MallVR can send us short, anonymous play notes while you play. They tell us which games people play, what crashes, and whether online games connect, so we know what to fix first. MallVR asks you once, the first time you start it. Play notes are off unless you say yes.
What play notes contain
- Your MallVR version, your Windows version, your graphics card, your headset and controller model, and whether you use SteamVR. Which Virtuality games MallVR found in your games folder.
- Which game you started, how long you played, how the game ended (closed, back to the menu, crashed), and the average frame rate.
- When a game crashes: the last lines of MallVR's own log for that game, with your Windows user name removed.
- Online play: whether you hosted or joined, how the connection was made (home network or internet, whether your router opened a port), how long it took, the lag between players, and whether a group game switch worked. If joining failed: why (for example the host didn't answer or turned you away), and the error if MallVR couldn't reach the online list. Each visit to the ONLINE screen: how many players and open games you saw, whether you tried QUICK MATCH, HOST or JOIN, and how long you waited for a game. After an online game: the game's network counts (frames and voice packets sent and received) and whether your microphone was in use (never what you said). Which platform (PC or Quest) each player in your group was on.
- Whether you opened the in-game menu and what you picked in it.
- MallVR for Meta Quest (the standalone app) sends the same kind of notes, marked as Quest, plus your headset model and its system version, whether VR started (the VR runtime, the eye resolution and which controllers were seen), the last lines of Android's crash log for MallVR, and for online games the headset's Wi-Fi signal strength, band and link speed. Same opt-in: off unless you say yes.
What play notes never contain
- Your name, your screen name, your email address or your player key.
- Your files, your game files or anything else from your PC besides MallVR's own logs.
- Your voice. Voice chat goes straight to the other players in your game; it is never recorded or sent to us.
Each copy of MallVR makes up a random stats ID for its play notes. It is not connected to your screen name or to any high score, so play notes can't be traced back to you.
Online play
The online list shows your screen name, game and platform to other players. When you start hosting, your screen name and the game may be posted in the MallVR Discord's looking-for-game channel so others can join you.
Reports you send
REPORT A PROBLEM (on the game select screen and in the in-game menu) works whether play notes are on or off. It sends the line you type plus MallVR's logs and settings for that game, with your Windows user name and your player key removed. Nothing is sent until you press SEND. If the upload fails, the report is saved on your Desktop so you can share it with us on Discord yourself.
Email me the link (Meta Quest)
On Meta Quest, MallVR can email you the link to the PC tool that gets your game files, if you type your address. We use it only to send that one message and don't save it. A scrambled, one-way copy is kept for one day so the box can't be used to flood someone's inbox. This is separate from play notes, which never contain your email address.
How long we keep it
Play notes and reports are kept for 12 months, then deleted. Only the MallVR team reads them, to fix bugs and to decide what to work on. We don't sell them or share them with anyone.
Turning it off, or deleting your notes
- Click PLAY NOTES ON on the game select screen (or in the in-game menu) to switch it off. Nothing more is sent from then on.
- To have the notes already sent deleted, email hello@gainesphere.com with your stats ID. You find it in the file
%APPDATA%\MallVR\play_notes.txton your PC (the line that starts withid =). On a Quest it is inMallVR/settings/play_notes.txton the headset's storage.
Questions? hello@gainesphere.com