Nintendo warns Switch 2 GameChat users: “Your chat is recorded”

The walls have ears

Nintendo warns Switch 2 GameChat users: “Your chat is recorded”

Temporary local copies can be shared with Nintendo through manual user reporting.

Kyle Orland
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Jun 5, 2025 1:08 pm

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Credit:

Aurich Lawson | Nintendo

Credit:

Aurich Lawson | Nintendo

Last month, ahead of the launch of the Switch 2 and its GameChat communication features, Nintendo updated its privacy policy to note that the company “may also monitor and record your video and audio interactions with other users.” Now that the Switch 2 has officially launched, we have a clearer understanding of how the console handles audio and video recorded during GameChat sessions, as well as when that footage may be sent to Nintendo or shared with partners, including law enforcement.

Before using GameChat on Switch 2 for the first time, you must consent to a set of GameChat Terms displayed on the system itself. These terms warn that chat content is “recorded and stored temporarily” both on your system and the system of those you chat with. But those stored recordings are only shared with Nintendo if a user reports a violation of Nintendo’s Community Guidelines, the company writes.

That reporting feature lets a user “review a recording of the last three minutes of the latest three GameChat sessions” to highlight a particular section for review, suggesting that chat sessions are not being captured and stored in full. The terms also lay out that “these recordings are available only if the report is submitted within 24 hours,” suggesting that recordings are deleted from local storage after a full day.

If a report is submitted to Nintendo, the company warns that it “may disclose certain information to third parties, such as authorities, courts, lawyers, or subcontractors reviewing the reported chats.” If you don’t consent to the potential for such recording and sharing, you’re prevented from using GameChat altogether.

For your protection

Nintendo is extremely clear that the purpose of its recording and review system is “to protect GameChat users, especially minors” and “to support our ability to uphold our Community Guidelines.” This kind of human moderator review of chats is pretty common in the gaming world and can even apply to voice recordings made by various smart home assistants.

But this kind of online gaming moderation is typically designed for situations where players could be exposed to random strangers in online matches. Nintendo’s GameChat is already strictly limited to users whom players have manually added as friends on their system, who would be the only ones able to send a report of bad behavior to Nintendo. GameChat users also have to confirm a phone number matching the one on their Nintendo account for added identification purposes.

Nintendo would likely prefer that all GameChat sessions with minors occur with a parent actively looking over their shoulder.

Credit:
Nintendo

Nintendo would likely prefer that all GameChat sessions with minors occur with a parent actively looking over their shoulder.

Credit:

Nintendo

Nintendo also goes to extra lengths to ensure parents are informed when it comes to minors using GameChat. If a Switch 2 system has accounts for both an adult and a minor, the GameChat setup requires the adult to download the Nintendo Parental Controls app to a smartphone and sync it to the console with a code. Setting up that app gives parents the option to approve all new friends added to the child’s account and even to require explicit permission through the app when the child wants to use video chat.

Overall, the time-limited, local-unless-reported recordings Nintendo makes here seem like a minimal intrusion on the average GameChat user’s privacy. Still, if you’re paranoid about Nintendo potentially seeing and hearing what’s going on in your living room, it’s good to at least be aware of it.

Below, we’ve copied the full text of the relevant sections of the GameChat Terms (as of June 5, 2025), which currently don’t seem to be available for viewing anywhere aside from the Switch 2 consoles themselves, as far as we can tell.

GameChat allows players to enjoy voice or video chat with friends while playing on Nintendo Switch 2 (video chat requires a separately sold USB camera). Use of GameChat is subject to the Nintendo Account User Agreement, including our Community Guidelines, which can be found on our website. Please familiarize yourself with our Community Guidelines, which outline our expectations for behavior while using our products and services. Your contribution to creating a positive online experience plays an important role in Nintendo’s online community. If a GameChat session violates the Nintendo Account User Agreement, users involved may have their access to online play, including but not limited to GameChat, restricted.

Your chat is recorded

To support our ability to uphold our Community Guidelines, chat content, including your audio and voice chat, is recorded and stored temporarily on your system, and on the systems of others you chat with. If an interaction that violates our Community Guidelines occurs, report it to us. We encourage you to report all violations immediately when they occur. To report chat content during a GameChat session, press the C Button to select the person you would like to report. If you prefer to submit a report after a GameChat session ends, press the C Button, open the Settings menu, select Report, and follow the on-screen instructions. You can review a recording of the last three minutes of the latest three GameChat sessions and select the portion of the recording to be highlighted for review. These recordings are available only if the report is submitted within 24 hours.

We review reported chats to uphold our Community Guidelines

When a GameChat session is reported, the recorded chat content and other information on the GameChat session (e.g., the time and date of the chat, camera usage, and traffic details) will be transmitted to our server. Nintendo may access and review the reported information for violations against the Nintendo Account User Agreement and the Community Guidelines. We will base this review primarily on the submitted information, but may also consider the past review history of the reported user(s) and the reporting user, their report history and information related to their Nintendo Account. We may disclose certain information to third parties, such as authorities, courts, lawyers, or subcontractors reviewing the reported chats. The purpose of our review is to protect GameChat users, especially minors, and to enforce our Nintendo Account Use Agreement to maintain a safe and family-friendly online environment.

Withdrawal of your consent

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