Re: Nintendo Switch Parental Controls
Vinnie Breidenthal
Download the free Nintendo Switch Parental Controls mobile app below. Follow the directions in the app to sync it with your system and your Nintendo Account. Learn how to create a Nintendo Account here.
A parent or guardian can access account-specific parental controls for supervised accounts via their Nintendo Account settings or by clicking to their account from the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls mobile app. The full list of possible restrictions can be found here. You can also set restrictions on who can make Nintendo eShop purchases via your Nintendo Account settings.
Note: Parental controls are set for the system, not each individual user. The same restrictions will apply to everyone who uses the system, so they should be set with the youngest player in mind.
Your existing settings can be adjusted in the same place they were originally set up.What settings differ between Nintendo Switch, smart device app, and Nintendo Account?
- Controls such as age rating restrictions, limiting communication between players, and social media restrictions are available directly on the system and through the smart device app.
- The smart device app can also be used to set limits on play time, view gameplay history, and whitelist individual games to ignore restrictions.
- Restrictions on viewing and purchasing content in the eShop, friend suggestions, and sharing information with third-parties are managed through Nintendo Account settings.
Restrict open communication between users, including chat features and exchanging messages. You can toggle between Restricted or Not Restricted for all software on the system, or adjust the settings for specific software.
Restrict gameplay in VR mode. This option should be set to restricted if a child of 6 years or younger uses the console. Toggle between Restricted or Not Restricted.
If you'd like to set limits on play time, view gameplay history, and whitelist individual games to ignore restrictions, follow the steps above to set up parental controls through the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device app.
The parental controls for Nintendo Switch allow you to manage which features and games your child can use on their system. Setting up parental controls allows you to set restrictions through the Nintendo Switch console or with the more extensive Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device app.
The restrictions can only be managed by one Nintendo Account. However, you can link the same Nintendo Account to the application on multiple smart devices. Then, you can manage the restrictions through each device that the Nintendo Account is linked to.
Since the day we put the parental controls on our child's switch and downloaded the parental control app on our phones, we've noticed that there isn't a 'start time', just a 'bedtime alarm'. This seems to be a huge hole in functionality, every other parental control has this feature but the Switch seems to just allow usage from 6am.
My child has a problem with impulse control and if we forget to physically take the switch away on a school night, they will sometimes go on it as soon as they wake up. We have to then take the Switch away and you can imagine what the result of that is; the morning's a disaster.
I contacted Nintendo support in the early days and was told what I already knew: there wasn't that feature and the "suggestion would be passed on". Nearly 3 years later and still hasn't been implemented.
Could you set the time limit initially to something like 1 minute? Then change it to something more reasonable when you are allowing them to play.
I agree - a start time as well as an end time seems obvious, and that some sort of workaround should be unnecessary.
@Rambler
Thanks for the reply. The other issue with the parental controls is that you can't add time ad-hoc. The lowest time setting is 15 mins. If you give them another half hour, it becomes part of the schedule (they will always have 45 mins) until you set it back to 15 mins.
This goes beyond Nintendo control and requires a good family sit down and having honest conversations is what this sounds like it needs. No judgements but honest questions this would go along way to help the kids understand the situations going there. What's happening there goes far beyond Nintendo Parental controls can control or make behavior changes.
@AnnoyingDad2020 The parental controls app on Switch is pretty basic to be honest and seems almost like an afterthought - something like the Microsoft one where you can set screen time day to day makes much more sense that what the Switch has.
I wondered if setting the parental controls age rating as low as it goes (3+?) might restrict whatever they are playing in the morning but it's not an ideal solution - would basically require the PIN entry for anything other than the lowest rating any other time of the day too. Obviously that's not going to make any difference if it's a 3+ rated game they are playing, but would stop them playing any other game in the morning.
You can set the time limit day-by-day, so could set the weekdays to 15mins and the weekend to whatever you're happy with. Worst case is they play for 15mins in the morning before it locks them out. Can use it as a carrot and stick - "Sorry, you used up all your time this morning so you can't play this afternoon".
I have Parental controls and time limits setup on my Deco router, but the Nintendo Switch is using up all the time while it's asleep. I realize that I could ask my kids to turn it all the way off, but even I know that is a nuisance. Has anyone else encountered this problem? Is there something that can be changed on the nintendo device that says to only connect to the internet when actually playing? I can't be the only person that has run into this problem trying to limit screen time. I do have all the other devices in a separate group so that they don't use up the time, but I'm still trying to limit the Nintendo specifically- and without doing anything it's using up between 2-5hrs a day just tickling the nintendo.com
NOTE: After checking the box to restrict purchases, children will have to get permission from parents to purchase new games and in-game content via the Nintendo eShop. Make sure you remember your PIN so you can authorize purchases in the future. The account holder will always receive an email when a purchase is made via the Nintendo eShop.
Nintendo Switch is designed to go wherever you go, transforming from a home console to a portable system in a snap. Follow the steps we outline below to set up parental controls for the Nintendo Switch system, and make sure your children can only access content that you think is appropriate for them.
NOTE: Make sure you download the Parental Controls app to your iOS or Android device and follow the directions to ensure that your settings sync to the Nintendo Switch console. Some of the settings described on this page require that your Nintendo Switch is updated to version 5.0.0 or latest, and your Nintendo Switch Parental Controls App is updated to version 1.5.0 or latest.
Nintendo Account parental controls allow you to set Nintendo Switch eShop and Nintendo.com Game Store restrictions for child or supervised accounts. You can also disable friend suggestions and restrict third party services information sharing.
In a field including the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch comes out as the best game console for families with younger kids. Its ultra-user-friendly design, wide selection of kid-appropriate games (including the cardboard-building and programming Labo kits), and ability to bring it along wherever you go make it a smart "starter" system the whole family can play together. Nintendo also pioneered the idea of parental controls for gaming (the Wii had them, and so does the 3DS).
While you can set parental controls on the console itself, the Switch Parental Controls app offers more settings. Learn more about using parental controls. To use the app, download and launch the Switch app from the app store. Create a Nintendo account, if you haven't already, and link the app to your device.
Pretty much every games platform in the market today, from phones to tablets to consoles, has some form of system that lets parents lock kids out of bad stuff. But none of them do it as well, or as elegantly, as the Nintendo Switch.