Nintendo thinks of parents and their worry as kids love to spend more time with the new Switch from Nintendo. To keep an eye on kids’ activities on the console, you can set up Parental Controls App for Nintendo Switch. As parents, you can use your iPhone or any Android phone to check what your kids are doing on Nintendo Switch. Nintendo offers mobile app for iPhone and Android phones.
You can download Nintendo Switch Parental Controls on your iOS and Android device.
Note that some features of Nintendo Switch Parental Controls can be explored only when the Switch is connected with a Wi-Fi network. For example, playtime limitations can be monitored by parents only when Switch is connected to a Wi-Fi network. You also need an internet connected to apply parental controls from the app to the Switch. Once you have set up restrictions, the console will save those restrictions even though your kids disconnect the Switch from Wi-Fi network.
How to Set up Parental Controls App for Nintendo Switch
You can configure Parental Controls on the Nintendo Switch console or you can use your smart device. You can find Parental Controls on console by tapping on Settings (cog wheel icon) on the home screen to launch System Settings menu. Here, you can see Parental Controls option.
On your smart device:
You have already downloaded or installed Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app on your iPhone or Android smartphone.
Step #1: Open the app and sign into the app with your Nintendo account (you can also create an account if you haven’t done it thus far). Note that you need to have the same Nintendo Account connected with Switch console you want to control.
Step #2: Now you need to link your smart device with the Switch console. To do this, you need to type in a registration code sent by Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app into the Switch console.
Step #3: After the app and Switch are connected, you can start setting different restrictions suitable for your kids. You will find categories like None, Teen, Pre-Teen, Child, and Custom. The last one, i.e. Custom allows you to select the age rating limits for 18+ through 3+.
Step #4: The app in your smart device also allows you to select which ratings organization to base the restrictions around.
Step #5: Next, you can also restrict your kids from posting screenshot on social media. Once you enable this restriction, your child won’t be able to use the built-in Facebook and Twitter screenshot sharing features.
Step #6: Restrictions for communications will prevent your children from seeing user-generated posts and switches off any chat functions (if any) in the Nintendo Switch games.
Step #7: Setting time limits is very important especially when exams are upon your kids. Starting from ‘No Limit’ to 15-minute intervals to 6 hours, you can set up time limitations; you can also set limitations by day; this would allow your kids to spend more time on weekends.
Once your kid reaches the time limit, the console tells the kid that his time is up by an alarm. The alarm will disappear after a few moments and reappear at every 15 minutes.
Step #8: Apart from time limit, an important control is eShop restrictions, which are totally different set of restrictions that supervise how your kids see and use eShop on Nintendo Switch. Parental Controls app doesn’t help you here; as an alternative, parents have to take charge of a current Nintendo Account or have to create a separate Child Account that is linked to your Nintendo Account.
By eShop restrictions, parents can also restrict the game displayed based on age ratings. Parents have to pay fifty cents for setting up a separate child account for a user under the age of 13; note that general account owners can’t be younger than 13.
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Removing Restrictions
By using the app, you can remove restrictions. Launch Switch home screen and choose the Parental Controls icon from the top. Now, type in the PIN given to you when you had set up the app. Remember, the PIN should be visible on the app under Console Settings tab and in an email from Nintendo.
Once you remove the restrictions, you have to re-enter the PIN whenever the Switch console is turned on or awoken from Sleep Mode.
If you don’t want to perform all these steps on your Switch console and the app, you can simply connect and play Nintendo Switch on TV without dock. By following an easy method, you can allow your kids to play games on the bigger screen of TV, which you can monitor for a distance.
Before your kids take the console in their hands, you can transfer Nintendo Switch games to microSD card; this will ensure your kids don’t see which games you are playing on the console.
When you hand over your Nintendo Switch to your child, you should be sure that your child wouldn’t cause any harm to the console. Rather, protect the console with the best Nintendo Switch accessories. This list of Switch accessories includes starter kits, screen protectors, headphones, Joy-Con straps, backpack, and more.
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