With the official reveal of theNintendo Switch 2, we were bound to geta few extra featuresteased. Mouse controls, magnetic Joy-Cons, a built-in microphone, a camera… wait.
While the idea of sharing a game experience with friends online certainly has its appeal - one made stronger by a face-to-face connection - some people are just inherently uncomfortable with the idea of pointing a camera at the most important part of their living room.
Will theNintendo Switch 2 cameraspy on you? Anofficial interviewwith the design team behind Nintendo’s GameChat, and the camera built to use it, offers a few answers.
The interview is a three-parter, hosted on Nintendo’s official website as part of its Ask the Developer posts. There, they discuss the privacy considerations they made when discussing the technology.
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Of the comments made, one remark offers peace of mind fairly directly:
The Nintendo Switch 2 camera is also equipped with a privacy shutter that allows the lens to be shut when not in use, and you may see at a glance whether the camera is on or off.
So not only will you be able to see if the camera can record video, it’s also a physical block. If you’re the sort of person who doesn’t really trust the little ‘recording’ light on a laptop camera, this is right up your alley.
A shutter will prevent the Switch 2 camera from spying on you, just as effectively as any piece of tape.
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Nintendo has also placed a few restrictions on how GameChat itself can even be used - no accidentally streaming your face to some internet rando, that lovely face will only be seen by people you trust.
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It was mentioned in the Nintendo Switch 2 direct that GameChat is a friends-only thing, but the restrictions go deeper.
We assume some players will have somebody on their friend list who they’ve only played online with once, and yet somehow, they ended up accepting their friend request. Given that possibility, players might feel uncomfortable if suddenly everyone on their friend list can invite them to a video chat.
Since your online friends-list may not actually reflect how many real friends you have (sorry), Nintendo has made GameChat access a lot more manual.
During the initial setup, you’re able to choose the friends you want to be able to chat with from your friend list before you start using GameChat.
And since friends also have other friends that may not be on your list, you’ll be able to see if an active session contains people outside your friends list. Simply don’t enter a hangout like that with your camera on (remember the shutter? It’s easy to check), and your face will stay private.
As for the Nintendo Switch 2’s built-in microphone, this interview series does give it a mention, but doesn’t discuss any privacy features. We’ll have to wait for another statement from Nintendo to solve that particular question.
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