Guide for Parents/Guardians: Managing your Child's GameChat Experience with Parental Controls

What control options are available for GameChat?

After linking the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app to your Nintendo Switch 2 console, the following GameChat features need to be set for each user you supervise:

Friend Approval Requests

• To play together online, players must be on each other’s friend list. To use GameChat with friends, players must choose who on their friend list they want to approve to use GameChat with.
• When your child wants to use GameChat with a friend, they must first send a request to you to approve that friend for GameChat.
• It’s not possible for players younger than age 16 and supervised users to use GameChat with friends who have not been approved by their parent or guardian.
• You may withdraw approval for individual friends at any time through the app.
• If no friends are approved, your child will not be able to invite others to GameChat or receive invitations to join a GameChat room.
• For specific steps to manage your child's approved friends, read How to Manage Approved-Friend Settings for GameChat

Video Camera Permission Requests

• Video chat sessions require that a compatible USB camera (sold separately) be plugged into the Nintendo Switch 2 system.
• If you have a camera plugged into your system, you can choose whether to allow your child to send requests to use the camera to you to grant permission, or disable camera usage entirely. Video chat permission is granted on a per-session basis, so your child will need to request permission each time they want to turn the camera on in a new GameChat room. If video chat is disabled, other users’ camera feeds will not be displayed to your child. Sharing the gameplay screen is not restricted on either side.
• When the camera is enabled, you control how much of the video is visible to your child's friends – face only, person only, or full video. The setting you choose determines what options your child can pick when video chat is enabled.
• You can withdraw approval for video chat at any time through the app.
• For specific steps to review your child's video chat requests, read How to Grant or Deny GameChat Video-Chat Permission in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls App.

How the Software Age Rating Restriction Parental Control is used for GameChat

• You can set restrictions on software age rating through parental controls that prevent your child from playing or viewing games that are unsuitable for them. These restrictions affect all software on the console, including games that friends are playing during GameChat.
• When friends in a GameChat room share their game screen while playing software that would be restricted by your parental controls settings, their game will not be shown on your child’s console.
• When your child is invited to join a GameShare session during GameChat, parental controls restrictions on software ratings will apply. They will be unable to join GameShare for software that would be restricted by your parental controls settings.

What other GameChat features are available through the app?

The Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device app also keeps track of various usage stats specific to GameChat which you can review.

Daily Tracking

• Whether your child played using GameChat, and if so, the start time and length of session are available. Please note you will not have access to the conversations your child had with their approved friends(s).
• Whether they used the camera function.
• Whether they used GameShare.
• Details about which friends they interacted with in GameChat, and which friends they used GameChat with for the first time.

Monthly Summary

• Whether your child played using GameChat.
• Details about which friends they interacted with in GameChat, and which friends they used GameChat with for the first time.

How do I set up or adjust parental controls for GameChat?

Please read our guide for parents on GameChat first-time setup for detailed steps.

If you’ve already set up parental controls, please review our information on how to adjust these settings.

What else can I do with the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app?

A variety of other options for restrictions are available, such as restricting what software is playable based on age ratings and setting play-time limits. For additional information about features in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, please read our overview.

What other features or requirements are available in GameChat to help keep my child safe while playing?

Users who want to use GameChat must join Nintendo Switch Online, a paid membership service, as well as register a phone number to their Nintendo Account to verify their identity (players younger than age 16 and supervised users must have a parent/guardian register a phone number on their own Nintendo Account). Note: During the GameChat Open-Access Period until March 31, 2026, GameChat can be used without a Nintendo Switch Online membership.

For all users, it is only possible to receive GameChat invites from, and send GameChat invites to, users on your Friend List whom you have approved to use GameChat with. If you have blocked a user that is in a room you were invited to, you will be prevented from joining the room. For users under 16 and supervised users, you are also prevented from joining a GameChat room that includes users that are not on your Friend List and approved by your parent or guardian.

You can report users for bad behavior directly within a GameChat room, or after leaving the room. If you report a user while in the room, you will leave the room automatically. Users who are found in violation of our Community Guidelines or the Nintendo Account User Agreement may have their access to GameChat restricted or incur more serious penalties.

GameChat is an optional feature for players to enjoy on Nintendo Switch 2. If you would like to stop using GameChat entirely, you can cancel your acceptance of the terms of service.

For more information about general GameChat features, please read our overview of the service.