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

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.