Tailoring a Persuasive Game to Promote Secure Smartphone Behaviour

The use of smartphones has become an integral part of everyone's lives. Due to the ubiquitous nature and multiple functionalities of smartphones, the data handled by these devices are sensitive in nature. Despite the measures companies take to protect users’ data, research has shown that people do not take the necessary actions to stay safe from security and privacy threats. Persuasive games have been implemented across various domains to motivate people towards a positive behaviour change. Even though persuasive games could be effective, research has shown that the one-size-fits-all approach to designing persuasive games might not be as effective as the tailored versions of the game. This paper presents the design and evaluation of a persuasive game to improve user awareness about smartphone security and privacy tailored to the user's motivational orientation using Regulatory Focus Theory. From the results of our mixed-methods in-the-wild study of 102 people followed by a one-on-one interview of 25 people, it is evident that the tailored version of the persuasive game performed better than the non-tailored version of the game towards improving users’ secure smartphone behaviour. We contribute to the broader HCI community by offering design suggestions and the benefits of tailoring persuasive games.