This Privacy Policy explains how information may be handled when you visit the Distant Shift website, play the browser game, choose optional analytics or contact the project.
Distant Shift is designed to be playable directly in your browser without requiring a dedicated Distant Shift account.
This policy covers normal website operation, optional first-party website analytics, optional first-party game analytics, cookies and similar browser storage, game progress and project communications.
Distant Shift does not currently require visitors or players to create a dedicated Distant Shift account.
If you contact the project, report a bug, provide feedback or otherwise communicate directly, information contained in that communication may be received and used to respond to your enquiry or investigate the issue.
Like most websites, the hosting infrastructure may process standard technical information when pages, files or game resources are requested.
This can include information such as your network address (IP address), browser or device information, requested page or resource, date and time of access, referring information and technical error data.
Such information may be used for security, diagnostics, abuse prevention and normal operation of the website and game independently of optional analytics.
Distant Shift stores game-related information within your browser so that progression and settings can persist between sessions.
Browser-stored game information remains associated with the browser and device where it was created unless you export, transfer or otherwise move supported save data.
Clearing browser storage, browser data or site data may remove locally stored game progress.
Distant Shift supports importing and exporting supported game progress using portable save data.
Exported save files are controlled by the player after export. You are responsible for deciding where those files are stored, copied or shared.
Distant Shift uses first-party cookies and similar browser storage for necessary preferences and, only when you allow it, optional analytics.
A consent preference is stored so that the website can remember whether you allowed or declined optional analytics and avoid repeatedly asking for the same choice.
If you allow website analytics, first-party visitor and session identifiers are stored so that visits and sessions can be measured without requiring a Distant Shift account.
More detail, including current cookie names and typical lifetimes, is provided in the Cookie Policy.
The public Distant Shift website includes a privately operated first-party analytics system used to understand how visitors use the site and whether visitors continue into the game.
Optional website analytics starts only after you choose Allow Analytics. If you choose Decline Optional, the optional website analytics system is not started.
When allowed, website analytics may record a random visitor identifier, session identifier, pageview identifier, page path and title, landing page, referrer information, browser language, timezone, device type, screen and viewport dimensions, user-agent information, visit and activity times, page duration, active time, maximum scroll depth, visibility changes and meaningful link or button interactions.
No form-field values are intentionally collected by the website analytics system.
If analytics is allowed and a visit contains campaign or referral information, Distant Shift may record attribution data such as referrer URL or host, UTM source, medium, campaign, term and content parameters, and advertising click identifiers such as GCLID, GBRAID or WBRAID where they are present in the page URL.
This information is used to understand which links or promotional campaigns brought visitors to the Distant Shift website and how those visitors interact with the site.
When optional website analytics is allowed, Distant Shift may record meaningful interactions such as navigation clicks, external links, Discord links, YouTube links, support links, news links and selected button interactions.
When a visitor clicks a link that opens the game, Distant Shift may record the source page, button or link text, element identifier or classes where available, the general location of the control on the page, the destination URL and a random launch identifier.
This allows Distant Shift to measure the website-to-game funnel and understand whether visitors click through to the game and, where the game-side bridge is available, whether they later arrive, see the game analytics choice, allow or decline analytics or start a tracked game session.
Distant Shift also includes a privately operated first-party analytics system inside the game used to understand how the game is being played and to guide future development.
When no game analytics choice has already been stored, the game does not launch until you choose either Allow Analytics or Decline. Optional game analytics does not start before you select Allow Analytics. Choosing Decline keeps optional player analytics off and then allows the game to launch normally.
When allowed, game analytics may record a random player identifier, session identifier, IP address, game start and activity times, gameplay events, browser language, user-agent or browser/device information, referring information and approximate country, region, city or network information derived from the connection address.
The analytics systems are not intended to identify visitors or players by name and do not require a Distant Shift account.
When optional analytics is allowed, the server receives the network address used to connect to the website or game. That address may be used to estimate approximate country, region, city or network information.
Distant Shift currently uses the IPWho service at ipwho.is to return approximate geographic and network information. That service receives the network address needed to perform the lookup and operates under its own privacy practices.
Approximate location information can be inaccurate, including where a VPN, proxy, mobile network, shared connection or other routing service is used.
Analytics may be used to understand website traffic, page use, campaign performance, how often visitors click into the game, how many people are playing, how often players return, broad gameplay activity, approximate countries, device types and browser languages, and which parts of the website or game may need improvement.
This information may help with interface improvements, content decisions, feature balancing, technical troubleshooting, promotion analysis and future development planning.
Distant Shift's first-party analytics is not used to sell visitor or player analytics data or to create third-party advertising profiles.
The public website requires you to choose Allow Analytics or Decline Optional before the underlying website becomes interactive on a first visit where no website choice has already been stored. The browser game separately requires you to choose Allow Analytics or Decline before the game itself launches where no game choice has already been stored.
Optional website or game analytics does not start before the relevant Allow Analytics choice is made. Declining unlocks the public website or launches the game normally without starting that optional analytics system.
This consent design follows the current UK PECR principle that non-exempt storage and access technologies must not be used before valid consent and that consent requires a clear positive action. See the Information Commissioner's Office guidance on PECR storage and access rules.
The website and game store their analytics choices separately. If website analytics is declined, the public-site analytics identifiers are removed by the site analytics script. If game analytics is declined, the game analytics visitor cookie is removed and no optional game session is started.
You can reopen the website consent controls using the Cookie Settings control in the site footer. Browser cookie/site-data controls can also remove stored choices, although clearing all Distant Shift browser data may also remove locally stored game progress.
Analytics records may include sessions, pageviews, game-launch records, consent records and events together with the technical information needed to operate the analytics systems.
Records are retained only while they remain useful for development, operational analysis, troubleshooting, security, campaign analysis or understanding website and game usage. Information may be deleted, refreshed or converted into aggregate statistics over time.
Approximate location lookup results may be cached so that the same lookup does not need to be repeated for every tracked visit or game session.
Distant Shift contains links to external websites and services, including community, creator and support platforms.
External websites operate under their own privacy policies and practices. This Privacy Policy applies only to Distant Shift.
Where Distant Shift uses a third-party technical service to perform a specific function, such as approximate network-location lookup, only the information needed for that function is sent by Distant Shift.
Reasonable technical and operational measures are used to protect the website, game, analytics systems and project infrastructure.
However, no website, internet connection, browser storage system or online service can be guaranteed to be completely secure.
Distant Shift is not designed to deliberately collect personal information from children.
Visitors should avoid submitting personal information unnecessarily through project communications.
Locally stored browser data can normally be removed through your browser's own site-data, storage or privacy controls.
Removing local Distant Shift browser data may also remove game progress stored within that browser, so exporting a save first is recommended if you want to keep a portable copy of supported progress.
If you only want to change the public website analytics choice, use the Cookie Settings control rather than clearing all Distant Shift browser storage.
Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have rights relating to personal information, including requesting access, correction or deletion, objecting to certain processing or withdrawing consent where processing is based on consent.
Because Distant Shift does not require a player account, analytics records are generally pseudonymous and may not be directly linked to a person's name or email address. Additional information may be needed to identify relevant records when responding to a request.
This Privacy Policy may be updated as Distant Shift, the website, analytics systems, hosting infrastructure, cookies or connected services change.
The effective date shown on this page will be updated when material revisions are made.
Questions or concerns relating to this policy can be sent to [email protected] or raised through the Contact page.
If your current Distant Shift progress is stored locally, clearing browser or site storage may remove that data.
Use the game's export functionality when you want to keep a separate portable copy of supported save data.
