Privacy Policy
What W3Arena collects, why, how long it is kept and how to have it removed. Version 1.0, in effect from 8 September 2026.
1. Scope
1.1 This policy covers the W3Arena platform, the launcher, w3arena.pro, the forum and the W3Arena Shop.
1.2 It sits alongside the Terms of Use. Where this policy describes data and those terms describe the agreement, both apply.
2. What we collect
2.1 To create an account: a username and an email address. Nothing else is required.
2.2 Optional profile details. Age, sex, nationality and residence exist as profile fields and are optional. A new account starts with all of them unset, and an account left that way works exactly the same. A display name, avatar and profile description are also optional.
2.3 Game records. Games played on W3Arena are recorded: the players in them, the result, duration, heroes, kills, deaths, assists and the rating change. This is what the ladders, profiles and match history are built from.
2.4 Technical data. IP address and connection details, because hosting a game requires knowing where to send it. Login times. Basic client information needed to serve the right build.
2.5 Shop records. What was bought, when, what it cost in shards, and the resulting balance. Card details are never seen or stored by W3Arena; the payment provider handles them.
3. Voice is not recorded
3.1 Arena Voice is live only. Audio passes between players in the lobby and is never recorded, stored, transcribed or retained, by us or by anyone else.
3.2 There is no archive of voice to request, disclose or delete, because none is created.
4. Chat and messages
4.1 Channel chat is not stored. It exists for as long as you are in the channel and is gone when your session ends. There is no archive of it, on our side or anywhere else.
4.2 Private messages between two players are not stored either. They pass between the people in the conversation and are not kept, read or retained by us.
4.3 Because none of it is kept, there is no chat history to request, disclose or delete. Nobody can produce it, including us.
4.4 The forum is different, and public by design. Anything you post there, including a report you file, is stored and visible to other players. Reports create a record because they have to be reviewed, answered and referred back to if the decision is questioned.
5. Why we hold it
5.1 To run your account and let you sign in.
5.2 To host games, place you in lobbies near you, and compute ladders, ratings and profiles.
5.3 To enforce the rules: investigating reports, detecting cheating, and acting on bans and evasion.
5.4 To deliver and support purchases, and to answer questions about them.
5.5 To email you. Your address is used for account verification and account matters, and for platform updates. Every update email carries a way to stop receiving them, and stopping them never affects your account or anything you bought.
6. Who else sees it
6.1 We do not sell personal data, and we do not share it for advertising.
6.2 It is handled on our behalf by the services that run the platform: hosting and server providers, a content delivery and security provider in front of the website, and a payment provider that processes purchases. Each receives only what its job requires.
6.3 Some information is public by design and visible to anyone: your username and display name, your rank and titles, your profile, your ladder standing and your match history. Anything you choose to post on the forum or in chat is likewise public.
6.4 We disclose data where the law requires it, and no further.
7. Where it is held
7.1 W3Arena runs servers in several regions so games are hosted near the people playing them. Account data is held centrally in Europe; game hosting happens in the region you play in, which may include South America and South East Asia.
7.2 Using the platform means your data may be handled in those regions.
8. How long it is kept
8.1 Account data is kept while the account exists.
8.2 Game records are permanent. A match involves up to ten people, and it is part of everyone's history in it. Removing one player's record would rewrite results, ladders and statistics belonging to the others, so match records stay even when an account is closed.
8.3 Connection and server logs, including IP addresses, are kept for 90 days and then deleted. That is long enough to investigate a cheating report, a ban appeal or a payment problem, and short enough that we are not keeping a permanent record of where everybody lives.
8.4 Ban and moderation records are kept for up to three years, and for longer while a ban is still in force. Detecting evasion is the reason they exist, and evasion is a rule violation under clause 4.4 of the Terms of Use.
8.5 Shop and payment records are kept for several years, because they may be needed for a dispute, a refund or accounting.
8.6 Deleted data can survive for a short time in backups until those rotate in the normal course. It is not restored to live use, and the periods above are applied again if a backup is ever recovered.
9. Deleting your account
9.1 Write to system@w3arena.pro from the address on the account, and ask.
9.2 We will delete it unless something on the account prevents it, such as a membership still running or an unresolved purchase or dispute. If something does, we say what it is and what has to happen first.
9.3 Deletion removes the account, its profile, its optional details and its unspent shards. Clause 7.2 applies to games already played: those records remain, because they belong to the other players in them as much as to you.
9.4 You can also change or clear your optional profile details yourself at any time, without asking anyone.
10. What else you can ask for
10.1 A copy of what we hold. Ask and we will tell you what is on your account and send you what we have.
10.2 A correction. If something on your account is wrong, tell us and we will fix it. Most of it you can edit yourself.
10.3 Deletion, as described in clause 9.
10.4 An objection. If you think we are holding something we do not need, say so and we will look at it rather than quote a policy at you.
10.5 If you are not satisfied with how we handled any of this, you can complain to the data protection authority where you live.
10.6 Asking will never count against you. Using anything in this section is not a rule violation and has no effect on your account, your rank or anything you have bought.
10.7 Write to system@w3arena.pro. We may ask you to prove the account is yours before acting, which protects you rather than us.
11. Cookies and local storage
11.1 The website and the launcher store what they need to work: your session so you stay signed in, and your chosen language and display preferences.
11.2 We do not use advertising cookies or cross-site tracking. Basic aggregate traffic measurement is provided by the security and delivery service in front of the website.
12. Age
12.1 W3Arena is not intended for anyone under 13, and accounts require a minimum age of 13 under clause 3.1 of the Terms of Use. Purchases require 18.
12.2 If we learn that an account belongs to someone under 13, it is removed.
13. Changes and contact
13.1 This policy may change as the platform changes. The version and date at the top say which one is in effect.
13.2 For anything about your data, including a deletion request, write to system@w3arena.pro. For anything about a purchase, payments@w3arena.pro. For anything else, support@w3arena.pro.