Nothing To Hide

Privacy gets playful: pupils level up their data protection skills

Problem statement

The Erasmus+ project DataPro seeks to foster data sovereignty among 15-year-olds through game-based learning. While existing games like Data Defenders, Datak, and Privacy Pirates teach data protection, and tools like GDPR Challenge and Databoss address compliance and privacy, gaps remain. The gaps include ethical data use, cybersecurity, privacy-by-design, AI, IoT, quantum technology, cross-border data transfers, sector-specific challenges, data subjects' rights, and organisational roles in data protection.

Project Goal

A digital role-playing game will be developed for classroom use, playable within 30 minutes, and offer multiplayer interactions. It will challenge the misconception "I have nothing to hide" through narrative adventures in a world of AI operated anywhere by anybody. The game should allow students to achieve learning objectives defined by DataPro and relate to EU and/or Swiss data protection regulations for minors.
"Nothing To Hide" fills an important gap in digital education, as there are currently no educational games specifically designed to teach young people how to protect themselves on the internet and on social media.

Developed Solution and its benefit

The Developed Solution Nothing to Hide is a browser-based game designed for tablets and desktops that teaches data protection through a mix of story, quizzes, and interactive minigames. The experience is structured into five sections, each aligned with the DataPro curriculum and featuring a linear narrative that guides players through key online-safety concepts. Every section contains a dedicated minigame focused on a specific skill:

• Choosing strong passwords
• Declining non-essential cookies
• Safe decisionmaking about posting images
• Spotting sensitive information on images
• Distinguishing real from fraudulent e-mails

Short quizzes reinforce the learning goals, and players earn badges by achieving high enough scores in both the minigame and quiz. The game requires no account, stores no user data, and can be played immediately in the classroom, making it simple for teachers to integrate without extra setup. By combining structured learning content with engaging interactions, Nothing to Hide helps pupils build practical, age-appropriate data-protection skills in a safe, accessible environment.

The game can be accessed via this link:
https://dataprogames.ph-freiburg.de/nothing-to-hide/

Testimonial
«The FHNW student team developed a strong and well-structured Game for Nothing to Hide, which provides an excellent foundation for further development and rapid deployment within our project. Their clear communication, reliability, and proactive way of working significantly contributed to the project’s success. The team took ownership from the beginning, brought valuable suggestions, and collaborated very effectively. I truly appreciated the smooth and positive collaboration and would gladly work with this team.»
Renata Säuberli

Key terms

• Programming languagesTypescript, HTML, CSS
• FrameworksReact, Jest
• HostingOn-Premise at PH Freiburg
• BackendWe do not have a backend because we do not store any user-specific data.

Customer

DataPro (a project by Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg)
Pädagogische Hochschule Freiburg
Kunzenweg 21
79117 Freiburg
https://www.datapro.education/
https://www.ph-freiburg.de/index.html

Team