Version 1, 29 September 2026

Privacy Policy

This explains what we collect when you use Mercy's Wake (the game, its launcher and this website), why, who helps us run it, how long we keep it, and what you can ask us to do. We have kept it short and plain.

Who we are

Mercy's Wake is run by Christchurch Web Solutions ("we", "us"). We decide how your personal data is used, so we are its controller under UK data protection law (UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018). Contact us about anything here at [email protected].

What we collect and why

Your account: the name you choose, your password (stored only as a salted, one-way hash we cannot read), your email address, when you signed up and which version of our terms you accepted. We need these to give you an account and let you back in if you forget your password (to perform our agreement with you).
What happens in the game: your characters and everything about them (items, skills, positions, crafting, trades, market orders, clan membership), letters you send to other players, and chat. The game cannot work without this (our agreement with you). We keep records of trades and market sales, and chat, to stop cheating and deal with reports and abuse (our legitimate interests in a fair, safe game).
Reports: when a player reports another, we keep the report with the reported player's recent chat lines so a moderator can look at it (legitimate interests).
Technical information: your IP address when you connect, sign up or ask for an email code, which we use to limit abuse (for example, how many accounts or codes one connection can ask for) and to keep our servers secure (legitimate interests). The launcher keeps your login token on your own PC, encrypted for your Windows account.
Email: we send codes to confirm your address and reset your password, invites you ask us to send, and replies to you (our agreement with you). News and alerts (such as your home's upkeep running low) go only to players who tick News by email, and every one has an unsubscribe link (your consent, which you can withdraw at any time). Our mail server tells us if an address bounces, so we can ask you for a working one.
This website: no cookies, no analytics and no tracking. Our host processes your IP address to deliver and protect the pages.

We do not sell your data, share it for advertising, or use it to make automated decisions about you.

Who helps us run it

These providers process data for us, under contracts that require them to protect it:

Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany): the servers the game and its database run on.
Cloudflare, Inc.: this website, the game's file downloads, our domain's DNS, forwarding of mail sent to our addresses, and storage of our encrypted-in-transit backups. Cloudflare may process data outside the UK, protected by the safeguards the law requires (such as the UK's approved data transfer terms).
Our own mail server, run by Christchurch Web Solutions, which sends the game's email.

How long we keep it

Account and game data: while your account exists. If you ask us to delete your account, we do so within 30 days (see below).
One-time email codes: 2 days. The log of emails and sign-ups used for limits: 30 days.
Reports and the chat lines attached to them: up to 12 months.
Server logs (which can include IP addresses and chat): rotated automatically, normally gone within a few weeks.
Backups of the database: 14 days on our server and 60 days off-site, then deleted.

Your rights

You can ask us for a copy of your data, to correct it, to delete it, to restrict or object to how we use it, or to receive it in a portable form, and you can withdraw your consent to news at any time (the unsubscribe link, or untick News by email in the launcher). Email [email protected] from the address on your account; we answer within one month. Deleting your account removes your characters and ends your access; we may keep what the law requires or what we need to deal with fraud or abuse that was already reported.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please tell us first. You can also complain to the Information Commissioner's Office: ico.org.uk.

Age

Mercy's Wake is for players aged 16 and over. If we learn that an account belongs to someone younger, we will close it and delete its data.

Changes

If we change this policy we will update the version and date above, and tell players in the launcher's news. If a change affects how we use your data in an important way, we will ask you to read it again when you next log in.