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the personal information relates to you.
Making a verifiable consumer request does not require you to create an account with us. We will only use personal information provided in a verifiable consumer request to verify the requestor’s identity or authority to make the request.
Information We Collect
Our websites, emails (with your consent, where required by law), and other products, services and platforms collect information that identifies, relates to, describes, references, is capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, with a particular consumer or device (“personal information”). In particular, our websites, apps, emails, and other products, services and platforms may have collected the following categories of personal information from its consumers within the last twelve (12) months:
| Category | Collected |
|---|---|
| A. Identifiers | YES |
| B. Personal information categories listed in the California Customer Records statute (Cal. Civ. Code § 1798.80(e)) | YES |
| C. Protected classification characteristics under California or federal law | NO |
| D. Commercial information. | YES |
| E. Biometric information. | NO |
| F. Internet or other similar network activity. | YES |
| G. Geolocation data. | YES |
| H. Sensory data. | NO |
| I. Professional or employment-related information. | NO |
| J. Inferences drawn from other personal information. | YES |
Personal information does not include:
- Publicly available information from government records.
- Deidentified or aggregated consumer information.
- Information excluded from the CCPA’s scope, like:
- health or medical information covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA) or clinical trial data;
- personal information covered by certain sector-specific privacy laws, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FRCA), the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) or California Financial Information Privacy Act (FIPA), and the Driver’s Privacy.
Use of Personal Information
We may use or disclose the personal information we collect for one or more of the following business purposes:
- To fulfill or meet the reason you provided the information. For example, if you share your name and contact information to request a newsletter or ask a question about our products or services, we will use that personal information to respond to your inquiry. If you provide your personal information to purchase a product or service, we or our third-party service providers will use that information to process your payment and facilitate delivery. We may also save your information to facilitate new product or service orders and requests.
- To provide, support, personalize, and develop our websites, emails, and other products, services and platforms.
- To create, maintain, customize, and secure your account with us.
- To process your requests, purchases, transactions, and payments and prevent transactional fraud.
- To provide you with support and to respond to your inquiries, including investigating and addressing your concerns and monitoring and improving our responses.
- To personalize your website, apps, emails, or other product, service or platform experience and to deliver content and product and service offerings relevant to your interests, including targeted offers and ads through our websites, apps, emails, and other products, services and platforms.
- To help maintain the safety, security, and integrity of our websites, apps, emails, and other products, services and platforms, databases and other technology assets, and business.
- For testing, research, analysis, and product development, including to develop and improve our websites, apps, emails, and other products, services and platforms.
- To respond to law enforcement requests and as required by applicable law, court order, or governmental regulations.
- As described to you when collecting your personal information or as otherwise set forth in the CCPA.
- To evaluate or conduct a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of the Company’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by the Company about our Website users is among the assets transferred.
The Company will not collect additional categories of personal information or use the personal information we collected for materially different, unrelated, or incompatible purposes without providing you notice.
Sharing Personal Information
The Company may disclose your personal information to a third-party for a business purpose or sell your personal information, subject to your right to opt-out of those sales (see ‘Sales of Personal Information’ below). When we disclose personal information for a business purpose, we enter a contract that describes the purpose and requires the recipient to both keep that personal information confidential and not use it for any purpose except performing the contract. The CCPA prohibits third parties who purchase the personal information we hold from reselling it unless you have received explicit notice and an opportunity to opt-out of further sales (see ‘Sales of Personal Information’ below).
We may share your personal information with the following categories of third parties:
- Subsidiaries and affiliates.
- Contractors and service providers.
- Data aggregators.
- Third parties with whom we partner to offer products and services to you.
Disclosures of Personal Information for a Business Purpose
In the preceding twelve (12) months, the Company has disclosed the following categories of personal information for a business purpose:
- [Category A: Identifiers.]
- [Category B: California Customer Records personal information categories.]
- [Category F: Internet or other similar network activity.]
- [Category G: Geolocation Data.]
- [Category K: Inferences drawn from other personal information.]
Sales of Personal Information
In the preceding twelve (12) months, the company has not sold any personal information.