document: title: privacy policy
text: We here at NC Interactive, Inc. ("NCI") consider your right to privacy to be of paramount importance. Because the trust of our users is key to the success of our business, this Privacy Policy is intended to make you feel as comforpolicy_texts as possible visiting our website and playing NCSOFT games.

This Privacy Policy discloses the privacy practices for:

  * www.ncsoft.com
  * www.aiononline.com
  * www.bladeandsoul.com
  * www.guildwars.com
  * http://www.guildwars.com/products/eyeofthenorth/
  * http://www.guildwars.com/products/nightfall/
  * http://www.guildwars.com/products/factions/
  * http://www.guildwars.com/products/guildwars/
  * www.lineage2.com
  * www.wildstar-online.com



It also includes any other sites and services related to NCSOFT (the "Sites").

From time to time, we may add new Sites that may not be set forth in the prior sentence, but they will provide a link to this Privacy Policy and will be governed by its terms.

This Privacy Policy will provide you with information on our policies regarding:

  1. Collection of Personal Information
  2. Who collects the Personal Information
  3. How the Personal Information is used
  4. Privacy protections for children
  5. The choices available to users regarding collection, use and distribution of the Personal Information
  6. How you can correct any inaccuracies in regard to your Personal Information
  7. What kind of security procedures we use to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of your Personal Information under our control
  8. Information for people in the European Union
  9. Notice of changes to the Privacy Policy



"Personal Information" is information that would allow someone to identify or contact you, including, for example, your full name, address, telephone number, or email address. Personal Information does not include aggregated information that, by itself, does not permit the identification of individual persons (like statistics about how many persons visited our web site last month, or how many visitors are male and how many are female).

This Privacy Policy is a condition of acceptance on the Sites and their respective services, including, without limitation, the services NCI performs on behalf of its affiliates; by using the Sites and these services, you agree to be bound by this policy's terms and conditions.

This Privacy Policy only addresses activities from our servers. Other sites (including those to which we may link) and other service providers may have their own policies, which we do not control, and thus are not addressed or controlled by this policy.

##  1\. Collection of Personal Information

You provide certain Personal Information to us when you:

  1. Register to use the services
  2. Register for contests or giveaways
  3. Complete questionnaires
  4. Order products and services from us
  5. Send e-mail messages, submit forms or send other information to us



###  Use of Email Address

Your email address will be used to contact you regarding specific issues related to your active account(s). You may also receive special notices and offers for products and services offered by NCS. You will be given the opportunity to "opt out" of any mailings which do not include critical information regarding your active game account(s).

Please see "Sweepstakes, Contests and Promotions, and Related Third Party Services" below for specific information on how your Personal Information may be used by third parties in those special cases.

###  Payment Method

You will also be asked to submit Personal Information depending on the payment method you choose when subscribed to one of our services. For example, if you choose to pay for NCI services by credit card, you will be required to provide us the name of your credit card issuer, credit card number, billing address, CVV number, and expiration date.

If you choose to pay for NCI services and/or the services NCI performs on behalf of its affiliates by using, without limitation, check, PayPal, SMS, paysafecard, Game Time Cards, or ELV, you will be required to provide us with applicable Personal Information in order to permit us to process such payment.

###  Non-personal Information

In addition to the login information, we will automatically collect certain non-personal information about your use of our Sites and services. We might collect, among other things, information concerning the type of Internet browser or computer operating system you are using, the domain name of your Internet service provider, your "click path" through the Sites, and the web site or advertisement that was linked to or from the Sites when you visited. To do this, we may use cookies and other technology (see below).

Your visits to our Sites, and information provided through these technologies, will be anonymous unless you provide us with personal information or have provided such information in the past. For example, if you've created a membership account, your account information (including name, email address, and billing and shipping information) may be linked to the items you purchased at our online store (i.e., purchase order history).

This information is only used for our internal purposes (such as to improve the Site or to customize content).

###  Cookies and Related Technologies

We use a feature of your browser called a "cookie" to assign a unique number that automatically identifies your computer when you visit the site. A cookie is a piece of text-only data stored on your hard drive. By setting a cookie on our site, you would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our site.

If you reject the cookie, you may still use our site. The only drawback to this is that you will be limited in some areas of our site, or may have to enter passwords or identifying information more than once.

###  Sweepstakes, Contests and Promotions, and Related Third Party Services

To participate in some of our sweepstakes, contests, surveys, and other promotions, you may be asked to provide additional personal information such as your mailing address. In each such case, no new personal information will be collected from you without your consent. This information may be collected by NCI or by third parties such as co-sponsors or vendors for the promotion.

Our use of any such information will be governed by this Privacy Policy. The names of third parties such as co-sponsors (other than vendors hired by NCI to conduct, administer, and execute a promotion on behalf of NCI) will be disclosed to you when you are asked to sign up for the promotion. You should review such third parties' privacy policies to see how they may use any information that they collect.

Certain NCI services, sweepstakes and/or contests, may be provided to you in conjunction with a third party, such as with Alienware. During the registration process for any such sweepstakes, contests, surveys, and other promotions or service(s) related to such games, you may be notified that such third party wishes access to some of your Personal Information.

In such a situation, you will be given an opportunity to decline to share that information with that third party before any such information is shared. If you decline to share such information with the relevant third party, you may not be able to participate use and/or is such sweepstakes, contests, surveys, and other promotions or service(s) for that game.

As described in the registration process, a third party's (such as Alienware's) use of the shared Personal Information will be governed by any privacy policy that company may have in place and our use of such information shall, of course, be governed by the terms of this Privacy Policy.

###  Online Communications, Games

When you play any of the games offered and/or served by NCI, or use any of the communication features on the Sites, your IP address (the Internet protocol address from which you access any of the above) may be stored in our records.

When any game is updated or "patched," our patch routine may check your computer to see that you have the most recent version of game-specific files; when you communicate within any game or any other communication feature within any of our Sites (e.g. live chat, instant message services and the like), even "privately" to another person, you do so with the understanding that those communications go through our servers, can be monitored by us, you have no expectation of privacy in any of those communications and, accordingly, you expressly consent to monitoring of communications (including technical support and customer service communications) that you send and receive.

When you log into one of our online games, your system specifications (such as OS, RAM, video card, monitor, system configuration, etc.) may be reviewed/recorded by us for the purposes of analyzing and optimizing your game experience and in order to provide you with customer service.

###  In-Game Advertising

Our games may incorporate dynamic advertisement serving technology offered by Double Fusion ("Ad Providers"), which enables advertising to be temporarily uploaded into the game on your PC or console, and replaced while you play online.

Ad Providers only log information that is needed to measure presentation of, and serve advertising to the appropriate geographic region, and to the right location within the game. Logged data may include Internet Protocol Address or player's user name, in game location, length of time an advertisement was visible, size of the advertisements, and angle of view.

Your game may be assigned an id number, which is stored on your PC or console, and used by Ad Providers to calculate the number of unique and repeat views of dynamic in game advertising. The id number is not associated with any personal data. No logged information is used to personally identify you. The servers used by the Ad Providers may be located outside your country of residence. If you reside in a Member State of the European Union, the servers may be located outside of the European Union.

This ad serving technology is integrated into the game; if you do not want to use this technology, do not play the game while connected to the Internet. For more information concerning Double Fusion, please visit their website.

##  2\. Who collects the Personal Information

NCI owns and operates the Sites, and is the company that collects Personal Information on our site. Our mailing address is NC Interactive, Inc., 6801 N. Capital of Texas Highway, Bldg. 1, Austin, TX 78731 and our customer service e-mail address is support@ncsoft.com.

##  3\. How the Personal Information is used

Personal information which we collect for a particular purpose will only be saved and used for that purpose, unless you have agreed to allow us to use it for some other purpose, as described in this Privacy Policy.

For example, if you make an online purchase from our online store, and unless you have given us permission to do otherwise, we will only collect and save the personal information you provided to us, including your billing and delivery information, in order to:

  1. Complete the sale
  2. Comply with tax and other applicable statutes
  3. Maintain accurate business and financial records (in accordance with accepted standards)
  4. Assist with customer service and returns



When you have provided personal information to us for a particular purpose, we may disclose your information to other companies that we have engaged to assist us in fulfilling your request. This may include, but is not limited to, fulfillment houses, billing services, transaction managers, credit verification services, and other third party service providers.

We may also disclose any of your personal information to law enforcement or other appropriate third parties in connection with criminal investigations, investigation of fraud, infringement of intellectual property rights, or other suspected illegal activities, or as otherwise may be required by applicable law, or, as we deem necessary in our sole discretion, in order to protect the legitimate legal and business interests of NCI.

We may use the information we collect from you for the purpose of providing you with technical support, customer service, and account maintenance. We use the information we collect to learn what you like, tailor your experience accordingly, and to improve web sites and our other products. We send e-mail to our members who want to receive e-mail from us.

However, if you don't want to receive e-mail from us, you can "opt out" of receiving it at the time you register as a member on our web sites or each time we request information from you. If you change your mind and wish to stop receiving e-mails from us, you may also choose to opt out by following the steps described in each such e-mail.

Except as described in this policy, we will not give any of your personal information to any third party without your express approval, and the only personal information we will ask you if you want us to share with third parties is your name, your mailing address and e-mail address.

If you don't want us to share your name, mailing address and e-mail address, you can tell us that by clicking on "No" in the box at the time you register as a member on the a Site or each time we request information from you or at other points. We sometimes share general, demographic, or aggregated (not personal) information with third parties about our user base, but that information does not include any personal information.

You will be deemed to have consented to the disclosure to, and use by, a subsequent owner or operator of the Sites, of any personal information contained in the NCI database for such site, if NCI or one of its companies assigns all of its rights and obligations regarding the use of your personal information at the time of a bankruptcy, merger, acquisition, sale of all or substantially all of NCI's or game or other assets to a subsequent owner or operator, or similar event.

Please do not use your real name or the real name of another person when selecting a user name. Please note that your user name will be available to the Internet's general public while you participate in some services, like chat rooms or message boards, so you should exercise discretion when using these services. Personal information disclosed by you within our chat areas, instant message service, message boards, or during game play can be collected by other users of such services and may result in unsolicited messages.

We are not responsible for protecting such information that you may disclose to third parties through our services (e.g. sending your address to another user through the chat service). To the extent that you create a public profile that may be available to others on our sites and services, you are solely responsible for its content and accuracy at all times. To edit, change, or delete such information, follow the instructions on the web site.

##  4\. Privacy protections for children

In order to protect the privacy interests of younger Internet users, we do not allow children under the age of 18 to use our services without the consent of their parents. NCI complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act and all other applicable laws and regulations concerning children and the Internet.

###  Children under the age of 13

Because our Sites are not directed to children under the age of 13, NCI does not provide memberships to persons under age 13. If you are under the age of 13, you may not create an account on the Site, you may not sign up for any subscription service or buy anything through our online store, and you are not eligible to enter any of our sweepstakes or promotions.

Except as may be required by law, NCI will not knowingly collect, maintain, or disclose any personal information from children under the age of 13.

###  Children between the ages of 13 and 18

If you are between the ages of 13 and 18, please let your parent or guardian know about this Privacy Policy and get his or her permission before you give us any of your personal identifiable information, before you use any of our message board, instant message or chat features, before you sign up for any subscription game services, and before you buy anything from our online store.

Don't post your real name on a web site or message board, and never tell anyone online anything private about yourself or your family, including your phone number and address. Use screen names at all times.

If you win a sweepstakes that has a prize, your parent or guardian will have to mail or fax us a signed note at the address or fax number listed in the rules for the specific contest that says it was OK for you to enter, and tells us they will accept the prize for you.

Some areas of the Site may have special rules for children under the age of 18. When you are in those areas, you must follow those rules.

###  Information for Parents/Guardians

If you are a parent or guardian who has discovered that your child has submitted his or her personal information without your permission or consent, NCI will take reasonable steps to remove that information from the NCI database at your request.

To request removal of your child's information, please send us an e-mail (to the address below) and be sure to include in your message the same user name, password, and email address that your child submitted. If your child has used your credit card on our web sites without your permission, contact us immediately at support@ncsoft.com.

##  5\. The choices available to users regarding collection, use and distribution of the Personal Information

Please note that if you provide any information on your own or directly to parties who provide service to our web site or any other sites you encounter on the Internet (even if these sites are branded with our branding), different rules may apply to their use or disclosure of the Personal Information you disclose to them.

We encourage you to investigate and ask questions before disclosing information to third parties.

##  6\. How users can correct any inaccuracies in the Personal Information

To review and update your Personal Information stored with NCSOFT, please access your account.

If you change your mind and do not want to receive e-mails from us and/or to have us share your name and e-mail address (or other personal information) with third parties, you may send an e-mail to us at support@ncsoft.com.

If you choose to have your personal information removed from our active databases, we will do so within a reasonable time after your request and we will take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal data is not used (except as may be required by law) by NCI after your notification to us.

##  7\. What kind of security procedures we use to protect the loss, misuse, or alteration of your Personal Information under our control

NCI takes precautions to protect our users' information. When users submit sensitive information via our website, that information is protected both online and off-line.

We have established and maintain reasonable security procedures to protect the confidentiality, security and integrity of your personal information. We use encryption, Secure Socket Layers, and other technical measures (such as off-site backup, security testing, and password protection), and we implement off-line efforts to further protect this information, including limiting employee access to personal information and updating our employees regarding our security practices and privacy policies.

Please recognize, however, that "perfect security" does not exist on the Internet. If you have any questions about the security at our website or facilities, you can send an e-mail to support@ncsoft.com.

##  8\. Information for people in the European Union

By consenting to this Privacy Policy, you confirm that your command and knowledge of English (or in some cases, French, German, Italian or Spanish) is sufficient to understand the terms and conditions set forth herein.

For persons in European Union countries, as used herein, terms such as "personal information" refer to "personal data" as defined by the Directive 95/46/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 24 October 1995 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data ("Directive").

We will not collect any personal data from you unless you provide it voluntarily by providing us with your freely given specific and informed consent. By using NCI websites (including, without limitation, the Sites) or services, you agree that we may transfer your personal information outside the European Union in connection with the purposes stated in this Privacy Policy. Your personal data may be transferred to the United States (and/or other non-EU jurisdictions, as applicable).

##  9\. Notice of changes to the Privacy Policy

NCI reserves the right to change this Privacy Policy at any time by notifying registered users via e-mail of the existence of a new Policy and/or posting the new Policy on the NCI sites. All changes to the Privacy Policy will be effective when posted, and your continued use of any NCI site or service after the posting will constitute your acceptance of, and agreement to be bound by, those changes.

Last Updated: October 12, 2007