**2. Gamification in ICTs**

Around 2010, the method of gamification has been introduced in ICTs, aiming to engage users on using technologies and to increase their interest [22]. By implementing this method and especially by introducing game elements, the main principle of gamification, namely a more gameful interaction environment, can be developed [23]. The definition, which is highly cited in previous research, was published in 2011 by [4], who defined gamification as the use of game elements in nongame contexts. Many game elements have been presented in the literature and their choice depends on the developers' scope, the concept, and the structure of the gamified service. Each study mentions and describes an amount of game elements [24–26]. In [27], all mentioned game elements have been presented by conducting a review that recorded all game elements and introduced them in the relevant literature. In **Table 1**, the amount of game elements is presented along with the explanation of their concept. Additionally, some examples of gamified applications in several sectors are given out with the respective elements that have been assigned to them. In this work [27], the connection among elements can be identified. For instance, in order for a user to win badges, levels have to be passed or points have to be collected [39]. So, with the intention of an application to be gamified, it is usual to include many game elements.

The gamification method has been implemented in several sectors. Starting from the sector of education, many gamified services provide a more entertaining environment, which automatically gains users' engagement. Therefore, users can be educated on different topics, without having in mind the literal sense of the education process.

**81**

**Table 1.**

*The Role of Gamification in Privacy Protection and User Engagement*

Avatars Users' representation through animated processes

Badges After winning or accomplishing a task, badges are given

Challenges The ability of a user to challenge a friend in order to compete

platforms

Content unlocking Steps that have to be passed in order to

Leaderboards Users' status on the service regarding their points or level

Points The result of finishing a task can be

Rewards The result for winning an opponent or

Time constraints Actions that have to be completed during a specific time period

unlock the next phase

status and recommendations

Location The connection with users' location [28, 32] Notification Users are notified to accomplish actions [28, 32, 39, 40]

**Game elements Explanation Examples of studies or** 

Users' communication through respective

Competition Users' competition on some steps [12, 29, 31, 32, 34, 39, 42]

Provided information to help users for their

Levels Phases that have to be passed [12, 22, 28–32, 35, 39, 42]

illustrated by the collection of points

Profiles Each user has his own profile on the service [28, 32, 39, 40, 42] Quiz Questions on a specific topic [29, 32, 40, 42]

Rules The dos and don'ts that users have to follow [28, 29, 31, 32, 39]

Tasks where users have to collaborate [28, 29, 31, 32, 39, 40, 42]

effectively completing a task

Roles The character that a user wants to have [28, 29]

Scoring systems Systems which record users' score and status [12, 28]

Alternative activities Many provided choices and tasks to users [28, 29] Achievements The accomplishment of a task [29–31]

**gamified services**

[31, 32]

[12, 22, 28–38]

[12, 28, 30, 32]

[22, 28, 30–33, 39, 42]

[5, 22, 28–37, 39–42]

[5, 12, 22, 29, 39–42]

[12, 28, 29]

[12, 22, 28, 29, 31, 33–35, 39,

[31]

42, 43]

[5, 12, 22, 28, 31, 33, 39–41]

In some educational services, users can be either teachers or students, where teachers provide feedback and communicate with students. Communication can be also achieved among students, while having the opportunity to compete with each other [42]. In this way, apart from the knowledge benefits, it is also important that users' sociability can be expanded. In marketing domain [10, 12, 44], the aim of this method is to raise each company's selling. By providing applications, where users collect points after buying a product with the deal to win a gift card or a product, the application can be further used. Gamification in this domain is a smart idea so as to engage users and sell more products. Additionally, in some cases, the interaction among users is enhanced, either through competition or collaboration, leading to users' amiability.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91159*

Communication with other players

Feedback and progressive

Team tournaments, group tasks and collaboration

*The recorded game elements.*

information

*The Role of Gamification in Privacy Protection and User Engagement DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91159*


### **Table 1.**

*Security and Privacy From a Legal, Ethical, and Technical Perspective*

discussed, and some preliminary results are presented.

**2. Gamification in ICTs**

are not games. Many game elements have been recorded in the literature and have been implemented in gamified services [5–11] in order to support several domains [7, 8, 12–16]. The benefits, provided by the implementation of the game elements, differ based on the concept of each service. The singularity of this method concerns

According to the above, it is clear that these technologies consist of a basic activity for users, and some of them may be helpful for their lives, for example, educational platforms. However, there are some issues that arise, namely security and privacy issues. While using all these ICTs, users' information is stored, and their activities are recorded [17–19]. As a consequence, users' personal information may be harmed. Thus, it is crucial to consider the protection of users' security and privacy while designing services. Regarding the relation between gamification and these two important aspects, some studies have been published [13, 14, 20, 21], in which the harmful side of gamification, focusing on users' security and privacy, is presented. Besides the importance of designing privacy-friendly and secure gamified services, it is also crucial for a user to be able to protect his/her own security and privacy. If a user becomes aware of this, then, several ethical and social issues will be addressed. So, on the one hand, it is important for developers to design security and privacy-friendly gamified services and on the other hand, users should be security- and privacy-aware. Adding to this point, in this work, the importance of users' privacy awareness on protecting their privacy through gamification is

The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. In Section 2, gamification is described, providing its benefits and implementation on several sectors. In Section 3, the relation between gamification and privacy is presented. Additionally, the importance of security and privacy awareness regarding gamification is highlighted and the contribution of gamification on educating users on privacy is discussed.

Around 2010, the method of gamification has been introduced in ICTs, aiming to engage users on using technologies and to increase their interest [22]. By implementing this method and especially by introducing game elements, the main principle of gamification, namely a more gameful interaction environment, can be developed [23]. The definition, which is highly cited in previous research, was published in 2011 by [4], who defined gamification as the use of game elements in nongame contexts. Many game elements have been presented in the literature and their choice depends on the developers' scope, the concept, and the structure of the gamified service. Each study mentions and describes an amount of game elements [24–26]. In [27], all mentioned game elements have been presented by conducting a review that recorded all game elements and introduced them in the relevant literature. In **Table 1**, the amount of game elements is presented along with the explanation of their concept. Additionally, some examples of gamified applications in several sectors are given out with the respective elements that have been assigned to them. In this work [27], the connection among elements can be identified. For instance, in order for a user to win badges, levels have to be passed or points have to be collected [39]. So, with the intention of an application to be gamified, it is usual to include many game elements.

The gamification method has been implemented in several sectors. Starting from the sector of education, many gamified services provide a more entertaining environment, which automatically gains users' engagement. Therefore, users can be educated on different topics, without having in mind the literal sense of the education process.

Finally, Section 4 concludes the work, providing steps for future work.

on the increased engagement of users with gamified environments [4].

**80**

*The recorded game elements.*

In some educational services, users can be either teachers or students, where teachers provide feedback and communicate with students. Communication can be also achieved among students, while having the opportunity to compete with each other [42]. In this way, apart from the knowledge benefits, it is also important that users' sociability can be expanded. In marketing domain [10, 12, 44], the aim of this method is to raise each company's selling. By providing applications, where users collect points after buying a product with the deal to win a gift card or a product, the application can be further used. Gamification in this domain is a smart idea so as to engage users and sell more products. Additionally, in some cases, the interaction among users is enhanced, either through competition or collaboration, leading to users' amiability.

The role of gamification in health domain is quite crucial [23, 45–47]. The aim of the most gamified healthcare services is to educate users and engage users on protecting their health. A variety of such services can be found either for children or for adults. Some of them provide the opportunity of interaction between doctors and consultants, where, as an example, doctors can monitor the patients' progress on taking their medication [40]. Most of them notify users every time they have to take their prescription [40]. The gamified principle in such services can be the collection of points after responding to doctors' advices and prescriptions, resulting, sometimes, in the win of gifts. Therefore, users can protect their health through a more entertaining process. Beyond the above sectors, gamified services have been developed for cultural [11, 25] or touristic purposes [10, 48] offering benefits, such as cultural education and tourism's expansion, respectively. Furthermore, some studies tried to combine gamification with software engineering, indicating the state of the art on this field and the research gaps [49], while others elaborated research on gamification and education on software engineering in order to identify the discussed works [8].

To a lesser extent, studies which concern on gamification and security have been recorded [13, 14], aiming to highlight the important role of security in services. Apart from the importance of gamification in security, it is also crucial to educate users on privacy issues, since by using these services, users' information is often disclosed. However, few research attempts have been identified, which combine gamification and privacy [19]. A more detailed analysis regarding gamification and privacy has been provided by [17], who focused on the software aspect of gamified applications regarding users' privacy. They identified that gamification is a method, whose principles may harm privacy requirements. Especially, in [26], a metamodel has been published, aiming to point out how privacy violation can be achieved by the core of gamification, in particular, the game elements. However, studies regarding the importance of users' awareness on privacy issues, as in the security area, have not been recorded yet, which is a crucial research gap.

According to the literature [22, 26], gamifying a service is a useful process for many reasons, discussed above. Since it consists of a method that has been introduced in ICTs the last years, more research is needed to be conducted concerning its relationship with other sectors, such as privacy and security.
