Children designing privacy warnings: Informing a set of design guidelines

Abstract

Children are increasingly interacting with digital technology and there are concerns relating to their online safety. Warning signs and messages have been integrated within technology in attempt to address safety concerns, however they often use metaphors and icons that may not always be comprehended by children. This paper reports on a study with 141 UK-based school children, aged between 7 and 13 years old who were asked to design warning messages related to the disclosure of private information online. Children were asked to draw warning messages for other children utilising personas and privacy risk scenarios, which were then analysed using content analysis to identify common characteristics. This paper contributes to the protection of children’s online privacy by identifying a set of guidelines that can be used when designing warning messages aimed at children disclosing data within an online setting.