Online Safety
At Nintendo, our goal is to put smiles on the faces of all who play our games and use our services. This page highlights our commitment to creating an online environment that prioritises online safety, so everyone can enjoy playing.
Nintendo Account
A Nintendo Account gives you access to Nintendo services, such as playing games online, managing your purchases, participating in the My Nintendo™ rewards program, and more. Nintendo offers a variety of security options and strongly encourages you to make sure your account is as secure as possible. Please remember that it’s important to use your own account when you play, and to not share your account with others. Parents of younger players can set up a Nintendo Account for a child so everyone in the family can have fun, while parents remain in control of choices that are right for their family.
Community Guidelines
We want players to have fun and enjoy the worlds of Nintendo, and that works best when we treat others with respect and work together to keep our communities welcoming for everyone. Nintendo's Community Guidelines outline our expectations when players engage with Nintendo products, services, or events, as well as how we act to uphold our guidelines.
Reporting
Players have an important role in helping us uphold the behavioural expectations outlined in our Community Guidelines. In addition to playing by the rules themselves, we encourage players to use our products’ built-in reporting features to let us know if they encounter any behaviour or content that violates these guidelines.
Reporting Online Harm to eSafety (Australia) or Netsafe (New Zealand)
The eSafety Commissioner (eSafety) is Australia’s national independent regulator and educator for online safety.
eSafety helps Australians prevent and deal with harm caused by serious online abuse or illegal and restricted online content. eSafety can investigate cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse (sharing, or threatening to share, intimate images without the consent of the person shown) and illegal and restricted content. You can report such abuse or content to eSafety at https://www.esafety.gov.au/report/forms.
Netsafe helps people and schools in New Zealand experiencing harmful content online. You can report harmful content to Netsafe at https://report.netsafe.org.nz/hc/en-au/requests/new
Privacy
Your privacy and the choices you make to protect your personal information are very important to us. We take great care to design our products and services in ways that respect your choices. Our Privacy Policy is written to help you understand what information we collect as well as how it’s used and protected. We encourage everyone to keep their personal information private, and never to share contact information online.
Player Experience
We offer players choices about how they engage with our products and services. We encourage them to explore the personal settings available in our products and services like Nintendo Accounts.
Friend List
To connect with a friend on Nintendo systems, both players must agree to establish the friendship. How friends can interact will vary depending on the game. Players have control over their friend connections at all times.
Online Status
The online status setting lets your Nintendo Switch™ friends know that you’re playing in case you want to play together. Playing online with friends often leads to great experiences, but if you want to dive into a game on your own, you can also choose whether or not to share your online availability with friends.
What Friends Can See
Nintendo Switch friends can see what games their friends have played and might be fun to try. For users who prefer to keep their play history private, you can easily disable access to this information, or decide which of your friends has access to it.
Online Play
At Nintendo, we want to create experiences that put smiles on faces, and those efforts extend to our online features. In addition to filtering, reporting, and moderation, Nintendo game developers often implement creative solutions directly in our software products.
Info for Parents
We strive to create positive gaming experiences for players of all ages, and we recognise that parents and guardians often are best suited to decide what is appropriate for their family members. Parents and guardians are encouraged to explore the tools available and adjust the level of oversight as their children grow up. If you have any concerns about a game purchased from the Nintendo eShop in Australia or New Zealand, please contact us.
Parental Controls
The Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device app* is designed to make managing your family’s gaming experiences easier. With the app, parents and guardians can choose settings appropriate for players in their household, such as to restrict communication with other users, as well as to restrict software based on assigned ACB classifications (age ratings). Parents and guardians can also keep an eye on play time, see when new games are downloaded, set which games can be played, and decide which online features can be used.
Online Safety
Teaching children how to use technology safely is an important part of raising good digital citizens. You can find relevant information about Nintendo products and services on our website. You can also find general online safety information for you and your child on the websites of eSafety in Australia, and Netsafe in New Zealand.
Partnerships
Our Online Safety Principles outline many aspects of how we and others in our industry collaborate to protect players. In addition, Nintendo is a member of the Family Online Safety Institute, as well as the Technology Coalition and participates in Project Lantern.
Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required for online features. Membership auto-renews after initial term at the then-current price unless cancelled. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply.
*Nintendo Account, persistent internet and compatible smart device required. Data charges may apply.