The new survival game Once Human is currently trending on Steam and Twitch. However, some players are distrustful of the Privacy Policy. Industry expert and security specialist Jason Thor Hall, aka “Pirate Software”, clarifies.
What game is it about? The survival game Once Human has just been released for PC and mobile. Many survival fans had high hopes for the title: Once Human was supposed to deliver what the infamous The Day Before once promised.
At its release on July 9, 2024, the survival game only received average reviews on Steam. Two criticisms stood out particularly:
- Once Human allowed players to create only a single character, which could not be deleted afterward. Changing servers was also not possible. Players had to be extremely careful on day one to make the right choice.
- Many found the privacy policies of Once Human unnecessarily invasive: Data would be collected that should have nothing to do with gaming, critics said.
The developers promptly reacted to player feedback and made improvements on release day regarding character creation. What about data privacy?
Once Human wants to know where your house resides
What kind of data is collected? NetEase, the parent company of the “Once Human” developer Starry Studios, lists a whole range of personal information that can be collected. You can find the full privacy policy on easebar.com. Some of these points look a bit creepy at first glance:
- It is said that the full name, as well as state ID or passport information, could be collected.
- Other points seem simply unusual: Why would a game need information about the age, gender, educational background, profession, and hobbies of its players?
A veteran of the video game industry and cybersecurity expert can explain.
Streamer rants: “That’s why I hate Twitter”
What kind of expert is he? Twitch streamer Thor “Pirate Software” Hall is currently one of the most-watched streamers for Once Human (via SullyGnome). He was also a security expert at Blizzard, claims to have hacked power plants for the US government, and holds a Black Badge, the highest accolade of the hacking event Def Con.
In a stream, Pirate Software tackled the privacy policy issue. The streamer had a clear message: “If you’re scared of it, you’re an absolute moron.” According to him, the privacy policy is completely normal and similar to what can be found in every live-service game.
Pirate Software explains: In some countries, a government-issued ID is required to play live-service games. If one does not live in one of those countries, they would not need to show these documents. Therefore, it says “in accordance with applicable law” in the privacy policy.
In this case, the data would also be transmitted by the player and not simply collected by the game. Social media profiles would only be recorded if one links their game account with it. However, location must be recorded should players do something illegal in-game.
The Twitch streamer is annoyed by the panic-mongering on social networks: “That’s why I hate Twitter. […] This is all totally normal. Every live-service game has these policies.” According to Pirate Software, it is no different for World of Warcraft – and he should know.
On X the streamer summarized his view again in a post. He said that the internet has totally distorted the issue with the ID and turned it into a necessary requirement and a data privacy problem. According to Pirate Software, it is not.
In another post from July 12, 2024, the streamer reported that he had talked to the developers for an hour and shared his experiences with the game. However, it was not about data privacy, but about items, cosmetics, and balancing.
The developers were “incredibly receptive” to feedback. Pirate Software encourages all players to reach out to the devs themselves, who will definitely listen. Changes just take time (via X).
The streamer also makes it clear: He is not being paid for this. He simply likes what the game could be. If you also like what Once Human could be, you can find a handy summary of all codes that you can redeem in July 2024 here on MeinMMO.
