01
Overview
Children today are more online than ever, but not necessarily safer.
According to Ofcom’s 2024 Media Use Report, over 96% of UK children aged 5–7 regularly access the internet. Yet most lack the skills to spot threats like phishing, weak passwords, and data misuse. Meanwhile, identity fraud costs families millions each year and leaves children vulnerable long-term. Parents worry. Tools exist. But few are built for kids or with them.
Bitty is a gamified iPad app that helps children aged 7–11 build safe online habits through short, story-driven missions, colourful illustrations, and a cheeky raccoon mascot. Built with kids in mind, and privacy by design.
02
Role
Team: 1 PM, 2 Engineers, 1 Cybersecurity Expert, 1 Educator, 1 Designer (me) *This was a volunteer-led initiative aimed at promoting digital safety for children.
Duration: 6 months
Tools: Figma, Maze, Miro, Procreate, TestFlight
03
Research & Direction
We began with foundational user research to define our approach: What’s the best format, tone, and delivery method to teach cybersecurity to 7–11 year olds?
Methods: Drawing workshops, moderated play testing, parent interviews, secondary research
Key Findings:
93% of kids preferred interactive games over text-based quizzes
Children’s attention span was 5–7 minutes per task
Story-driven tasks improved recall and enjoyment
Parents disliked “edutainment” that felt like homework
Parents preferred tools with no ads, trackers, or manipulative design
iPads were easier for children to navigate than smartphones or PCs (Secondary: Ofcom Report)
Outcome: We chose to build a gamified iPad app with short, story-based missions and rewards, designed with Privacy by Design principles and parent peace of mind.
04
Prototyping & Refinement
This is where the personality of the product (Bitz, mascot, worlds) emerges.
Once we had the direction, we started building and testing early concepts. We validated features like the Bitz point system, worlds, mission maps, streaks, and our mascot “Bitty” through iterative prototypes.
Methods: Maze tests, Figma prototypes, moderated sessions with 10 kids
Key Learnings:
Kids loved collecting “Bitz”
Leaderboards with funny names (e.g. “CyberComet”) sparked excitement
Audio cues and mascot narration worked better than written instructions
Progress bars, badges, and mission maps created clear feedback loops
Customisable avatars were dropped in favour of fun aliases
Parents appreciated passive updates and learning prompts
Outcome: We leaned fully into gamification and character-led storytelling, inspired by Duolingo’s micro learning structure.
05
The final experience was designed with a simple visual hierarchy, dark mode UI, large touch targets, and vibrant illustrations.
Users explore “worlds” like Password Planet and Phish Lagoon, earning Bitz, badges, and streaks as they complete mini-missions. A parent dashboard shows progress without invading privacy.
06
After 6 months of development, we launched a pilot with 16 families to understand how Bitty impacted learning outcomes.
Our goal was to understand how well Bitty helped children retain core cybersecurity concepts like phishing awareness, password strength, and privacy basics.
While our sample size was limited, the results were promising and pointed to measurable learning gains, especially in scenarios that involved visuals, repetition, and gamified feedback.
Phishing Awareness
Before: Only 31% of kids could spot a fake message on their own
After: 69% correctly identified phishing attempts in the post-play inbox activity
Password Strength
Before: Most children created passwords like “cat123” or used names
After: 63% incorporated a combination of uppercase, numbers, and symbols
Information Sharing
Before: Nearly half said they’d share their real name in a game
After: 81% chose to use a funny alias like “CyberRex47” in a Bitty role play activity
Parental Confidence
83% of parents said they felt their child had become more aware of online risks
75% found Bitty’s learning prompts sparked meaningful conversations at home
07
What We Missed / What's Next
One big insight we missed early: kids want to learn together. Siblings wanted to share progress. Friends wanted to compare badges. Parents asked about classroom versions.
Children frequently asked:
“Can I see what my brother got?”
“Do other kids have the same badge?”
“Can I play this with my friend?”
Parents echoed this, wishing for co-play or even teacher dashboards for classroom use. These insights are shaping our next design iteration to include multi-profile support, shared progress challenges, and light classroom integration.
