Privacy policy

1. Who we are

Caratel Games ("we", "us") is an independent games studio based in the United Kingdom. We are the controller of the personal data described in this policy, under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018 and, for players in the European Economic Area, the EU GDPR.

Contact: support@caratelgames.com

2. This website

caratelgames.com is a plain website. It sets no cookies, runs no analytics, and loads no fonts, scripts or embeds from other companies. Links to Steam take you to Valve's website, which has its own privacy policy.

Like almost every web server, ours automatically records basic technical logs for each request: your IP address, the date and time, the page requested, your browser's user-agent string and the referring page. We use these only to keep the site secure and working (for example, to spot attacks or broken links), which is our legitimate interest. Logs are deleted automatically within 30 days.

3. When you email us

If you contact us, we receive your email address, your name if you include it, and whatever you choose to tell us. We use this only to reply and to help you (our legitimate interest in providing support). Our email is hosted by Fasthosts Internet Ltd in the UK. We keep support conversations for up to two years after our last contact, then delete them.

4. The game, played offline

When Live AI is off, The Genuine Article does not send anything to us. The game stores the following only on your PC:

• your save game and settings;
• a random "install ID" — a meaningless code created the first time the game runs. It is only ever used if you switch Live AI on;
• spoken dialogue, which is generated on your PC by a local text-to-speech model. No audio or text is sent anywhere to create it.

5. Live AI mode

Live AI is optional. It lets suspects answer questions that the hand-written script doesn't cover, using an AI language model. The game asks for your agreement before Live AI is used, and you can switch it off at any time with the Live AI checkbox on the main menu. The whole game remains playable without it.

What is sent when Live AI is on

• The questions you type, and the context the AI needs to answer in character: recent lines of the conversation with that suspect and the character's authored background.
• Your random install ID and a session ID, so we can apply fair-use limits and group one play session's statistics together. These do not identify you.
• The game version.

This goes to our own server first. Our server sees your IP address while handling the request and uses it, in memory only, to stop abuse; we do not store your IP address. Our server then forwards the text of the request to our AI provider, DeepSeek. DeepSeek receives the request text but not your IP address or install ID.

Please don't type personal information (your real name, contact details, anything about your health, and so on) into the game. It is a conversation with fictional characters, and anything you type may be sent as described here. As a safeguard, the game automatically masks email addresses and long numbers in the gameplay statistics below before they leave your PC.

Gameplay statistics we keep

While Live AI is on, the game also sends a summary of each play session so we can see where players get stuck, which questions the script doesn't answer well, and what to fix. It contains:

• the case played, the session's length, the number of questions asked, and progress such as secrets uncovered and contradictions found;
• the ending reached and which suspect you accused;
• the questions you typed (with emails and long numbers masked) and the suspects' replies;
• technical records of each AI request: time, request type, model used, size, response time and whether it succeeded.

We use this only to improve the game. We rely on your consent (given when you switch Live AI on) and our legitimate interest in improving the game. Switching Live AI off stops all of it.

6. Steam

The game is sold and installed through Steam, which is operated by Valve Corporation. Your Steam account, purchases, payments and refunds are handled by Valve under the Steam Privacy Policy. Valve provides us with sales and wishlist reports, but these are aggregated and don't identify individual players.

7. Who we share data with

We use a small number of service providers who process data for us under contract and only on our instructions:

We never sell personal data and never share it for advertising. We may disclose data if the law requires it.

8. International transfers

When Live AI is on, the text of your requests is processed by DeepSeek in the People's Republic of China. The UK and EU have not recognised China as providing an equivalent level of data protection, so this transfer relies on your explicit consent, which you give when you switch Live AI on. The risks are that Chinese law may allow authorities to access data, and that you may have fewer ways to enforce your rights there. To keep the risk low, DeepSeek receives only the request text — never your IP address or install ID — and you can withdraw consent at any time by switching Live AI off. DeepSeek's handling of data is described in its own privacy policy at deepseek.com.

If we change AI provider, we will update this policy and the game's in-menu notice before the change takes effect.

9. How long we keep data

10. Your rights

You have the right to access the personal data we hold about you, to have it corrected or deleted, to restrict or object to how we use it, to receive it in a portable format, and to withdraw consent at any time. To use any of these rights, email support@caratelgames.com. We will reply within one month.

Finding your Live AI data. Gameplay statistics are linked only to your random install ID, so we need it to find your records. It is stored in a file named install_id in:

%APPDATA%\Godot\app_userdata\The Genuine Article\

Open that file in Notepad and include its contents in your email. Deleting the file makes the game create a new, unconnected ID next time it starts.

If you are unhappy with how we handle your data, please tell us first so we can put it right. You also have the right to complain to the UK Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk, or to your local data protection authority if you live in the EEA.

11. Children

Our games are not directed at children under 13, and The Genuine Article deals with mature themes such as murder. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has sent us personal data, contact us and we will delete it.

12. Changes and contact

We will update this policy when our games or services change, and change the "last updated" date above. If a change affects what the game collects, we will also say so in the game before it applies.

Questions about privacy: support@caratelgames.com