Privacy and Cookies Policy

Privacy, security and the use of cookies and other tracking technologies is a critical part of the way that the internet works. At VGamingNews.com (VGN), we are committed to using as little tracking technologies as possible. We also follow the principle of data minimisation, which in short means, collecting as little as possible. You can rest assured that if you provide information to us, such as for a competition or in a comment, we will ensure that the information is protected.

This page will change for time to time and with no notice, so please check in regularly. This page was last updated on the 3 January 2022.

Collection of data

As mentioned, VGN collects as little information from you as possible. However, when information is collected it will be specific, targeted and relevant to the processing of information that is at hand. We break this information down as follows.

Information you give to us

This will be for things like a competition or to post a comment onto VGN. This information is necessary as we will need to give you your item if you with a competition or to allow you to post a comment, you will need to tell us who you are and an email address.

Information we get from the use of VGN

As part of the way the internet works, some information is shared between your device and our server when you visit VGN. This is the way it works for all websites. This is basic information, such as an IP address, the type of browser that you are using and the operating system that you are using. In addition to this, we use third parties to track how our site is doing, this additional tracking is optional and can be disabled through our Cookies Notice. This extra tracking is done through trusted third parties only.

Information provided to third parties

When VGN embeds a YouTube video, or embeds a Tweet, a certain amount of information is shared between you and the third party. This tracking is managed though the third party and if you have concerns you must speak to the third party to understand what they are doing with your information. As part of the additional tracking that we do, we provide some of your information to Google through the use of Cookies, as will be explained later on this page.

Personal data processing

Personal information is defined as something that can be attributed to you as an individual. Normally this is done as a combination of bits of information, such as your name and your address, your "screen name" and your email address. Generally speaking personal information needs to be mixed to make it meaningful. We collect the following types of personal information:

• Name (both real and screen-names)
• Physical address
• E-mail address
• IP address
• MAC Address

This list is illustrative and not exhaustive.

What we do with the information we collect

Not very much! Your real name and physical address will only be used if you have given it to us and then it will only be used to complete the reason why you have given it to us, such as to post you the winnings of a competition.

Screen names and email addreses are only collected when provided to us, by you, the reader. We will then use them to allow a "comments" feature to work on the website. We do not use email addresses for newsletters or other marketing services. At no point is any data clolected by us sold to another company or person.

Other technical information, such as IP addresses, MAC addresses, browser types are used for a mixture of ensuring that our website is secure for you to use and also as part of tracking to make sure that our site is as optimised as possible. We also collect anonymous information, such as how popular we are, for marketing purposes. In short, if we are popular, we are more likely to be able to provide reveiws and access to big events more easily and videogame companies and press people are interested in the big numbers.

Security

We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online. Prior to using any third party for security the company will be appropriately vetted. As it stands, we use Cloudflare as our Content Delivery Network to improve performance but critically to reduce the impact of an attack and we use digital security certificates from Let's Encrypt to ensure that data between you and us is encrypted. This is automated and we have no day to day interactions.

Cookies

A cookie is a small text file that is automatically placed on your device. This file allows specific activities to occur, such as remembering your username/screen name and password. Cookies can also be used for tracking to see how many websites you go to that are similar to ours and for other advertising purposes. At VGN, we do not sell products to you, we have no advertisements.

We use cookies for the following purposes:

• To improve your experience of the website, such as remembering your login details
• For tracking purposes to improve our website, such as making fonts the right size or colour
• To keep VGN secure

Cookies are split into the following categories:

• Strictly Necessary
• Functionality
• Tracking and Performance
• Targeting and Advertising

Strictly Necessary do not require your permission to be put on your device. Functionality, Tracking and Performance and Targeting and Advertising do require your permission to be put on your device.

Cookie Consent banners appear all over the internet and are confusing. VGN, be default, only allows Strictly NEcessary cookies onto your device. All extras are optional by you, the reader. However, remember that turning Functionality cookies off will mean things like the system remembering your username will not work.

The cookies that we currently use when your consent is given are:

Links to other websites

Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

Controlling your personal information

We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.

You may request all of the personal information that we hold on you. If you would like a copy of the information held on you please e-mail us via the contact page. We will need you to provide us with information so that we can validate you are who you claim to be, so be prepared to provide us with things like ID.

If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please contact us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.

If you are unhappy with the way that we are processing your information, please contact us first and we will do our upmost to make you happy. If you are still unsatisifed, please contact the Information Commissioner's Office, who are the UK regulator of data.

Some of the systems that we use are not hosted within the UK, European Union or the European Economic Area. Therefore some of your data is being transferred to a third country.

Liability

We do not accept liability or damages caused to you, your system or your business through any activity of this website. All content is provided “as is” and any content provided will not necessarily be 100% accurate.