Make my Phone Secure!: Using Gamification for Mobile Security Settings

Granting permissions in different contexts to applications on mobile devices might pose a direct threat to the users' security and privacy by granting access to sensitive information. Although, Android permission dialogues already provide information about possible dangerous permissions, users might still not be aware of the consequences. Therefore, appropriate solutions for empowering users and raising awareness should be examined. As gamified applications can motivate players to learn more about rather uninteresting areas, we investigate the potential in the context of mobile security. We developed the gameful application Make my phone secure! for learning how to grant and change permissions. The game presents the Android menu in a playful and explanatory environment. To analyze possible learning effects of the application, we conducted an empirical study, comparing the game and two more basic variants (one with a simple Android menu and one menu enriched with hints concerning the permissions). The lab study (n = 18) showed that all three variants could increase the participants' awareness significantly. However, the game was perceived as the most fun variant and provided more informative content than the common menu structures.