Background <p>Due to the rise of health-related information, especially in the digital space, the importance of the ability to deal with it appropriately (health literacy, HL) increases. With VitaQuiz, a&#xa0;gamified smartphone application is available to promote HL. The aim of the pilot study was to investigate the determinants of the intention to use VitaQuiz.</p> Methods <p>VitaQuiz was piloted from June–July 2024 with 127 university students. Of these, 45&#xa0;students (35.4%) participated in an online-based cross-sectional study measuring various aspects of the user experience (including pragmatic and hedonic quality, data protection, gaming experience, perceived benefit) in addition to the intention to use. Univariate, bivariate and binary logistic regression were used to analyze the data.</p> Results <p>About half of respondents (46.6%) indicate to be interested in using VitaQuiz in the future and almost two thirds would recommend the app to others. 28.9% of respondents are motivated to integrate the app into their everyday lives. Except for data protection and the game dimension “competition”, significant differences in intention to use can be identified depending on the usage experience. In the multivariate analysis, knowledge of alternative offers, playful challenge and perceived usefulness proved to be significant predictors of the intention to use.</p> Conclusion <p>While the focus of intervention planning is often on (evidence-based) content, the results of this pilot study emphasize the importance of the user experience (in this case, knowledge of alternative offers and the gaming experience), which affects the intention to use digital applications and thus their reach.</p>