Are your kids enjoying the Nintendo Switch? Considering the console just launched, you may have allowed them to spend most of their time playing Breath of the Wild. But it’s been a few days now, so it may be time to start setting some ground rules — that’s where Nintendo’s new parental controls app comes in. Nintendo Switch Parental Controls is an iOS and Android app that lets you monitor Switch usage remotely. There are already some parental controls baked into the Switch, but the app allows you to set up activity notifications and set a designated amount of play time for your child. Here’s how to use it.
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Setting up parental controls
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Head to the Settings menu on the Switch, and select Parental controls. Here, you can choose to use the Switch or the app to configure the controls — this is where you add the registration number to pair your Switch with your smartphone or tablet. Once you login via your Nintendo ID, you’ll need to pair the Switch with the app. You will need to create an account if you haven’t already, but you do not need to use the same account that’s on the Switch to control it.
Once paired, you can set a daily amount of play time on the Switch — from only 15 minutes (which seems cruel) up to six hours. You can also restrict the ability to post screenshots from games to social media, share profile information, and chat with users (once that feature becomes available).
For the games themselves, you can set a restriction based on age group, such as teen or pre-teen, so that your children are not playing games you might deem inappropriate. If you’d prefer to be more specific, you can also set restrictions based on a specific age. By default, the ratings system is linked to your regional content ratings body, such as the ESRB in North America, but can be changed to reflect other, international ratings groups.
Once you’ve successfully set your preferred parental controls for the Switch, you’ll get access to the default view of the app. Here, you can see how long your child has been playing on the Switch and which game, and you can check out a monthly summary as well. It’s also a neat way for anyone to check their Switch activity, though you may want to turn off all restrictions for yourself. The data is not logged in real time, but, instead, at several points during the day.
Slide over to the Console settings to change your app’s pin to something you can remember, or simply use the randomly-generated pin that’s provided.
