Blizzard Entertainment and its affiliate companies (collectively "Blizzard") respects the privacy of its players and online visitors; and recognizes the importance of providing a secure environment for them. We have adopted a company-wide online Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) that explains how we may collect, use, process, disclose, and/or transfer your personal information provided by you. You agree and hereby expressly consent that Blizzard Entertainment can collect, use, process, disclose and/or transfer your personal information according to this Privacy Policy as described below. You confirm that you are age 20 or over age and a parental consent is not required for you to provide the information hereunder, as stipulated in the law you reside. If you are below 20, or the parent, please refer to specific compulsory requirements under “What about Children?” section below

 

Blizzard Entertainment respects the privacy of its online visitors and recognize the importance of providing a secure environment for them . Please note that when you link to other sites from a Blizzard website, this Privacy Policy does not apply to, and cannot control the activities on, those other sites. We highly recommend that you read the privacy policy of any third party website you may be directed to before providing any personally identifiable information. Blizzard Entertainment shall not be liable nor responsible for any damages or loss, in whatsoever form, arises out of or in connection with your use of or access to those other sites via the link on Blizzard website.

 

Blizzard Entertainment Ireland Limited. (“Blizzard Entertainment” or “We”), is the data controller for the processing of your personal data. We are a registered company located at located at Blackpool Retail Park, Co. Cork, Cork, Ireland.

 

If you are a visitor from outside the United States, the personal information you provide may be transferred to, stored, and processed within the United States or other countries where Blizzard maintains facilities or business operations.

 

This Privacy Policy may change from time to time, so please check back periodically to ensure that you are aware of any changes. If we make a material change to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting the change on our websites or in this Privacy Policy and, if necessary, give you additional choices regarding such change prior to the change becoming effective. Your continued use of the Blizzard websites will signify your acceptance of these changes.

 

1. What personal information is collected?

Information collected from you. If an online visitor submits information to us, it will usually be through either: (1) the purchase of goods or services though our online platforms, (2) product or account registration, or registration for online game participation, (3) player match-up services, (4) message boards or forums, (5) eCards or recruit-a-friend e-mails, (6) warranty registrations, (7) online marketing campaign or contest registrations, (8) the playing of a game or use of a service, (9) surveys, (10) customer service or technical support, (11) Share Wish List feature, and/or (12) newsletters.

 

We will collect account name, BattleTag, name, date of birth, address, country of residency, phone number, e-mail address and password from you. We do not require this information to gain access to our websites, however, you will not be able to utilize certain products, services, or features that require registration or receive materials such as newsletters unless such information is provided. We will also collect transaction details to the licensing and purchasing of our products and services. The transaction related information include: name, phone number, address, credit card number, expiration date, email address, bank name, bank account number and/or bank account owner’s name. We need these information to complete all requests you made in connection with the transaction made on Blizzard website.

 

For some activities, we may ask you to create a username and password and/or to provide other personal and non-personal information including but not limited to your age, date of birth, gender, and/or game and platform preferences; and, we may combine such information with other personal and/or non-personal information.

 

From time to time, we may also post customer testimonials that contain personally identifiable information on Blizzard’s websites. However, we will obtain the customer’s consent to post these testimonials prior to publication in accordance with the applicable Blizzard agreement.

 

Information Collected Automatically. In addition, your web browser or client software may transmit certain geographic information or information regarding your computer (capabilities, game data processing, etc.) to us. We may use this information to generate aggregate statistics about our user community. In addition, Blizzard may use such information for security, system integrity (the prevention of hacking, cheats, etc.), or enforcement purposes. Blizzard may also collect IP information, which it may use to infer your approximate location.

 

Information collected from third parties (our vendors, affiliates, and business partners). Blizzard may enhance or merge the personal information collected at a Blizzard website with data from third parties in order to update your contact information, perform market analysis, or improve our products, services, or systems. If you register an account using your Facebook credentials, the following information may be collected: (1) your first and last name and other information made publicly available by you, (2) your friends list, and (3) the email address associated with your account. Similar data exchanges will occur when you link your Blizzard account with other companies, such as Twitch and console platforms.

 

2. Why do we process your data and how do we use your personal information?

The personal information you provide Blizzard will allow us to fulfill your product or service order; alert you of new products or services, features, or enhancements; handle/route your customer service or technical support questions or issues; to send eCards or “Recruit-a-Friend” emails; and/or notify you of upgrade opportunities, contests, promotions, or special events and offers. Blizzard may enhance or merge the personal information collected at a Blizzard website with data from third parties in order to update your contact information, perform market analysis, or improve our products, services, or systems. Blizzard may also provide your personal information to other companies or organizations that offer products or services that may be of interest to you. In such cases, we will notify you that the information will be shared and provide you with an opportunity to opt-out.

 

Lastly, we may use your personal information for internal marketing, profiling, or demographic purposes, so we can adapt our products and services to better suit your needs. We do this to better understand and serve our customers.

 

Please be advised that personal information submitted by individuals acting solely in a business capacity (e.g., personal information contained in job applicant's resume) is not subject to the uses set forth above or to any other practices stated in this Privacy Policy.

 

3. What type of communications may you receive?

Special Offers and Updates

We will occasionally send you information on products, services, special deals, and promotions. Out of respect for your privacy, we present the option not to receive these types of communications. Please see the “Choice” section below.

 

Service-related Announcements

We will send you strictly service-related announcements on rare occasions when it is necessary to do so. You will also receive communication regarding your account security, such as reminders to reset your password and alerts related to changes and suspicious login activity on your account. Generally, you may not opt-out of these communications, which are not promotional in nature.

 

Game-related Announcements

We may send you information related to the game(s) you play. For instance, we may congratulate you on your recent success.

 

Customer Service

Based upon the personally identifiable information you provide us, we will send you a welcoming email to verify your username and password. We will also communicate with you in response to your inquiries, to provide the services you request, and to manage your account. We will communicate with you by email or telephone, in accordance with your wishes.

 

Recruit a Friend/E-cards/Share Wish List

If you choose to use our recruit-a-friend, Share Wish List, or e-card features, we will ask you for your friend’s name and email address. We will automatically send your friend a one-time email inviting him or her to visit the website. In such email, your friend will be provided an opt-out/unsubscribe option. Blizzard does not store this information and uses it for the sole purpose of sending this one-time email and to track the success of our referral program.

 

4. Who is collecting your information?

When you are asked for information while on a Blizzard website or in a Blizzard game or service, you are sharing that information with Blizzard Entertainment, its parent, and its various affiliates and sister companies, unless specifically stated otherwise in that location or in this Privacy Policy.

 

Occasionally, Blizzard may use third party contractors to collect and process personal information on its behalf (for product and prize fulfillment, credit card processing, etc.). If your personal information will be disclosed to a third country, if required by law, you will be specifically provided with that third party information.

 

In addition, some services are provided with partner companies. If you do not want your information shared, you can choose not to allow the transfer of information by not using that particular service or by not providing any information. Please be aware that we cannot control all of the activities of third parties to whom we provide data, and while we cannot guarantee that they adhere to the same privacy and security procedures as Blizzard, we will take reasonable steps to assure that these third parties will sufficiently protect personal information.

 

Please be aware that advertisers or websites with links to and from our websites may collect personal information about you. And remember, this Privacy Policy does not apply to, and cannot control the activities of, those other advertisers or websites. We encourage you to carefully read the privacy policy of any advertiser or website you visit.

 

Our websites may include certain social media features such as the Facebook "Like" button, and widgets such as the Share this button or interactive mini-programs that run on our websites. These features may collect your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, which page you are visiting on our websites, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our websites. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.

 

5. With whom may your personal information be shared?

Blizzard will share your personal information with third parties only in the ways that are described in this Privacy Policy.

 

We may, however, share non-personally identifiable, aggregated, and/or public information with third parties. Additionally, we may share your game play data, Battletag, Blizzard ID, and/or unique identifiers specific to your device with third parties for the purpose of tailoring content as well as personalizing, adjusting and improving our services. In addition, we may share your personal information with other Activision Blizzard group companies for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. If you purchase a product or license a game from another company on our Battle.net platform, we may share some of your account information with that company so they may establish a direct relationship with you. Because of that sharing, you may receive communications from that company.

 

We reserve the right to disclose your Information if we are required to do so by law. We may also disclose your information to law enforcement or in civil litigation in connection with the enforcement of our rights or your legal obligations (e.g., bringing legal action against you if you are violating the EULA). We also reserve the right to disclose your personal information if we have a good faith belief that it is necessary to prevent fraud or other illegal activities.

 

As with any business, your personal information is also an asset of Blizzard and will become part of our normal business records. As such, we may also disclose your personal information to a third party if we decide to sell a line of business to that third party, so you can continue to receive service and information in connection with that line of business with as little disruption as possible. Similarly, in the event of a merger, acquisition, reorganization, bankruptcy, or other similar event, your personal information may be transferred to Blizzard's successor or assign.

 

Blizzard websites may also have message boards, forums, and/or chat areas, where users can exchange ideas and communicate with one another. When posting to a message board, forum, or chat area, please be aware that the information is being made publicly available online and the user does so at his or her own risk. For certain forums, anyone posting or replying to a post may be doing so using their Real ID -- that is, their full first and last name -- with the option to also display the name of their primary in-game character (see discussion regarding Real ID below). If your personal information is posted on one of our community forums, you may contact us at DPO@blizzard.com to request removal. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personal information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.

 

6. What choices do you have regarding the collection, use, and distribution of your personal information?

You have choices over the Information provided by you and by other sources, and how Blizzard uses that Information. You can exercise your choices by updating your preferences at any time and also by managing your settings in your Battle.net account, on your devices and third party accounts.

 

Your browser may allow you to set a Do Not Track (DNT) signal indicating that you do not wish your online activity to be tracked. Currently, our system does not support and cannot act on DNT signal headers that we may receive. However, the choices that we provide you concerning the collection and use of your personal information will continue to operate as described in this Privacy Policy.

 

If at any time you wish to opt out of having your personal information shared with third parties and/or receiving information from Blizzard (via e-mail or postal mail) about new products, services, or promotions, you can do so. You may contact us at DPO@blizzard.com. Please indicate what publications or services you no longer wish to receive so that we may better address your needs.

 

7. What about Children?

Children Under 13

Once a child states that his/her age is under 13, they will be unable to register an account with us. We do not knowingly collect or store any personally identifiable information from children under 13. If parents believe that we have unintentionally collected their children’ personal information, they may request the deletion of the information by contacting us at DPO@blizzard.com.

 

Note to Parents

We recognize a special obligation to protect personal information about young children. We urge parents to instruct their children to never give out their real names, addresses, or phone numbers, without permission, when online. Teenagers under the age of 20 and over the age of 13 should encourage their parents to review this policy and to contact us if they would like to evoke our opt-out policy or to raise any concerns. For more information, you may visit our Parental Controls area at https://us.battle.net/account/parental-controls/index.html.

 

8. What is Real ID?

Real ID friends can see each other’s real-life name and can see each other’s characters across all Blizzard products and services. By participating in Real ID, you will have the option of making your real name visible to your friend’s friends, who will also be able to invite you to become friends. The controls for Real ID are located in Battle.net account management.

 

When you and a friend mutually agree to become Real ID friends, you will have access to several additional features, including:

 

• Real Names for Friends: Your Real ID friends will appear under their real-life names on your friends list, when chatting, communicating in-game, or viewing a character's profile.

• Cross-Realm and Cross-Game Chat: With Real ID, friends can chat cross-realm, cross-faction, and cross-game using Blizzard’s products and services.

• Rich Presence: You will see additional info on your friends list about what your Real ID friends are up to in Blizzard’s products and services in real time.

 

9. What is Global Play?

Certain Blizzard games feature "Global Play," which allows you to play with other players outside of the region associated with the creation of your Blizzard account. This feature is very beneficial to players who travel frequently or have friends and family in other regions. The Global Play feature requires that some or all of the personal information that you provided when you created your Blizzard account be transferred to servers operated by Blizzard in other regions.

 

10. What are tracking technologies and how are they used?

As is true with most websites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information may include a unique identifier such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address and non-personal information such as your browser type, Internet Service Provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, and/or clickstream data. We may combine this automatically collected log information with other information we collect about you. We do this to improve the services we offer you, to improve marketing, analytics, or website functionality.

 

Blizzard and our partners, such as marketing partners and analytics providers, may use tracking technologies such as cookies, beacons, tags and scripts. These technologies are used in analyzing trends, administering the websites, tracking users’ movements around the websites, and to gather demographic information about our user base. We may receive reports based on the use of these technologies by these companies on an individual and aggregated basis.

 

We use cookies for various purposes including our shopping cart, to remember users’ settings (e.g. language preference), and for authentication. Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. If you reject cookies, you may still use our websites, but your ability to use some features or areas of our websites may be limited.

 

We may also use clear gifs in our HTML-based emails to let us know which e-mails have been opened by recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of certain communications and the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns. For this reason, these types of clear gifs are tied to personally identifiable information.

 

We, and third parties with whom we partner to provide certain features on our websites or to display advertising based on your web browsing activity, use Local Shared Objects such as Flash cookies, and Local Storage such as HTML5, to store content information and preferences. Various browsers may offer their own management tools for removing HTML5. To manage Flash cookies, please click here.

 

We partner with third party ad networks to either display advertising on our websites or to manage our advertising on other sites. Our ad network partners may use tracking technologies to collect information about your activities on this and other websites to provide you targeted advertising based upon your interests. Some of these ad networks are members of the Networking Advertising Initiative (“NAI”) and/or the Digital Advertising Alliance (“DAA”) – organizations who offer a single location to opt out of receiving tailored ads. If you wish to not have your information used for the purpose of serving you targeted ads, you may opt-out by visiting the DAA’s Consumer Choice page and/or the NAI’s Consumer Opt-Out page. Please note this does not opt you out of being served advertising. You will continue to receive generic, or non-targeted, ads. Please also note that we strive to adhere to the DAA’s Self-Regulatory Principles for Online Behavioral Advertising.

 

11. What are Internet Protocol addresses?

An Internet Protocol ("IP") address is the unique number assigned to your server or Internet Service Provider (“ISP”). Blizzard may track such IP addresses for system administration, to report aggregate information, site tracking, security purposes, or to prevent our servers from being abused. See tracking technology discussion above.

 

12. What do you do if you want to correct or delete your personal information?

If for any reason you are concerned with the way we are using your personal information, or would like to correct or request that we delete such personal information, please contact us by e-mailing us at DPO@blizzard.com. We will respond to any request for access within 30 days or within the period as requested by applicable law.

 

In some cases, we may not be able to delete your personal information and will retain and use our information as long as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and/or enforce our agreements.

 

Please note that the deletion of your data may lead to the termination of your account and all applicable services.

 

13. How secure is my personal information?

The security of your personal information is important to us. Blizzard has taken steps to assure that all information collected will remain secure and in its original form, i.e. free from any alteration. As such, access to all personal information is strictly controlled. When credit card information is transmitted, for example, we use industry standard, SSL (secure sockets layer) encryption. In the event that there is a security breach which is likely to be a high risk to impact rights and freedom of the data subject, we will notify such breach and remedial actions to our users/data subjects without delay. We follow generally accepted standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, both during transmission and once it is received.

 

In addition, we will take reasonable steps to assure that third parties to whom we transfer any data will provide sufficient protection of personal information.

 

It is very important for you to understand that you control the security of your account to a great extent. Choosing a password you don’t use on any other system is important. Changing that password occasionally is also a good idea. Another way to substantially increase your account security is to add a free Blizzard authenticator app to your phone; just go to the app store for your phone and download it at no cost to you.

 

14. What if you have a question or complaint?

If you have any questions or wish to file a complaint, please feel free to e-mail us at DPO@blizzard.com.

 

This Privacy Policy was last updated on March 1st, 2022.