All the Switch 2 Privacy Settings You Should Adjust Right Now

One of the biggest selling points of the Nintendo Switch 2 is its expanded social features, allowing you to chat and share your gameplay with friends. This also opens up new opportunities for your privacy to be inadvertently violated. Whether you’re just setting up your Switch 2 or have been playing for a while, there are a few settings worth checking out right now.

If you’re moving to the Switch from an existing device, most of your settings should have been imported, so some settings may not need to be changed. However, with so many new changes and features, it’s worth a quick check of your privacy settings.

Control who knows when you’re online and what you play

The most common social feature you’ve probably seen is notifications that let you know when your friend is online and what games they’re playing. It’s a nice little feature that was available on the original Switch, but it can feel a little intrusive if you want to play games without showing others.

To change these settings, from the Switch 2 home screen, select your profile icon at the top of the display. Then follow these steps:

• On the left, scroll down to the User Settings section.

• Under Game Activity Settings, you can choose Game Activity Visibility: Everyone, Friends, a limited list of Best Friends, or No One. (Under this option, you can also choose Delete Game Activity to erase your game history saved by Nintendo.)

• In the Friend Settings section of the User Settings menu, you can change the Online Status Display setting to All Friends, Best Friends, or None. This will affect whether your friends will see you online, regardless of your in-game activity. You can also turn off incoming friend requests or get a new friend code if you want to avoid invitations using your old friend code.

Here you can also select “Change Nickname” to change how your name appears. This is useful if you originally used your real name but have added too many acquaintances or strangers over the years.

These settings were on the original Switch console, so if you set them up on your original console, they should stay in place after moving to Switch 2 .

Find out how the new GameChat system works

GameChat is such a big feature on the new Nintendo Switch 2 that it has its own dedicated button on the right Joy-Con. This new feature lets you join Zoom-style audio and/or video calls, and even share your screen with friends. However, it also means you might forget to mute your audio.

First, when you initially set up GameChat (which requires you to verify the email address and phone number linked to your Switch account), you’ll be given the option to manually restrict chat invites to only friends you actually play with, rather than indulging in the feelings of that one person you met at a horse show five years ago.

At any time, in-game or in the menu, you can click the GameChat button to open a chat window and start a chat session with your friends, as long as you both have GameChat set up and mutual invitations enabled. Once you start chatting, the game screen will shrink slightly and you’ll see a list of invited players at the bottom, just like in Zoom.

Here, tap the GameChat button again to access quick commands for mute your microphone, video (if an external camera is connected), or screen sharing. You can also exit the chat from here.

While it’s pretty hard to miss that you’re chatting by default, you can change that. In the GameChat settings (more on that below), you can change the “Screen Layout” setting to use smaller boxes for other players, or hide them entirely. In the latter case, you can still be in a chat and other users will be able to hear your microphone, but the on-screen indicator won’t be visible.

In an absolute sense, this doesn’t pose much of a security risk since it requires changing settings on your own physical console, but it can be annoying if you forget you started a chat.

Learn more about GameChat privacy settings

There are a few more settings you can change during a GameChat session. During a chat, click the GameChat button and select the Settings gear icon on the right. Here you’ll find options for screen layout, audio, camera, and screen sharing.

As mentioned above, the Screen Layout feature allows you to customize how other players appear in your GameChat chat. If you choose to go full-screen, an indicator will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen by default, showing who is currently speaking. You can change the location of this indicator or turn it off completely.

There’s a toggle under Chat Audio that lets you automatically mute your microphone when you enter a chat. I highly recommend turning this on. It’s easy to unmute your microphone, so it’s a handy precaution to keep your friends from accidentally overhearing something you didn’t intend to before you’re ready to talk.

The Camera View section lets you adjust background filters or how close you can zoom in on your face. This is the only feature that isn’t built into the console, so unless you have an external camera connected, you won’t see anything anyway.

Finally, under the Screen Sharing section, there’s a toggle to enable screen sharing from the main menu. This feature is enabled by default, but if you don’t want your friends to know what awkward games you’re playing, you can turn it off.

Use the Nintendo Switch app to customize your console settings.

The Nintendo Switch app (formerly Nintendo Switch Online) is one of the best updates to the Switch 2. In addition to game-related features like Zelda Notes , it’s also a convenient way to access your console’s settings and communicate with friends.

Some settings here are the same as on your console and sync with your device. For example, by tapping your profile icon in the app, you can change who can see your online status or game activity. If you change the settings here in the app, your console will be updated the next time you use it.

You can also find your account information in the profile menu, which will take you to an external site to manage your Nintendo Account. Here, under Account Settings, you can manage options such as whether your usage information is sent to Nintendo or used to personalize recommendations.

Manage your kids’ screen time with parental controls

If you’re a parent managing your child’s privacy settings, you get additional control through the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app . This is a separate program from the Nintendo Switch app that lets you set time limits, manage access to your kids’ chat, and even set spending limits on their accounts.

The most important feature here, from a privacy standpoint, is controlling who is allowed to initiate game chats with your child. As mentioned above, even if you are friends with someone, that does not necessarily mean they are allowed to initiate game chats unless the user specifically adds them to the allowed list.

The Parental Controls app lets you, as a parent, choose which users are included in your child’s approved list. For example, you can allow them to use friend codes to add friends at school or in games, but only allow voice or video calls to a few people you know and trust.

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