Privacy Policy

Who we are and what this covers

Game Book is built and run by Method Digital (“we”, “us”), an Australian business. This policy explains how we collect, use, store, share and protect personal information when you use:

• Game Book Admin, our iOS and Android app for venue owners and managers;
• Game Book, our front-desk point-of-sale (POS) app for venue staff, on iOS and Android;
• the booking websites we host for venues, where players sign up, book and pay, and the admin portal venues use on the web;
• this website, including the “Book a demo” form and the newsletter sign-up.

We handle personal information in line with the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and the Australian Privacy Principles.

Venues and Game Book

Sports venues use Game Book to run their bookings, front desk and memberships. Each venue decides what it records about its players and staff, and we hold and process that information on the venue’s behalf to provide the service. A venue can only see its own records.

If you’re a player, the venue you book with is responsible for how it uses your details, and its own privacy policy also applies. You can contact the venue or us about your information, and we’ll work with the venue to help.

Information we collect

Venue staff and administrators

• name, email address, mobile number, role and permissions;
• sign-in details: your PIN and, if you sign in with email, your password;
• a profile photo, if one is added;
• optional details a venue chooses to record, such as address, emergency contact, joining date and blood group;
• your activity in Game Book, such as the bookings and sales you process, notes you add and when you sign in.

Players and customers

• name, email address and mobile number (checked with a one-time SMS code when you sign up online);
• bookings, social games and sessions you join, and your booking history;
• memberships, store credit, court credit and vouchers;
• purchases, rentals, payments, refunds and receipts;
• optional details a venue chooses to record, such as date of birth, gender, address, emergency contact, blood group and a photo;
• notes and tags venue staff add to your record, such as a priority flag, a behaviour note or a rental damage report.

Blood group is health information, which the Privacy Act treats as sensitive. Recording it is optional, venues should only record it with your consent (for example, for first aid), and it isn’t used for anything else.

Payments

Card details are entered into Stripe’s secure payment form online, or into the Tyro EFTPOS terminal at the venue. We never see or store your full card number or security code. We keep a record of each payment: the amount, method, date and time, and the reference the payment provider returns, which may include the card type and a masked card number.

Devices and technical information

• for the POS app: the device’s name, its licence key and the venue it belongs to;
• the app’s version and build number;
• server logs kept by our hosting providers, such as IP address, browser type and the time of a request;
• usage information from Microsoft Clarity on the booking websites and admin portal (see Cookies and analytics).

Demo requests, newsletter and messages

When you ask for a demo, we collect your name, email address, phone number (optional), venue name, number of courts and your message. When you sign up for our newsletter, we collect your email address. We also keep the emails and support requests you send us.

Our mobile apps and device permissions

Game Book Admin and the Game Book POS app are tools for venue staff. Accounts are created by the venue, there’s no public sign-up in either app, and players don’t need them to book.

The apps:

• connect to the internet to load and save your venue’s data;
• check whether the device is online, and (POS only) use the local network to reach receipt printers and the Tyro EFTPOS terminal;
• store your sign-in session and settings on the device, so you stay signed in.

The apps don’t collect your location, contacts, photos, camera, microphone, calendar or advertising identifier. They contain no advertising and no third-party analytics or crash-reporting tools, and they don’t track you across other companies’ apps or websites.

How we use information

We use personal information to:

• take and manage bookings, memberships, credit and sales;
• process payments and issue receipts and refunds;
• sign you in and keep accounts secure, including sending SMS verification codes;
• send service emails, such as booking confirmations, receipts and a venue’s daily reports;
• give venues reports on their bookings, sales and memberships;
• provide support, fix problems and improve Game Book;
• respond to demo requests;
• send our newsletter, if you’ve signed up for it;
• prevent fraud and misuse, and meet our legal obligations, such as keeping tax records.

If a venue sends you marketing emails through Game Book, you can unsubscribe with the link in the email or by asking the venue. To stop our newsletter, use the unsubscribe link in any issue or email [email protected].

Who we share it with

We share personal information only as needed to run Game Book:

• with the venue you book with or work for, and its staff, depending on their role;
• with the service providers below, who process it for us under contract and only for that purpose;
• with authorities when the law requires it, or to protect someone’s safety;
• with a buyer or successor if our business is sold or restructured, who must keep handling it under this policy.

Supabase

Database, sign-in and file storageSydney, Australia

Vercel

Hosting for the booking websites, the admin portal and this websiteUnited States and other regions

Stripe

Online card paymentsAustralia, United States and other countries

Tyro Payments

Card payments on EFTPOS terminals at the venueAustralia

Microsoft Clarity

Usage analytics on the booking websites and admin portalUnited States

SMS provider

Sending one-time sign-in codesMay be outside Australia

Email delivery

Booking confirmations, receipts, reports, demo requests and newsletter sign-ups, sent through our provider or the venue’s own mail serverMay be outside Australia

Apple and Google distribute our apps. When you download them, Apple and Google collect information under their own privacy policies.

We don’t sell or rent personal information.

Where it’s stored and overseas transfers

Venue, staff and player records are stored in our database in Sydney, Australia. Some of the service providers above process information outside Australia, mainly in the United States, for example when a page is served, an online payment is processed, or an email or SMS is sent. We take reasonable steps, including contract terms, to make sure they protect it in line with the Australian Privacy Principles.

How we protect it

• Data is encrypted in transit (HTTPS) and our database is encrypted at rest.
• Each venue’s data is kept separate, and what staff can see depends on their role.
• Staff sign in with a PIN or password, and each POS device needs a licence key.
• Card payments are handled by Stripe and Tyro, which are certified to the PCI DSS card security standard.
• Only a small number of our team can access live data, and only to provide support or fix problems.

No system is completely secure. If a data breach is likely to cause serious harm, we’ll notify the people affected and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) under the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme.

How long we keep it

• Staff and player records: while the venue uses Game Book, or until you ask us to delete them.
• Payment and transaction records: as long as Australian tax and financial laws require, generally up to seven years.
• Demo requests: up to two years after we last hear from you, unless you become a customer.
• Newsletter sign-ups: until you unsubscribe.
• Microsoft Clarity data: up to 13 months, under Microsoft’s retention settings.

When a venue stops using Game Book, we delete or anonymise its data within 90 days, except records the law requires us to keep. Copies in our backups are overwritten as the backups roll over.

Deleting your account and data

You can ask us to delete your account and personal information at any time. You don’t need the app to do it.

Venue staff (Game Book Admin and POS users)

Ask your venue’s administrator to remove your account, or email [email protected] with the subject “Delete my Game Book data” from the email address on your account, and tell us which venue you work for.

Players

Ask the venue you book with, or email [email protected] with the subject “Delete my Game Book data”, and tell us which venue you book with and the email address or mobile number on your account. Venue administrators can also delete a player’s record from the admin portal.

Venues

To close your venue’s account and delete its data, email us from the account owner’s email address.

What happens next

We’ll confirm your identity, then delete or anonymise your information within 30 days and let you know when it’s done. We keep payment and transaction records only as long as the law requires (see How long we keep it), and then delete them.

Access, correction and your choices

You can:

• ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you;
• ask us to correct information that’s wrong, out of date or incomplete;
• ask us to delete your information (see Deleting your account and data);
• unsubscribe from marketing emails at any time;
• deal with us without giving your name where that’s practical, such as asking a general question.

Email [email protected]. We’ll respond within 30 days, at no cost. If we can’t do what you ask, we’ll explain why.

Cookies and analytics

The booking websites and admin portal use cookies and similar browser storage to keep you signed in and remember your settings. They also use Microsoft Clarity, which uses cookies to record how pages are used (such as clicks, scrolling, the pages you visit and what’s shown on screen), along with your device and browser type. We use it to find problems and improve the sites. Microsoft also handles this data under the Microsoft Privacy Statement.

You can block or clear cookies in your browser settings, though you may need to sign in again. This website doesn’t use analytics or advertising cookies, and the mobile apps don’t use cookies.

Children

The Game Book apps are business tools for venue staff and aren’t directed at children. Venues may hold details of junior players, usually given by a parent or guardian when booking. If you think we hold a child’s information without a parent’s or guardian’s consent, contact us and we’ll help.

Changes to this policy

We’ll update this policy when our apps or practices change, and change the date at the top. If a change is significant, we’ll tell venues by email or in the apps before it takes effect.

Contact us and complaints

For privacy questions, requests or complaints, contact us:

We’ll respond to complaints within 30 days. If you’re not satisfied with our response, you can complain to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) at oaic.gov.au or on 1300 363 992.