PlaytestCloud uses a layered approach to securing your games and keeping your testing confidential.

All access to the PlaytestCloud platform is protected and secured through an encrypted connection to our servers (HTTPS). This includes the methods through which you prepare and submit your playtest or research study, and also how you access the playtest results.

To keep your games, surveys and all other research done on PlaytestCloud secure while players participate in them, we employ technical as well as non-technical security measures.

Read more about:

PlaytestCloud’s general security measures

PlaytestCloud’s technical security measures

The following safety measures are in place for every playtest, survey, player interview and all other research studies run on PlaytestCloud:

Your data is confidential. All data you share with PlaytestCloud is treated as confidential information and not used for anything but providing the requested services to you. (See our Studio Terms of Service for details.)

Non-Disclosure Agreement. Our players must agree to an NDA before they can participate in any playtest, survey or other research project. This NDA explicitly prohibits the player from sharing any information about what they’re testing. Also, it prohibits any person from the games industry or people with close ties to someone in the games industry from joining our playtester panel.

Random invites. There is no way for someone to pick and choose which games they get to play – the process is entirely randomized. Our players are unaware of which game they will test until the point of download, as even the email invitation does not include specific details about the game; i.e., the developer or game name.

PlaytestCloud provides additional layers of security for your testing through dedicated, technical protections that secure your game while it is being playtested. Our approach to technical security is industry-leading and is enabled through custom, in-house developed software.

The type of technical security measures applied depend on the type of study you are running and the manner in which you provide the game to us and our players.

Be it testing public games or highly confidential, unreleased ones, we have the right solution for you.

1) Android games provided through build upload (APK/AAB file), iOS games provided through TestFlight (when using the PlaytestCloud SDK)

These games are protected by:

1. Access control. Ensures that only players who are participating in your playtest can open the game. We always know who opens the game, at what time, and what they do within it.

2. Conditional access. Some playtests require players to play at specific times or intervals, and not at others. Our software enforces that the game cannot be played outside of the defined times.

3. Remote build deactivation ("kill-switch"). A "kill-switch" is automatically embedded in every game. It allows us to block future access to the game build after the playtest is over or if access needs to be revoked at any time. The “kill-switch” is enabled automatically when a playtest finishes.

4. Continuous recording. We record players for the entire duration of a playtest. Players are aware of this arrangement, and you have access to the whole interaction the player has within your game. We do this for the safety and security of your game, as every interaction is traceable.

This is our most secure playtesting mode, recommended for all unreleased games.

2) iOS games on TestFlight (without using the PlaytestCloud SDK)

Our technical security measures do not work on TestFlight builds that do not include our SDK, as we cannot control access to your game without our software being part of your game.

However, you can disable the build distributed to players within your own TestFlight profile after the playtest concludes if desired.

We recommend this testing mode for games that are already in soft-launch or have launched and for games for which you deem the general security measurements to be sufficient.

3) Android games on Google Play, iOS games on the App Store

For playtests with games that are already live on Google Play or the Apple App Store, no technical security measures are available.

4) Tests for browser games or prototypes accessed through a mobile browser.

Players participate in these tests through a special mobile browser developed by PlaytestCloud.

Access to the mobile browser is protected through the same measures as outlined in (1).

Additionally, we don’t reveal the URL your content is hosted at, meaning players cannot access it after the playtest has concluded unless the game/prototype itself reveals its location.
If you have questions about the most suitable method for playtesting your game or have a specific question about our technical security measures, please reach out to us.

If your game contains sensitive intellectual property (IP) – don’t worry! Your game is safe with us. We’ve worked with multiple developers and game studios who have built games based on popular IP such as Star Trek, Family Guy or The Walking Dead and always kept their IP safe and secure. Our safety measures allow your team to iterate on the player experience with an unburdened freedom historically reserved for teams working with content unrelated to a specific IP.

Please read over our terms of service for detailed information about the security guarantees we can and cannot make in regards to confidentiality and secrecy.