RATS Privacy Policy
Effective date: 13 November 2026
RATS is an online multiplayer horror game made by A.G. Studios ("we", "us"). This policy explains what information is used when you play RATS, who handles it, and the choices you have.
The short version: we do not run our own servers and we do not keep a database of players. RATS has no accounts of its own: you play through your Steam account. To let you play online and talk to other players, RATS uses services from Unity Technologies and Valve (Steam). Those services process some information about you on our behalf. We don't sell or rent your information, and RATS has no ads and no purchases inside the game.
What information is used, and why
The name you play under. RATS is started through Steam, and you play under your Steam profile name; there is no other name to type. Other players in your game see it in the lobby, in the results and on their phone contacts. If you host a game that is open to anyone, your name also appears in the game's title ("Name's game") to anyone looking for games. The name is also given to the voice chat service so it can tell speakers apart.
An anonymous player ID. When you play online, RATS signs you in to Unity Gaming Services anonymously, for voice chat. Unity creates a random player ID for your device. It is not linked to your email, real name or Steam account. It is used to put you in voice channels, and to keep people from pretending to be you in a game.
Your IP address and connection data. Online games are Steam lobbies, and RATS sends the game's network traffic through Steam's networking, which relays it through Valve's servers so that other players don't see your IP address (unless you allow direct connections in Steam's own settings). Like any online service, Steam sees your IP address and basic connection details (such as your region and your connection quality) while you play.
Your voice. RATS has always-on proximity voice chat: while you are in an online game your microphone is live, and players near you in the game (and people you are on an in-game phone call with) hear you. Voice is carried in real time by Vivox, a Unity service. We don't record voice chat, and RATS has no feature that saves it. Vivox's handling of voice data is covered by Unity's privacy policy. If you don't want to be heard, set Your microphone volume to 0 in the game's Settings (it then reads "Muted"), or mute your microphone in Windows or on your headset. You can also mute any other player from the lobby; only you stop hearing them, and nobody is told.
Texts on the in-game phone. Players can send each other short texts on their in-game phones. A text travels over the same Steam connection as the rest of the game, through the computer of the player hosting it, and is shown to whoever holds the phone it was sent to. Texts are kept only while that game lasts, and are gone when it ends. We never receive them.
Steam information. When RATS is started through Steam, it reads your Steam profile name (your player name), your Steam profile picture (shown to you in the main menu) and the language Steam is set to (to choose the game's language the first time). While you are in an online game, it tells Steam which game lobby you are in and how many players are in it ("rich presence"). This lets your Steam friends see that you are playing and join you. Online games are Steam lobbies, so the players you share a game with are known to Steam as people you played with, and may be able to find your Steam profile through Steam. Steam handles this under Valve's privacy policy.
Stats, achievements and leaderboards. RATS keeps a few counts on your Steam account as Steam stats: rounds played as a hider and as a killer, times you escaped, times you were caught, hiders you caught, and rounds you won as the killer. It also unlocks Steam achievements. Your escapes and your killer wins are sent to two public Steam leaderboards ("RATS Best Hiders" and "RATS Best Killers"), where anyone who plays RATS can see your Steam name beside your count. Steam stores all of this with your Steam account; who can see your achievements and game details on your profile is set in Steam's own privacy settings. Practice rounds are not counted.
Settings saved on your computer. Your settings (volume, sensitivity, graphics, key bindings, language, your chosen character) and a copy of your counts and achievements are saved only on your computer. They are never sent to us.
If you choose Report a problem in the game's settings, RATS saves a zip file on your desktop with your game logs (this run's and the last one's), any crash files from the last week, and a description of your computer and your settings. The logs can contain your player name, other players' names and a game's join code. Nothing is sent: you decide whether to send that file to us.
Other technical information. Steam may collect limited technical data, such as your hardware and operating system, under its own privacy policy. RATS has no analytics, tracking or crash reporting of its own.
Who handles your information
- Unity Technologies runs Authentication and Vivox voice chat for us. Unity's privacy policy: https://unity.com/legal/game-player-and-app-user-privacy-policy
- Valve Corporation runs Steam, including the lobbies games are found by and the network they are played over. Steam's privacy policy: https://store.steampowered.com/privacy_agreement/
- Other players see your player name and hear your voice while you play with them. What another player does with that (for example, recording their screen) is outside our control.
These providers may store and process data in countries other than your own, including the United States.
How long information is kept
We don't keep any of it ourselves. Games and lobbies exist only while they are being played, and so do the texts sent in them. Unity keeps your anonymous player ID and related service records under its own retention rules. Steam keeps your stats, achievements and leaderboard entries with your Steam account under Valve's rules. Settings saved on your computer stay until you delete them; uninstalling the game may leave them behind in the Windows registry.
Children
RATS is a horror game with unmoderated voice chat between players who may be strangers. It is not meant for children under 13, and we don't knowingly collect information from them. If you believe a child under 13 has used RATS online, contact us and we will help remove any information we can reach.
Your choices and rights
- A game you host starts private: only people with its code or a Steam invite can join, until you open it to anyone.
- You can play with your microphone muted (Settings, Your microphone volume at 0), and mute any other player.
- Your name in RATS is your Steam profile name. Change it in Steam if you don't want strangers to see your real name.
- To have a leaderboard entry removed, contact us.
- Depending on where you live (for example, the EU, UK or California), you may have the right to access, correct or delete personal data, or to object to how it is used. Because we keep no player database, most requests will be about data held by Unity or Valve. Contact us and we will help you reach the right place, or pass your request on.
Changes to this policy
If RATS starts using information in a new way, we will update this page and change the effective date at the top. For significant changes, we will also post a notice on the game's Steam page.
Contact
A.G. Studios
Email: agstudiossteam@gmail.com