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WatchTower Docs

Privacy, Permissions & Safety

Review visitor-data limits, token privacy, public Chat Relay, and the Second Life permissions needed for owner-authorized security actions.

Guidebook

Use WatchTower to review owner-authorized land activity and security actions. Scanner records have limits, and security actions depend on the terminal being online and having the required Second Life land permissions.

Core safety principles

  1. Keep owner tokens private.
  2. Do not claim land powers the object does not have.
  3. Do not describe scanner data as perfect proof.
  4. Do not describe Chat Relay as private IM logging.
  5. Rate-limit notifications and repeated alerts.
  6. Keep audit logs for sensitive actions.
  7. Use small LSL payloads and bounded queues.
  8. Show stale data clearly.
  9. Make subscription locks and tier requirements clear.
  10. Give owners enough troubleshooting information to fix permissions safely.

Token privacy

The token connects an in-world object to the dashboard. Treat it like a password for that object. A token may appear in the object description as WTTOKEN:.... Owners should not paste it into public chat, share screenshots showing it, or copy it into unrelated objects.

If a token is exposed, contact private support before reconnecting the terminal. Do not share the token in a ticket or screenshot.

Visitor data

WatchTower can record avatar presence as seen by a terminal scan. On protected or same-owner land, this may include avatar UUID, avatar name, display name, username, active group tag, account born date and calculated account age, payment-information status (never payment details), shared viewer language, position, parcel presence, account level, body-shape setting, script counts, allocated script memory, script time, render weight, animated attachment count, available attachment slots, location, machine, and timestamp. Use these records to review activity at locations you are authorized to monitor.

WatchTower records avatar presence seen by the in-world terminal so owners can understand land activity, staff coverage, security events, and support issues. Scanner data is limited by Second Life scripting and should be treated as last-seen operational data, not perfect proof of all activity.

Chat Relay privacy

When enabled by the owner, Chat Relay relays public local chat on channel 0. It does not read private instant messages. Inform visitors when you enable chat logging and follow the rules that apply to your venue.

Chat Relay can relay public local chat from the monitored area when enabled. It does not read private instant messages. Owners are responsible for using chat logs according to their land rules, community expectations, and applicable platform policies.

Security action audit logs

Review security command history and audit records when investigating an action. Check the available details for:

  • Requested action
  • Target avatar UUID/name
  • Location
  • Requesting user/staff member
  • Time requested
  • Time attempted
  • Security Worker result
  • Failure message if any

Audit logs protect both the owner and staff. They help answer what happened without relying on memory.

Permission limits

Second Life permissions can affect every action:

FeaturePermission dependency
WarnThe terminal must be online and able to send the private message.
KickThe object/owner/group must have the land authority needed to eject at that location.
WatchTower Block ListThe website stores the rule; each enforcement still uses permission-dependent eject at a fresh protected-land detection.
Access GateThe terminal must report account age and have eject authority after the warning window.
ScannerScripts must run; the scanner only sees what LSL can report.
Chat RelayThe listener must be active and the owner’s allowlist/filter rules apply.
HTTPRegion and LSL HTTP must be functioning.

Data retention

Retention is category-specific. Compact arrival and visitor history is retained by account plan: Starter 90 days, Plus 1 year, Pro 3 years, and Network or Extended History up to 5 years. Lag and land telemetry is bounded to 30 days, raw event intake is bounded to 90 days, detailed presence snapshots are compacted, and daily/weekly/monthly server rollups support longer trend views. Billing, support, security audit, and abuse-prevention records may be kept under different operational policies.

WatchTower shows operational history in Second Life Pacific time while database timestamps remain in UTC. No plan promises permanent unlimited raw data.

What to avoid saying

Avoid these claims:

  • “Guaranteed enforcement.”
  • “Sees everything on your land.”
  • “Tracks all chat.”
  • “Verifies real-life age.”
  • “Works even without permissions.”
  • “Never misses anyone.”
  • “Permanent unlimited history.”

Better words:

  • Seen
  • Last seen
  • Attempted
  • Reported
  • Permission-dependent
  • Owner-enabled
  • Public local chat
  • Operational history
  • Dashboard review