Privacy Policy

Sony Network Entertainment Europe Limited (formerly known as PlayStation Network Europe Limited) will collect personal information about you when you access or use the Sony Entertainment Network (“SEN”) or its associated services including, but not limited to: the PlayStation®Network, the PlayStation®Store; the SEN branded store; game, movie, music and other services; and virtual communities. This Privacy Policy tells you how we will use this information and how you can contact us about this.

1. Creating a Sony Entertainment Network Account

There are two types of Sony Entertainment Network accounts: Master Accounts and Sub Accounts. For more information about this, please see our Terms of Service and User Agreement. When we use the term “you” in this Privacy Policy, we are referring to the user of Sony Entertainment Network.

When you create a Sony Entertainment Network Master Account, we collect information from you, such as your name, email address, postal address, date of birth, gender, language, password and any parental control options. We may also ask you to complete market research surveys. If you create any Sub Accounts, we will collect information from you about the Sub Account holders. You must obtain the consent of the Sub Account holder to provide this information and for us to store and use their personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

2. Your Online ID

When you register a Master or Sub Account, you may choose an Online ID. Your Online ID is your public nickname while you are using Sony Entertainment Network and may be visible to all Sony Entertainment Network users. Other users, such as people whom you meet or play online, can use your Online ID to send you messages or chat. If you accept other users as your “Friends” in Sony Entertainment Network, they can check what you are doing within Sony Entertainment Network at any time. Your Online ID, “About Me” statement, avatar, language, country and gaming statistics may be displayed in Sony Entertainment Network or on websites related to Sony Entertainment Network. Your online activity, including your Online ID and public statements, may be recorded and distributed outside Sony Entertainment Network by us, or by other users without your knowledge. We recommend that you don’t include any information which could be used to identify you in your Online ID or other public statements.

3. Using Sony Entertainment Network

Each time you sign in to or access Sony Entertainment Network, we may collect information automatically without further notice to you, for example:

• your Online ID
• your IP address and device MAC address (the unique numbers which identify the network and device you are using) and date and time of sign in;
• your current and recent locations, provided that you have opted-in to allow this;
• information about the hardware you are using and how you have used it, such as model and serial number, parental control settings, photograph and music settings, remote play settings, information about devices connected to the hardware, how many items are stored on the hardware or have been used with the hardware and other related information.
• how you use Sony Entertainment Network, for example, what games or music you play, what content you browse or download, what services you access and for how long, including how often you use chat, message boards or other communication services;
• your gamer profile, game matching, uploaded scores and rankings, your Friends and block lists and your appearance on other user’s Friends or block lists.

You can buy funds for your Sony Entertainment Network wallet using payment methods approved by us from time to time in your country.
If you buy funds for your Sony Entertainment Network wallet or make any other payments via Sony Entertainment Network using a payment card, you must provide us with your payment card information in order for us to process your payment. We will store your payment card details, excluding the security code, for future purchases, unless you remove them from your account via your Sony Entertainment Network Account Management area. We will keep a record of payments into your Sony Entertainment Network wallet and the purchases you make via Sony Entertainment Network.

4. What do we do with your information?

We use your information to operate Sony Entertainment Network and to provide the services you ask for, including online gaming, community features, communications, downloads, subscriptions, beta trials, promotions, in-game and in-service advertising and competitions. We may retain, use and disclose your personal information, subject to applicable laws, to:

• maintain your account (including ensuring the accuracy of the billing on your account)
• deal with your customer service requests
• confirm your Sony Entertainment Network account details and any transactions on your account and give you information about Sony Entertainment Network (for example, if you lose your password or if changes are made to the Sony Entertainment Network Terms of Service and User Agreement or this Policy)
• carry out research and analysis to improve our products and services, for example via crash reports
• process your purchases and carry out credit checks; we will provide your payment details to banks and to other relevant third parties in order to complete your purchase and obtain payment
• keep records of transactions for our internal records and for internal auditing, accounting, compliance and legal purposes
• market and promote new products and services to you, both within Sony Entertainment Network and, if you choose, by email and other direct marketing (see Clause 9 below for information about opting out). This may include using your personal information to identify products, services and promotions which we believe will be of particular interest to you
• enforce the Sony Entertainment Network Terms of Service and User Agreement and any rules or codes of conduct applying to your use of Sony Entertainment Network.

5. Who else has access to your information

Your information will be available to other Sony group companies who need that information to provide you with services via, or in connection with, Sony Entertainment Network and to companies who help to operate Sony Entertainment Network or other online services provided directly via your Sony System and to companies who process your payments for us (for example, companies who support our IT systems, provide customer services, carry out credit checks and monitor communications). They will comply with this Privacy Policy and we will be responsible for their use of your information.

You may also be invited to use your Sony Entertainment Network account details to log in to online game features, online services and websites offered by other companies who are not part of the Sony group, such as third party game publishers, social networking and game consolidation sites. If you use your Sony Entertainment Network account to access these services, we will share your account details with those companies, so that they can operate these services, conduct their own research and analysis on these services and they may also market their products and services to you in accordance with applicable law. For example, we will share gameplay information and your parental control options with the publishers of games which you play online. We will also share your location with the publishers of games which you play online, provided that you have specifically opted-in to to allow this. We are not responsible for how these companies use or publish your personal information. They may have their own privacy policies governing how they will use your information, which we encourage you to access and read before using any service provided by them. By using your Sony Entertainment Network account details to log in to third party websites or online services, you confirm that you want us to share your account details in this way.

You should always take great care before providing your Sony Entertainment Network account details to a third party as some sites may use your details to access your Sony Entertainment Network account without your consent or for other fraudulent purposes.

Your information may be available to third parties during negotiations for a transfer of all or part of our business and may be transferred by us as part of that business. We may retain, use and/or disclose any of your information as required or permitted by law, regulation or order, including to the police or other appropriate authorities, to investigate complaints made by or against you, or to protect or defend ourselves, or others, against illegal, criminal or harmful activities.

6. Transfer of your information outside Europe

As Sony Entertainment Network is a global service, your information will be processed, stored and transferred for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA), such as the United States, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It will be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our group companies or suppliers and may be seen by other users in those countries. Data protection laws in these countries may not offer the same level of protection as in the EEA and you may have fewer legal rights in relation to your information. If you are not happy for this transfer to take place, you should not access and use Sony Entertainment Network.

7. In Service Advertising and “What’s New”

Some services offered via, or in connection with, Sony Entertainment Network incorporate dynamic advertisement serving technology which enables advertising to be temporarily uploaded into the service on your device and replaced while you are online. If you use those services, we will log information from your device to ensure that the appropriate advertising is presented at the right location within the service and to calculate the number of unique and repeat views of advertising. Logged data may include IP address and console or device MAC address, in service location, length of time an advert was visible, size of the advert and angle of view. We may use information which we have about you to present adverts which we believe will be of particular interest to you. Logged data will be shared with third party companies who operate the advertisement serving technology.

On some devices, such as PlayStation®3 systems, users may access a “What’s New” section that provides topical information about Sony Entertainment Network and third party services as well as serves advertisements. Account holders who are logged into their accounts when they access “What’s New” will have advertisements delivered to them in that section based on certain account information (including Online ID, IP address, country, language preference and age). We share this information with certain Sony group companies and third parties who assist in delivering these advertisements and support the “What’s New” service.

If a user does not have an account or is not logged into that account when accessing “What’s New,” that user will be asked to provide a country of residence, preferred language and age. This information will be stored on the device and, if the user is eligible to receive advertising, will be shared, together with their IP address, with Sony group companies and third parties who assist in delivering advertisements and supporting the “What’s New” service. That user will have advertisements delivered to them in the “What’s New” section based on the information they provide.

8. Monitoring of Communications

We cannot monitor the whole of Sony Entertainment Network and make no commitment to do so. However, we reserve the right in our sole discretion to monitor and record your online activity and communication throughout Sony Entertainment Network and to remove and/or delete any content from Sony Entertainment Network at our sole discretion, without further notice to you, and you expressly agree that we may do so. Any information collected in this way, including the content of your voice and text communications, the time and location of your activities, and your Online ID, registered account details and IP address, may be used by us to enforce the Sony Entertainment Network Terms of Service and User Agreement, to comply with the law and to protect our rights and those of our licensors, users and others, and the personal safety of our employees, users and others. This information may be passed to the police or other appropriate authorities. By accepting this Privacy Policy or the Sony Entertainment Network Terms of Service and User Agreement, you expressly consent to this.

9. Changing Details and Unsubscribe

If you want to change or update your details, you can do so via your Sony Entertainment Network Account Management area. If you want to opt-out of receiving marketing information and advertising, you can also do so via your Sony Entertainment Network Account Management area or by switching off the relevant feature. We will aim to process your request as soon as reasonably practicable and in any event, within 28 days.

10. Cookies

We use cookies to store specific information about you and to track your access to and use of Sony Entertainment Network, and to operate Sony Entertainment Network, including recognising your country/language selection for PlayStation®Store and the SEN branded store. Cookies are small text files that a website sends to your computer to record your online activity. Cookies are used to help users navigate websites easily and to perform various functions. As cookies enhance site usability and processes, if you disable them the website may not operate as expected and you may not be able to access certain functions. By accepting the Sony Entertainment Network Terms of Service and User Agreement and this Privacy Policy, you consent to our use of cookies for this purpose.

What cookies do we use?

"Session ID" cookies

These cookies store a random identifier which enables your actions to be linked in order to display the website correctly and to provide services that you request. These cookies are only active whilst you are on the website and do not remain on your device once the browser session is closed.

"Browsing experience" cookies

These cookies store non-identifying user preferences, such as your language, country and age and are used to enhance the browsing experience and display appropriate content. Some of these cookies will remain for the length of the session, while others (such as language preferences) will persist on your device to allow the same preferences to be displayed on your next visit to our sites.

"Web analytics" cookies

These cookies store anonymous data about how users use our websites, in order to understand how our service is used and to improve our websites. These cookies will persist on your device once your session is closed.

"Single –sign on" cookies

If you log in to your Sony Entertainment Network account, we will use a cookie to enable you to visit other related sites operated by or on behalf of SNEE. These cookies are only active whilst you are on the website and do not remain on your device once the browser session is closed.

Social plug-in cookies

If you have signed in to a social networking site, such as Facebook, they may have set a cookie on your device which recognises you when you view content on our sites. These cookies allow you to share content across social media via the use of sharing settings.

11. Security

We will take appropriate technical and organisational steps to prevent unauthorised access to or disclosure of your information. However, we do not guarantee that we will eliminate all risk of misuse of your personal information. You are responsible for keeping your password secret to prevent unauthorised access to and use of your Sony Entertainment Network account and any payment details which you have saved for your account. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. Remember to turn “Save Password” off before letting anyone else use your Sony Entertainment Network account or giving your PSP™ (PlayStation®Portable), PlayStation®3 or PlayStation®Vita computer entertainment system, personal computer, BRAVIA® television or Blu-ray™ Disc player to anyone else, including for return to a shop or for repair.

12. Children

You must be 18 to hold a Master Account. Children under 18 may only hold Sub Accounts associated to a Master Account held by their parent or legal guardian. Depending upon the age of the child and local laws, we may email the parent or guardian of any child registered on Sony Entertainment Network in order to confirm the parent or guardian’s consent to registration and to use of their child’s personal information as explained in this Privacy Policy.

13. Your Rights

You have the right to know what information we hold about you and how that information is used. If you would like to know what information we currently hold about you, please contact customer services via the contact details on the About Us page or write to Data Protection Officer, Sony Network Entertainment Europe Limited, 10 Great Marlborough Street, London W1F 7LP, United Kingdom. Where you require access to information we hold about you, we will require you to put your request in writing and provide proof of identity and you may be charged a small administration fee, subject to applicable laws.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time. To access a printable, current copy of this Privacy Policy, go to www.eu.playstation.com/legal or www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com. Please check regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes.

You will be notified of material changes by a posting as you sign in to Sony Entertainment Network or by email to your current email address as registered on Sony Entertainment Network. Your continued use of Sony Entertainment Network (via a Master Account or Sub Account) after any changes signifies your acceptance of these changes. If you do not accept changes to this Privacy Policy you must stop using Sony Entertainment Network. If you are a Master Account Holder and there are funds remaining in your wallet, you must contact us and we will close your account (and any associated Sub Accounts) and refund any unused wallet funds. You will not be able to access Sony Entertainment Network.

Version 5.0 (January 2013)