Gaming is a $193 billion industry; That’s nearly twice the size of the film and music industries combined, and there are nearly three billion gamers worldwide. While online games can increase well-being and improve social relationships, privacy and awareness issues can potentially negate these benefits and cause real harm to players.

A study by scientists from Aalto University’s Faculty of Computer Science reveals potentially questionable data collection practices in online games, as well as misconceptions and concerns about privacy among players. The study also offers risk mitigation strategies for gamers and design recommendations for game developers to increase privacy in online games.

“We had two supporting lines of research in this study: what players think about games and what games actually do in terms of privacy,” says Aalto Associate Professor of Computer Science Janne Lindqvist. “It was really surprising to us how subtle the players’ logic was. For example, participants stated that they would avoid using voice chat in games unless absolutely necessary to protect their privacy. “Our analysis of the games showed that some games were trying to encourage people to reveal their identities online by offering things like virtual rewards.”

The authors found cases of games using shady design or interface decisions that led users to do things they wouldn’t normally do. This could facilitate the collection of player data and encourage players to integrate their social media accounts or allow data sharing with third parties.

“When social media accounts are linked to games, players often have no way of knowing how the games are accessing those accounts or what information they are receiving,” says Amel Burdusen, a PhD student in applied security at Aalto. “For example, some popular games may allow users to log in to (or link to) social media accounts, but these games may not specify what data is collected through such integration.”

Over the past decade, the global gaming community has come under increased scrutiny due to online harassment and the industry’s culture of burnout. While these issues are still relevant, pressures to increase technology regulation in the EU and the US have also brought privacy issues to the fore.

“Data processing practices in games are often hidden behind legal jargon in privacy policies,” says Burdusen. “When user data is collected, games must ensure that players understand and consent to the data collected. This can increase the player’s awareness and sense of control in games. Gaming companies must also protect players’ privacy and ensure their safety while gaming. online”.

According to the study, participants were often unaware that chat conversations could be disclosed to third parties. The games also did not inform players about data sharing during gameplay.

The study found that players were aware of the risks and highlighted various mitigation tactics used by players. “We found that players attempted to maintain privacy during online play by opting for text chats over voice chat because they felt they could be monitored more closely,” says Burdusen. “Our findings show that female players are most affected and feel the need to hide their gender by creating different avatars while playing or avoiding speaking out loud to other players.”

Finally, the study suggests solutions to these problems, such as more transparent approaches to data collection. In general, the authors recommend that games and gaming platforms try to protect all their players.

“Games really need to be fun and safe for everyone, and they need to support player autonomy. One way to support autonomy is to opt out of invasive data collection,” says Lindqvist.