Nintendo Switch Parental Controls App Arrives In App Stores

Nintendo has launched the iOS and Android versions of its Nintendo Switch parental controls app. With the app, parents are given a wide range of features and control over their child's gaming, including the ability to set time limitations, monitor play duration, automatically suspend gaming after a time allotment is exceeded, restrict communication features in games, and more.

Any modern game system targeted at children needs parental controls, and a gaming system like the Switch is no exception. Kids often will, if left to their own devices, play for too long of a duration, straining their eyes and ignoring their chores. Online gaming also poses some issues, depending on the game and the child's age. Being able to monitor and control these things makes the console more appealing to parents.

Parents are, via these apps, able to restrict which content the kids are able to access, something that can of course be tweaked over time as the child gets older. The app can also be used to put time restrictions on games in a couple ways. One one hand, the child can be given a time limit but no actual game suspension. If the parent sees the kid keeps going over their time allotment, though, the parent can set the system up to automatically suspend a game once a time limit is reached.

Games can be gifted to young users in exchange for good behavior, Nintendo says, helping give parents an element of incentive to make sure chores and homework is done. Parents are shown their kid's favorite game, enabling them to keep an eye on what the child is playing. Even better, and quite obviously, parents don't need to get ahold of the actual Switch console to set up and monitor these features — it can all be done from a mobile device.

SOURCE: Google Play, iTunes, Nintendo Wire