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General discussionUPDATE: Introducing GOG Profiles(2385 posts)(2385 posts)
(2385 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 30, 2018
Activity Feed • Gameplay Stats • Personalization


UPDATE: We've added a new option to the Privacy settings in GOG Profiles - from now on you can turn off your profile on GOG entirely, so no one can see any kind of information that is shown on the profile page. This also means that when you turn off your profile, you won’t be visible on your friends’ friends lists, even if they decide to keep their profiles visible.
The option to enable/disable your GOG Profile can be found in your account „Privacy & Settings” options, under „Privacy” tab.



We just introduced a new feature on GOG.COM: User Profiles – a social way to share what you and your friends are up to. See what your friends on GOG are playing, achieving, and sharing across four sections – Feed, Profile, Games and Friends.

Your Feed is the centerpiece of your Profile. Here, you’ll see which games your friends have been playing, all sorts of achievements and milestones, as well as general thoughts, screenshots, and forum activity. You can dispense your approval at whim and share your own stuff as well!

Your Profile is all about you and your gaming accomplishments. It's a summary of your activity, like the time you've spent in your games , your latest achievements (and just how rare they are among other users), as well as a glimpse at what your most active friends have been up to.

If you want to know more about your Games, you need to hit the the third tab. It contains a list of all the games you own on GOG, together with stats like time spent in-game and your progress towards unlocking the achievements. Sort the list, compare stats with your friends, and get some healthy competition going.

Finally – your Friends: get a general summary of their achievements and hours played. Here you'll also see which games are the most popular among your friends right now, so you can join them in multiplayer or find something you might enjoy yourself.

Of course, your profile comes with some sweet personalization options, choose a wallpaper from your game collection and share a few words with the world.

User Profiles are available for all GOG.COM users. Your personal gameplay stats like achievements, time played and milestones depend on GOG Galaxy, but if you’re not using the optional client you can still use the feed, post in it and interact with your friends.

Launching profiles also means adding new privacy settings on our end. You'll find three new Privacy options in your account's „Privacy & settings” area. These settings allow you to set the visibility for your profile summary, your games, your friends, etc.
So what are you waiting for? There's so much room for activities!
Posted April 24, 2018
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
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nightcraw1er.488: Wife see's how many games you wasted money on when you "have no cash".
Job seekers allowance stopped as it all goes on games.
Account hacked as account contains lots of games.
Linked up to various other profiling tool to show person is a gamer, hence target adverts.
Online bullying for not having many games (you so poor Kenny), or for not putting enough time in.
Increasing when off sick from work leads to disciplinary.

I mean what you can do with one datapoint is limited, but combine many datapoints from many sites, including profiling facial recognition, email-text-post scans, and the other million and one things which go on behind the scenes and then you are really cooking with gas!
Exactly. And when there are only those three numbers, options are extremely limited, you can't even combine it with anything else - it's private.
Posted April 24, 2018
high rated
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
Some examples:

I'm supposed to work home office. My co-workers know I have an account here. Somehow during the day "hours played" goes up by six. Someone notices and tells the boss...

You promised you wife not to buy any more games since money is scarce. Big sale. Owned games goes up by 3... Some friend (with GOG account) sees it and next time you meet: "Hey... what did you buy in the last sale?". 0_o...

You don't own a lot of games, but are seen in the trading thread. People call you scammer OR a scammer sees your profile and concludes that you don't have a lot of money, but would be a welcome target for a trade where they cheat you. (if you have a lot of games you're likely not interested in trading).

You've set your profile to private... Wife is at (RL) friend A's place (with GOG account). A is "friend" with B who is friend with you. B's profile page is open at A's place. Wife sees you're playing HuniePop in B's profile page (active friends)...
Posted April 24, 2018
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nightcraw1er.488: Wife see's how many games you wasted money on when you "have no cash".
Job seekers allowance stopped as it all goes on games.
Account hacked as account contains lots of games.
Linked up to various other profiling tool to show person is a gamer, hence target adverts.
Online bullying for not having many games (you so poor Kenny), or for not putting enough time in.
Increasing when off sick from work leads to disciplinary.

I mean what you can do with one datapoint is limited, but combine many datapoints from many sites, including profiling facial recognition, email-text-post scans, and the other million and one things which go on behind the scenes and then you are really cooking with gas!
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Chiteki: Exactly. And when there are only those three numbers, options are extremely limited, you can't even combine it with anything else - it's private.
And there are three given examples there where you might lose your marriage, job or income, account, or be linked up to other networks. I mean that's just with the one datapoint. Whilst limited I would still say that is fair concern. Or is it perhaps only when your full bank details are made public before it becomes a security concern, sure Cambridge Analytica would love that defense.
Posted April 24, 2018
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toxicTom: Yeah well that's you... it could be a lot different for other people though.
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
* User X has debts, and pleads for leniency, since he's out of money but he'll pay back the debt in two months. The very next day, the number of games user X owns goes up by 20. Unfortunately, his profile was monitored. (Imagine your own variations with you not wanting other people to know how much disposable income you have (or don't have) for buying computer games.)
* User Y declines an invitation to a party at an acquaintance's place with a little white lie about needing to go visit his grandmother. Twelve hours later, his total number of hours played is up by 12. (Imagine your own variations with calling in sick at work, convincing your parents that you were doing your homework in the evening, or being in any other situation where you simply don't want people to know that you've been playing games.)
Posted April 24, 2018
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
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toxicTom: Some examples:

I'm supposed to work home office. My co-workers know I have an account here. Somehow during the day "hours played" goes up by six. Someone notices and tells the boss...

You promised you wife not to buy any more games since money is scarce. Big sale. Owned games goes up by 3... Some friend (with GOG account) sees it and next time you meet: "Hey... what did you buy in the last sale?". 0_o...

You don't own a lot of games, but are seen in the trading thread. People call you scammer OR a scammer sees your profile and concludes that you don't have a lot of money, but would be a welcome target for a trade where they cheat you. (if you have a lot of games you're likely not interested in trading).

You've set your profile to private... Wife is at (RL) friend A's place (with GOG account). A is "friend" with B who is friend with you. B's profile page is open at A's place. Wife sees you're playing HuniePop in B's profile page (active friends)...
Those sound like situations from some kind of soap opera. But maybe those are real problems for some.
Nevertheless, those are valid poins, even if somewhat a bit unlikely.

Still, this outrage is a little overblown. And I had to go and stuck my unpopular opinion just in the middle of it. First time I'm on forums. Maybe I shouldn't have X)
Posted April 24, 2018
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Lifthrasil: I guess the only way to actually get through to GOG regarding the importance of this point will be a court order. Because yes, as far as I know, sharing personal data without consent is illegal. At least in Germany (and I guess in the entire EU, but I'll have to check that).
That's the thing, what does constitute "personal data", and despite what some seem to think the definition is not clear cut, be it currently or even in the GDPR, it depends of various factors. If Gog was sharing your address, your real name, information that can identify you etc... then yes it would constitute personal data. But for example your username is not personal data, because anybody can use the same, only having your username is not enough, on it's own, to identify you for that you would need more information to be leaked from Gog, like for example the real name, etc....

Another example if Gog says that there are 20 of their customers called John, it is in itself not a "personal data"; if Gog say there are 10 customers living in city A, 30 living in city B, etc... it's not considered as being "personal data" either. But now if Gog gives for the 20 customers called John the city in which they lives it could be considered as a "personal data" because it could be enough data to identify some of them (if the city is small enough, if there are not that many peoples called John in said city, etc...)

So it's not really sure that the number of games you own, the number of hours you have played them would even be considered as being "personal data" even under the GDPR rules; it's just a number, it's tied to your username but having both doesn't make it any easier to identify you.
Posted April 24, 2018
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
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gogtrial34987: * User X has debts, and pleads for leniency, since he's out of money but he'll pay back the debt in two months. The very next day, the number of games user X owns goes up by 20. Unfortunately, his profile was monitored. (Imagine your own variations with you not wanting other people to know how much disposable income you have (or don't have) for buying computer games.)
* User Y declines an invitation to a party at an acquaintance's place with a little white lie about needing to go visit his grandmother. Twelve hours later, his total number of hours played is up by 12. (Imagine your own variations with calling in sick at work, convincing your parents that you were doing your homework in the evening, or being in any other situation where you simply don't want people to know that you've been playing games.)
Like I said, over exaggerated and unlikely, but possible and plausible. Thanks for your reply)
Posted April 24, 2018
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
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gogtrial34987: * User X has debts, and pleads for leniency, since he's out of money but he'll pay back the debt in two months. The very next day, the number of games user X owns goes up by 20. Unfortunately, his profile was monitored. (Imagine your own variations with you not wanting other people to know how much disposable income you have (or don't have) for buying computer games.)
* User Y declines an invitation to a party at an acquaintance's place with a little white lie about needing to go visit his grandmother. Twelve hours later, his total number of hours played is up by 12. (Imagine your own variations with calling in sick at work, convincing your parents that you were doing your homework in the evening, or being in any other situation where you simply don't want people to know that you've been playing games.)
Mmm... that's an interesting prospects :D
Posted April 24, 2018
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Melvinica: Serious question: is the information attached to a nickname considered legally private as long as the identity behind the nickname is not revealed. I would like an answer from a legal point of view and not just opinions.
It's personal information for the purposes of the GDPR, yes, as it can be used to identify a person when combined with other data sources.
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Gersen: But for example your username is not personal data, because anybody can use the same, only having your username is not enough, on it's own, to identify you for that you would need more information to be leaked from Gog, like for example the real name, etc....
Your username most certainly is personal information according to the GDPR. Even if a single username doesn't uniquely identify a single person, most people user a very limited number of usernames, and most usernames are used by a very limited number of people. This means that a username makes it nearly trivial to identify the person behind it when combined with other data sets, and that's explicitly a scenario covered by the GDPR, as that's exactly what all the large data brokers do in reality.

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Gersen: Another example if Gog says that there are 20 of their customers called John, it is in itself not a "personal data"
Again, it is according to the definitions from the GDPR. It's less identifiable than your previous example, but it still gets the same protection all other personal information gets. (Not counting truly sensitive personal data like political affiliation, sexual orientation and so on - all that gets even more protection, and may simply not be processed except when absolutely required and then only with explicit consent.)
Post edited April 24, 2018 by gogtrial34987
Posted April 24, 2018
high rated
Really disappointed to hear this. The thing I loved most about GOG is how disconnected and DRM-free the platform has been. Galaxy was all right, a single client program to manage my installations is helpful. But this social thing is too much. I used to support GOG for being much more like an old retail shop: I could go in, buy my game, and that was the end of the transaction. No profiles, no rewards cards. Now it's turning into an ECOSYSTEM, which is saddening.

Really hoping you folks hear the users on this and roll back this decision.
Posted April 24, 2018
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Chiteki: Like I said, over exaggerated and unlikely, but possible and plausible. Thanks for your reply)
Overexaggerated for you in your current personal situation. But completely realistic for a (small but significant) percentage of gog.com users. And they, too, deserve to have their privacy protected.

(Moreover, they don't only "deserve" this. If they're EU citizens, they have the right to this, which will be strongly enforceable come next month.)
Post edited April 24, 2018 by gogtrial34987
Posted April 24, 2018
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gogtrial34987: Your username most certainly is personal information according to the GDPR. Even if a single username doesn't uniquely identify a single person, most people user a very limited number of usernames, and most usernames are used by a very limited number of people. This means that a username makes it nearly trivial to identify the person behind it when combined with other data sets, and that's explicitly a scenario covered by the GDPR, as that's exactly what all the large data brokers do in reality.
That's the thing, even a real name alone does not constitute always a "personal data" by itself so I doubt username is one by itself ("by itself being the important part):

You might think that someone’s name is always personal data, but it’s not that simple, as the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office explains:

“By itself the name John Smith may not always be personal data because there are many individuals with that name. However, where the name is combined with other information (such as an address, a place of work, or a telephone number) this will usually be sufficient to clearly identify one individual.”

source: https://www.itgovernance.eu/blog/en/the-gdpr-what-exactly-is-personal-data
Post edited April 24, 2018 by Gersen
Posted April 24, 2018
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toxicTom: Yeah well that's you... it could be a lot different for other people though.
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
In addition to other replies: For some people its the "betrayal" part which they have a problem with. There are privacy laws in EU. People expect them to be honored by GOG. Then GOG comes and just violates them. Whether this can cause material harm or no isnt the only issue here. Its a disrespect for the customers. And the lack of communication from GOG also shows this disrespect. People are legally entitled to their privacy.

And whether this is a tiny thing or a large thing - as with other privacy related things this differs very much between individual persons. Its (IMO) no one elses right to tell me whether this (violation of my pricacy) is too small to bother with. Its my privacy and not yours and I have a right to it. And I can decide for myself whether its worth my time (etc) to pursue this.
Posted April 24, 2018
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Gersen: That's the thing, even a real name alone does not constitute always a "personal data" by itself so I doubt username is one by itself ("by itself being the important part):

You might think that someone’s name is always personal data, but it’s not that simple, as the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office explains:
Yeah, true, fair enough. I can freely talk about "John Smith" in a random sentence without it being PI. But of course here we're talking about John Smith who is a gog.com user, who owns 2067 games, and whose number of played game hours went up by 12 yesterday. And that is PI.
Particularly since I can also see on the profile of "Sally Jones" that she's friends with "John Smith", and that John's most recently played game was ... *tries to think about a non-Huniepop example before giving up and leaving that sentence unfinished* ;)
Post edited April 24, 2018 by gogtrial34987
Posted April 24, 2018
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Chiteki: Ok, maybe I am missing something. Would you be so kind to tell me, how those three numbers can help someone harm you. I'm ready to stand corrected.
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Zrevnur: In addition to other replies: For some people its the "betrayal" part which they have a problem with. There are privacy laws in EU. People expect them to be honored by GOG. Then GOG comes and just violates them. Whether this can cause material harm or no isnt the only issue here. Its a disrespect for the customers. And the lack of communication from GOG also shows this disrespect. People are legally entitled to their privacy.

And whether this is a tiny thing or a large thing - as with other privacy related things this differs very much between individual persons. Its (IMO) no one elses right to tell me whether this (violation of my pricacy) is too small to bother with. Its my privacy and not yours and I have a right to it. And I can decide for myself whether its worth my time (etc) to pursue this.
THIS. This guy gets it.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionUPDATE: Introducing GOG Profiles(2385 posts)(2385 posts)
(2385 posts)