Nintendo Switch

Controlled through a separate phone app, which is the easiest console setup of the three.

Menu names shift between software versions and between phone makers. If a name here does not match what you see, look for something close by rather than assuming the setting is gone.

1. 1

   Link the app to the console

   Once linked, you manage everything from your phone without touching the console again.

   Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app

   1. Install the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app and sign in with your Nintendo Account.
   2. The app gives you a registration code.
   3. On the console, go to System Settings, then Parental Controls, and enter the code.
   4. Set a PIN that your child doesn’t know.

   Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

   Already done this?

   Forgotten the Parental Controls PIN? This one is fully recoverable and you keep your settings. Enter the wrong PIN, press + or minus for Help, and note the Inquiry Number without leaving that screen. Then get a master key from parentalcontrols.nintendo.com. Six wrong attempts inside 30 minutes locks you out for 30 minutes, so write the number down the first time.

2. 2

   Set the restriction level

   The quickest way to match content to their age. You can fine-tune afterwards.

   App → Console settings → Restriction Level

   1. Choose the age band that describes your child.
   2. Or choose Custom to set software rating, posting to social media, and communication individually.

   Recommended by age

   Under 7	Child level
   7–11	Child level
   11–12	Pre-Teen level
   13–15	Teen level
   16–17	Custom, agreed together

   Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

3. 3

   Restrict communication and social posting

   Stops screenshots being posted publicly and limits in-game communication with strangers. It also stops them sending screenshots to friends, which for a lot of children is half the fun of the console, so this is worth deciding deliberately rather than taking whatever the age preset picked.

   App → Console settings → Custom settings

   1. Restrict Communicating with Others.
   2. On the original Switch, also turn off Posting to Social Media.
   3. On Switch 2 there is no such setting, because Nintendo removed posting to social media from the console itself.

   Voice chat is two different things and they land differently. GameChat is built into Switch 2, and it is inside these controls: Nintendo requires a parent to be involved in setting it up and using it for anyone under 16 or on a supervised account, managed through the Parental Controls app, and permission is needed every time a younger player wants video chat. Separately, some games route voice through the Nintendo Switch App on a phone, for players 13 and over, and that genuinely does sit outside these controls. Check that one on the phone.

   Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

   If someone is being cruel to them

   Same pattern as the other consoles. This limits strangers and does nothing about the friends list, and most console bullying happens between people who already know each other.

4. 4

   Set a play-time limit and bedtime alarm

   The console can suspend the game at the limit rather than just showing a message, which removes the argument.

   App → Play-Time Limit

   1. Set a daily play-time limit, with different values for weekdays and weekends if you like.
   2. Set a bedtime alarm.
   3. Turn on Suspend Software if you want the limit to be firm rather than advisory.

   Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

5. 5

   Block eShop spending

   Set up in a different place from everything else, which is why it gets missed.

   accounts.nintendo.com → Family Group

   1. Sign in at accounts.nintendo.com and open your Family Group.
   2. Select your child and turn on the eShop purchase restriction.
   3. Remove any saved card.

   Who holds this: You set this from your own account, and your child cannot change it back.

Menus move. If something on screen does not match these steps, check the official link above.