Privacy

Last updated: 8 November 2026 · Deutsche Fassung (the German version is legally binding)

Controller

The controller for the processing is the person named in the legal notice (Impressum).

This website

The website (bannersandbones.com) and the game server run on a rented server (VPS) of the hosting provider Hostinger, located in Frankfurt, Germany. To deliver the pages and downloads, the server necessarily processes your IP address. We do not keep an access log and do not store IP addresses.

The site sets no cookies, uses no analytics or tracking tools and loads no third-party content (no external fonts, scripts or videos). Links to other sites (for example Steam or copperkeepgames.com) are ordinary links: the other site learns nothing about you until you click them.

Online play

When you play online, the game server (bannersandbones.com; older versions of the game use battleground.siegetide.com) processes:

• a random player ID and a secret key, issued the first time you go online. Only a checksum of the key is stored. There is no separate account and no email address.
• in the Steam version, also your Steam ID (the number of your Steam account). At start-up the game requests a sign-in ticket from Steam, the game server has it checked by Valve (Steam Web API) and learns your Steam ID in the process. It stores it with your player ID so that you are the same player on every computer. Other players do not see your Steam ID. The game suggests your Steam name as your player name; you can change it. If you previously played a version from this website, the server keeps your existing player.
• your player name. Other players see it when they fight your ghost. Please do not use your real name if you do not want it to be seen.
• your runs: faction, hero, all moves and the battle results. The server replays them (against cheating) and creates ghosts from them, i.e. your settlement on a given day, which other players fight against.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR: without this data there is no online play against others. Without a connection you play offline and nothing is transmitted. The server uses your IP address and your key only briefly in memory to fend off too many requests; it does not store them for this purpose.

Valve Corporation is responsible for Steam itself (account, purchases, overlay, playtime); Valve's privacy policy applies.

Telemetry (optional)

With your consent (notice on first start, “Send telemetry” checkbox in the main menu)

• your runs are analysed for game balance, and the game also transmits how long your build phases took.
• the game sends an error report if it crashed last time or if its log contains errors: the kind of problem, the first error message, an excerpt from the game's log (technical messages such as graphics card, game events and errors; the game removes the path to your user folder beforehand), game version, operating system, type of build (Steam or website) and, if applicable, the current online run.

The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR. You can withdraw your consent at any time in the main menu; for runs this applies from the next run. Runs without consent are not analysed.

Quick question and “Feedback / report a bug” (optional)

After each run the game asks a quick question (fun from 1 to 5, reason for your last defeat). Via “Feedback / report a bug” you can send us a message at any time, optionally with the game's log (as described above). Only what you fill in and send goes to the game server, together with your player ID and the game version; for the quick question also the number of runs you have played and the run it refers to (faction, hero, day, record); for a bug report also your operating system and type of build. The legal basis is Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR: by sending, you consent. Please do not put names or contact details into the text fields unless you would like a reply. Without a connection the game remembers your input and sends it on the next start. The former questionnaire no longer exists; answers already sent remain stored.

On your computer

The game stores your save game, your own ghosts, the online settings (player ID, key, name, telemetry choice, in the Steam version the Steam ID) and a profile (tutorial and tips seen, number of finished runs, language, volume, input and reports not yet sent) in your user folder, plus a log of the last game starts. The version from this website asks this website at start-up whether there is a newer version and downloads it from here if so. The Steam version is updated by Steam.

Retention

Online data is kept as long as online play exists, or until you request deletion. The server deletes error reports after 12 months. The server backs up its database daily; backups are deleted after 7 days. With major updates the game server may be reset, which deletes all online data.

Your rights

You have the right of access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, data portability and objection, and the right to withdraw consent. To exercise them, write to the email address in the legal notice and state your player name (in the Steam version also your Steam name). You can also lodge a complaint with a data protection supervisory authority.