Children's Privacy in Digital Games: A Study of Free Games on the Google Play Store

Abstract

Digital games play an increasingly prominent role in children's cognitive and social development, but they also raise serious concerns about personal data security and privacy. Although existing research often focuses on technical compliance and general data protection practices, there is a notable lack of studies examining how privacy policies are communicated to children, how suitable these policies are for their developmental level, and whether visual or interactive elements are used to enhance understanding. This study aims to address this gap by evaluating the child-centered clarity and adequacy of privacy policies in mobile games in terms of visual-linguistic design, readability, and legal compliance. A total of nine free, teacher-approved digital games with over five million downloads from the Google Play Store were selected as the sample. Using a qualitative content analysis framework, the study assessed games based on data collection methods, third-party data sharing, the complexity of privacy policy language, compliance with international and national regulations, and the Ateşman Readability Index to determine age-appropriate accessibility. The findings indicate that most games do not offer child-friendly or clearly written privacy policies, rarely use visuals or symbols to support understanding, and often fail to ensure transparency in data-sharing practices.Although the games are accessible in the Turkish market, none explicitly commit to complying with Türkiye’s Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK). These results reveal the lack of privacy safeguards tailored to children and emphasize the need for child-specific legal frameworks, as well as broader educational policies to foster digital and game literacy among children, parents, and educators.

Keywords

• Digital Games
• Digital Literacy
• Digital Game Literacy
• Privacy
• Children and Parenting

Dijital Oyunlarda Çocuk Mahremiyeti: Google Play Store’da Ücretsiz Oyunlar Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Dijital oyunlar, çocukların sosyal ve bilişsel gelişiminde önemli bir rol üstlenirken, kişisel veri güvenliği ve mahremiyet açısından da ciddi riskleri beraberinde getirmektedir. Mevcut literatürde teknik uyumluluk ya da genel gizlilik politikaları üzerine odaklanan çalışmalar bulunmakla birlikte, bu politikaların çocuklara nasıl aktarıldığı, çocukların gelişim düzeyine ne ölçüde uygun olduğu ve görsel-işitsel içeriklerle nasıl desteklendiği yeterince incelenmemiştir. Bu bağlamda, bu çalışma dijital oyunlarda yer alan gizlilik politikalarının çocuklara yönelik anlaşılabilirliğini ve çocuk hakları bağlamındaki yeterliliğini görsel-dilsel tasarım, okunabilirlik düzeyi ve yasal uyumluluk açısından bütüncül bir çerçevede ele alarak mevcut alanyazına katkı sunmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu amaç doğrultusunda, Google Play Store’da ücretsiz olarak sunulan, en az 5 milyon indirme sayısına sahip ve öğretmen onaylı etiketine sahip 9 dijital çocuk oyunu örneklem olarak seçilmiştir. Oyunların veri toplama yöntemleri, üçüncü taraflarla veri paylaşımı, gizlilik politikalarının dili, yasal düzenlemelere uyum düzeyi ve Ateşman Okunabilirlik İndeksi üzerinden hedef kitleye uygunluğu nitel içerik analizi kapsamında geliştirilen bir kodlama cetveli ile değerlendirilmiştir. Çalışmanın bulguları, çocuklara özel hazırlanmış açık ve sade gizlilik politikalarının büyük ölçüde eksik olduğunu, veri güvenliği konularında çocukların anlayabileceği araçların neredeyse hiç kullanılmadığını ve birçok oyunda veri paylaşımına dair şeffaflığın sağlanmadığını ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca oyunların Türkiye pazarında indirilmeye açık olmasına rağmen KVKK’ya yönelik herhangi bir yasal taahhüdün sunulmadığı görülmüştür. Sonuç olarak dijital oyunların gizlilik ve mahremiyet politikalarının çocuk haklarını yeterince gözetmediği dolayısıyla da hem ek yasal düzenlemelere hem de her seviyeden vatandaşa dijital okuryazarlık ve dijital oyun okuryazarlığına yönelik eğitim politikalarının gerekliliğini ortaya koymaktadır.

Keywords

• Dijital Oyunlar
• Dijital Okuryazarlık
• Dijital Oyun Okuryazarlığı
• Mahremiyet
• Çocuk ve Ebeveynlik

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