Privacy policy
In short. Master Quest has no ads, no analytics and no tracking. Offline games stay on your device. To play online, the game connects through my relay server, which sees your IP address and passes moves and lobby chat between players. Ranked play uses your Steam account and keeps your Steam name, rating and match results. Server logs are deleted after 30 days. I never sell your data.
Master Quest is made by Andrei Kartsev, an individual developer in New Zealand ("I", "me"). I am responsible for the personal information described here. You can reach me at support@masterquest.fyi.
What stays on your device
The game keeps your settings, key bindings, saved games and, after an online game, the details it needs to rejoin. These files stay on your device and are never sent to me. The game also creates a random installation ID; when you open ranked play it is sent to the relay, which keeps only a one-way hash of it.
Online play
Online games connect through a relay server at relay.masterquest.fyi. The relay does not run the game; it passes messages between the players in a lobby.
- Your IP address is used to connect you, to limit how many connections one address can open (so the server can't be flooded), and to keep a ranked match from pairing two players on the same address.
- The name you choose, the lobby name, lobby chat messages and your moves are shown to the other players in that lobby. They are held in the relay's memory only while the lobby exists (the last 20 chat messages) and are not written to disk.
- Server logs record when connections open and close, the IP address, lobby names, and players joining and leaving. I use them to find faults and stop abuse. They are deleted after 30 days.
Ranked play and Steam
Ranked play requires Steam. When you open ranked play, the game asks Steam for a sign-in ticket, and the relay checks it with Valve. Valve tells the relay your Steam ID and your current Steam profile name. I never see your Steam password or payment details.
For ranked play I keep:
- your Steam ID and Steam profile name;
- your rating, games played, wins, losses and draws in each ranked mode;
- a record of each ranked match: when it was played, the mode, the game version, each player's finishing place and rating change;
- notes on matches where something looked wrong, such as a player leaving early or results that disagree, so they can be reviewed for fair play.
Your Steam name and rating appear on the in-game leaderboard and are visible to other players.
How long I keep it
| Information | Why | Kept for |
|---|---|---|
| Moves, lobby names, chat, player names in a lobby | To run the online game | While the lobby is open |
| Server logs (including IP addresses) | Fixing faults, stopping abuse | 30 days |
| Ranked profile, ratings and match records | Ranked play and leaderboards | Until you ask me to delete it |
| Nightly backups of the ranked database | Recovering from a server failure | 30 days |
| Support emails | Answering you | As long as needed to help |
Services I use
These companies process information on my behalf, under their own security and privacy terms. Some of them store or process it outside New Zealand.
- Oracle Cloud hosts the relay server, in Frankfurt, Germany.
- Cloudflare carries connections to the relay and this website, stores the nightly backups, and forwards email sent to support@masterquest.fyi.
- Valve (Steam) confirms your identity for ranked play.
- Google (Gmail) is where I receive and answer support emails.
Steam, Google Play and the App Store handle purchases. I don't receive your payment details.
This website
masterquest.fyi sets no cookies and has no analytics or tracking scripts. It loads nothing from other sites. Cloudflare, which serves it, may process your IP address to protect the site from attacks.
Legal basis (EU and UK players)
I use your information to provide the online and ranked features you choose to use, and, for server logs and fair-play notes, because of my legitimate interest in keeping the service secure and ranked play fair.
Your rights
You can ask me what information I hold about you, ask me to correct it, or ask me to delete it. Email support@masterquest.fyi with your Steam profile name or link. I may ask you to confirm that the Steam account is yours. I will reply within 20 working days.
Deleting your ranked profile removes your Steam ID, name, ratings and your place in match records. Copies in server logs and backups are deleted when those expire, within 30 days.
If you are not happy with my answer, you can complain to the New Zealand Office of the Privacy Commissioner, or to the data protection authority where you live.
Children
Master Quest's online features are not meant for children under 13, and Steam accounts require users to be at least 13. If you believe a child under 13 has given me personal information, contact me and I will delete it.
Security
Connections between the game and the relay are encrypted (TLS). The relay accepts connections only through Cloudflare, and access to the server and its keys is limited to me.
Changes
If I change this policy, I will update the date at the top. If a change affects what I collect or how I use it, I will also announce it on the game's store page or in the game.