Privacy policy for PatchApp & PatchBot
Last updated:
Who we are
PatchApp collects as little as it can. It never sells your data or uses it for advertising, and it does not store your messages.
PatchApp is an app for communities on Root. It posts game patch notes and update alerts in the channels a community picks. It also shows game artwork, player statistics, deals and the latest updates.
PatchApp is developed by JosephxQc & ProphetxQc ("we", "us"). PatchApp is an independent app and is not made by or affiliated with Root Communications, Inc.
This policy covers the PatchApp app inside Root and the optional PatchApp launch page. Root's own handling of your account and messages is covered by Root's Privacy Policy. Questions: rootpatchapp@proton.me.
Information the app processes
Most of what PatchApp stores is community setup data, such as which games post in which channel. It does not store information about individual members.
|
Information |
Where it comes from |
Where it is kept |
How long |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Tracked games and feeds, the channel each one posts in, and the last update seen |
Set up by community admins in the app or with |
Root's hosted app storage, separate for each community |
Until it is removed or the app is uninstalled |
|
Community settings: alert mode, post style, store region, launch page address, custom feed addresses |
Entered by community admins |
Root's hosted app storage |
Until changed, removed or the app is uninstalled |
|
SteamGridDB API key |
Entered by a community admin |
Root's hosted app storage. It is never sent to members' devices. |
Until replaced or the app is uninstalled |
|
Chat messages in channels the app can read |
Root, as messages are posted |
Read in memory only, to spot commands that start with |
Not kept |
|
Your Root user ID and community roles |
Root, when you change settings or use an admin command |
Checked in memory to confirm you are an admin. Never stored. |
Not kept |
|
Error messages |
The app, when something fails |
The community's app log in Root, visible to community admins |
As long as Root keeps app logs |
|
Game data: artwork, patch notes, player counts, prices |
Public game services (see below) |
Root's hosted app storage, as a cache |
30 minutes to 30 days, then deleted automatically |
|
Display preferences and image cache: "What's new" seen, store region override, custom launch link, cached artwork |
Your own use of the app |
Your device only (browser storage) |
Up to 14 days for images; settings until you clear them |
PatchApp does not collect your name, email address, profile picture, contacts, location, payment details or message history. It does not use tracking cookies, analytics or advertising tools.
How the information is used
We use this information only to run PatchApp's features:
- Check games and feeds for new updates, and post alerts in the channels the community chose
- Answer chat commands such as
!latest,!searchand!deals - Show game artwork, patch notes, player statistics, deals and recommendations in the app
- Make sure only community admins can change settings
- Show error messages to admins so they can fix problems
We never use this information for advertising or marketing, never sell or rent it, and never build profiles of members. It is not used to train AI or machine-learning models.
Third-party services and sharing
PatchApp gets game information from public game services. It sends them only game names, game IDs and search words, never information about you.
Root. PatchApp runs on Root's servers, and the data in this policy is stored there. Root handles it under Root's Privacy Policy.
Game services. PatchApp's server contacts the services below to find updates, artwork, statistics and prices. The requests come from Root's servers, not from your device. When you search for a game, the words you type are sent to these services.
|
Service |
What PatchApp gets from it |
|---|---|
|
Steam (Valve) |
News, patch notes, store details, prices, player counts, game search |
|
SteamGridDB |
Artwork and game search. The community's API key is sent with each request. |
|
SteamSpy |
Owner estimates and game tags |
|
CheapShark |
Deals across game stores |
|
Epic Games Store |
Free games |
|
Battle.net (Blizzard) |
Game version numbers |
|
Mojang (Minecraft), Hytale, Vintage Story |
Their official update news |
|
NVIDIA, Microsoft |
Driver and Windows update information |
|
Feeds added by community admins |
The feed's latest entry |
Images loaded on your device. To show artwork quickly, your device may load images straight from SteamGridDB's or Steam's image servers. Like any website, those servers can see your IP address and basic device information. When an image can't load this way, it is passed through PatchApp's server instead.
Links you open. Patch note titles, store buttons and the Play button open websites outside Root, such as the Steam store. The optional launch page is a web page hosted by your community's admins, for example on GitHub Pages. It only reads the game link from the page address. It doesn't store or send it anywhere. Those sites have their own privacy policies.
Other sharing. We share information only when the law requires it, or when you ask us to share your own data with someone else.
Storage, retention and deletion
All of PatchApp's data stays in Root's hosted app storage, and each community's data is kept separate. We do not copy it to other servers.
- Removing a game or feed deletes its saved setup right away.
- Cached game data expires on its own after 30 minutes to 30 days.
- Data on your device can be cleared at any time by clearing the Root app's storage or cache.
- If we stop running PatchApp, or Root or the law asks us to, we delete the data we control.
Only community admins can change PatchApp's settings. Admins are the community owner and roles with Full Control, Manage Community or Manage Apps. The SteamGridDB API key is kept on the server and never shown to members.
If we learn that someone has accessed PatchApp data without permission, we will tell Root and the affected users promptly.
Children. PatchApp is for people who are allowed to use Root under Root's Terms of Use. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children.
Your choices and rights
Community admins can remove games, feeds and settings themselves in the app at any time.
- Community data. Admins can delete it in the app or by uninstalling PatchApp.
- Requests under privacy laws. Some laws give you the right to access, correct, delete or move your data, such as the GDPR in Europe, PIPEDA and Quebec's Law 25 in Canada, and the CCPA in California. Root handles these requests for apps on its platform. We will point your request to Root support and help Root answer it. You can also contact Root directly.
Changes to this policy
When PatchApp starts handling data differently, we update this policy and change the "Last updated" date at the top. Big changes are also mentioned in the app's "What's new" window.
Contact
JosephxQc & ProphetxQc: rootpatchapp@proton.me