Stall said:
Irridium said:
Valve only collects data from Steam-related stuff. They do collect system info every now and then, but they do that in survey from which you can choose not to participate in, where with Origin, to opt-out you have to not install anything EA.
They still can root around in your PC whenever they want and look at whatever they want, they just won't sell them to marketers now.
Yes it's an improvement, but all it's really an improvement over is being kicked in the balls, where now it's a punch to the stomach.
Not true. No where in Valve's policy do they state that they will only collect data relating to Steam. Valve can collect info on whatever they want. Nothing really restricts them from collecting data on JUST things regarding Steam.
To be quite blunt, the breadth of information you agree to let Valve has is significantly greater than that of what you allow EA to have.
Even further, the current revision of the Origin EULA also says that EA will no longer sell your "personal" information. It's not like they really collect anything that "personal" now though.
So sorry... the EA hate is no longer justified
. It now reads just like a vanilla privacy policy... nothing alarming or interesting.
Yes, but Valve will only give the data to third parties if you agree to them.
Valve may use customer contact information provided by users to send information about Valve, including news about product updates, contests, events, and other promotional materials, but only if the users agree to receive such communications.
User's choice.
Except in the cases described below, Valve will not share personally identifiable information with any third party unless the user agrees to such disclosure in advance.
They ask you first, and will only do it if you agree.
"Personally identifiable information" consists of a user's name, email address, physical address, or other data about the user that enables the recipient to personally identify the user. While Valve collects personally identifiable information on a voluntary basis, for certain products and online sites, Valve's collection of personally identifiable information may be a requirement for access to the product or site.
Essentially, they need your personal info so you can access Steam/play the game on Steam, and anything else is voluntary.
Personally identifiable information will be processed and stored by Valve in databases situated in the United States. Valve may allow third parties performing services under contract with Valve to access stored information but such access shall only be to the extent necessary to provide those services. In those instances, the third party will be bound by the terms of this privacy policy.
So, if a third party does want the info, they can only get what they actually need and nothing more. And they are then bound by the privacy terms of this agreement, which means the user must allow it if it contains personal info(name, address, ect.)
In some situations, personally identifiable information you input in connection with Steam may be made available to other users of Steam. For example, during registration of Steam, Valve collects a user's email address and nickname, and at the user's option, first and last name. Some of this information is searchable and available to other users within Steam. Valve has no obligation to keep the privacy of personally identifiable information that a user makes available to other users via Steam or other Valve software, such as in multiplayer or other public functions.
Basically, they collect contact info, and give you the choice of displaying them.
Personally identifiable information protected under this privacy policy and collected from users may be done in conjunction with associates under agreement with Valve. If an associate of Valve is collecting such personally identifiable information within one of our products or online sites, Valve will make users aware of this at the time the information is gathered.
They make users aware of the situation. Contrasted to EA, who says they can do it whenever they want, without having to inform the user.
For example, product registration data for Half-Life is collected by Sierra Entertainment. If a user does not want to provide this information, the user may choose to opt out of providing this information.
Again, the user can choose to not do it.
Additionally, if providing the information is a requirement of usage, the user may decline to use that particular service or product. When possible, Valve will make a reasonable effort to direct users to the privacy polices of these associates. Valve's privacy policy does not extend to associates of Valve.
If a game requires you to give info to play, it will be because the Publisher of the game wants it, not because Valve does.
Furthermore, external websites and companies with links to and from Valve's online sites and products may collect personal information about users. Valve's privacy policy does not extend to these external websites and companies. Please refer directly to these companies and websites regarding their privacy policies.
Basically, anyone outside Valve is a different beast.
Valve may release personally identifiable information to comply with court orders or laws that require us to disclose such information
Pretty self-explanatory. Every EULA has this in some degree.
I did ignore the first few paragraphs, but those essentially said that it's all user choice except for the following points, which is what I dissected here. There's also some more stuff, but those are in relation to Valve products sending bug reports, and some info may be contained, but they will never save personal info in these automatic bug reports.
Yes, quite a bit is grey and open to interpretation, but here's the thing, it boils down to how much a user trusts a company, and how much goodwill said company has.
Many trust Valve, and Valve has much goodwill. Valve has shown many times that they actually care about their customers, and try to provide benefits for using Steam. They try to give you value.
Few trust EA, and EA's goodwill is basically non-existent. They are offering nothing of value with Origin, and instead seem to be going the "follow our rules, or screw off. We don't owe you shit" route. They aren't giving any good reasons to use Origin. If they had a good rep, maybe they could get away with having their games only using Origin, like what Valve did with Half Life. But they don't have good rep, they have shown in the past they don't care, so for them this kind of thing just won't work.
Valve gives me reasons to use Steam, and provide me value in using it. They have shown that they are decent people, and I don't have a problem trusting them. EA doesn't do any of that with Origin, and they have shown that they are not decent people. Therefore, I, and many others, do not trust them.
