Comparison

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… vs Scouting

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…

Easily monitor your child's Nintendo Switch usage. Set daily play-time limits, manage communication settings, and view gameplay activity. Restrict access to games based on age.

Highlights
  • Set daily play-time limits
  • Manage GameChat settings
  • View play activity and monthly overview
  • Set age-based restrictions
  • Suspend gameplay when limit is reached
Read full description

Nintendo Switch Parental Controls™ is a free app that allows you to easily monitor your child's use of the Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch system. Together, two parents or guardians can monitor a child's play activity, set daily play-time limits, and more. ◆ A Nintendo Switch 2 or Nintendo Switch system is required to use this app. ■ Set a daily play-time limit You can set a timer for how long your child can play for each day. You can select different settings for each day of the week, and even set it so that the game is suspended on the system as soon as the play-time limit is reached. ■ Manage your child's GameChat settings If you allow your child to use GameChat, you can manage which friends they're approved to chat with and decide when they can use video chat. ◆ The GameChat feature can only be used on Nintendo Switch 2 systems. ■ View your child's play activity You can easily check which games your child plays and for how long. You'll also get a monthly overview of their gameplay activity. ■ Set restrictions based on your child's age You can set up age-based restrictions on the games your child can play and the features they can use. Attention: ● To use the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, a parent or guardian (aged 18 or above) will need to have a Nintendo Account. ● Purchasing restrictions, including restrictions on purchasing products and services in Nintendo eShop, can be set up in the Nintendo Account settings. ● To make use of all of the features and settings available in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, all linked Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch systems need to be using the latest system version. ● For details about the GameChat feature, please visit support.nintendo.com.

About

Scouting

This app helps parents and Scouts track their journey from Lion to Eagle Scout. It focuses on individual progress and requires a my.scouting.org login for parents or youth accounts.

Highlights
  • Track progress from Lion to Eagle Scout
  • Parent and youth account support
  • Individual experience tracking
  • Requires my.scouting.org login
Features
Read full description

For parents and Scouts to track the Scouting Experience from Lion to Eagle Scout This app is for parents and scouts only, it is not for adult leaders to track scouts. A http://my.scouting.org/ log in is required and your account must either be connected to a Scout as a parent or be a youth account.

Screenshots

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…4 screens
Scouting4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… at 58% against Scouting's 13%. Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… also leads on rating (4.7 vs 2.0) and ratings volume (165K vs 915). Scouting's advantage is update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… has 165K ratings behind it against 915, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 58% of Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…'s written reviews are positive against 13% of Scouting's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… ships an update every 3 months, Scouting fortnightly. Both last shipped on September 25, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… versus Scouting: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNintendo Switch Parental Cont…Scouting
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (165K ratings) — better2.0 (915 ratings)
Positive reviews58.4% of reviews — better12.6% of reviews
Number of ratings165K — better915
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsFortnightly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size82 MB115 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperNintendo Co., Ltd.Boy Scouts of America

Customer experience

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…

All ratings164,693 ratings
Positive93.6%
Neutral2.9%
Negative3.4%
Written reviews1,009 reviews
Positive58.4%
Neutral11.5%
Negative30.1%

Scouting

All ratings915 ratings
Positive20.4%
Neutral6.7%
Negative72.9%
Written reviews174 reviews
Positive12.6%
Neutral8.6%
Negative78.7%

User reviews

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…

From 165K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Easy to use
  • 👍 Convenient parental controls
  • 📊 Detailed usage tracking
  • 🔒 Secure with PIN/password

Room to improve

  • 🔓 Easy to bypass controls
  • ⏱️ Lack of granular time restrictions
  • 🔍 Limited profile-specific settings
  • 🐛 Sync issues and bugs

Scouting

From 915 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Helpful for tracking progress
  • 🚀 Solid app when it works
  • 🌟 Good for monitoring scout's progress

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy and unreliable
  • 🔁 Endless update loop
  • 🤯 Crashes and freezes frequently
  • 🔒 Login and account issues
  • 📆 Calendar and event tracking problems

Bugs and requests

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Incorrect PIN notifications
  • Inconsistent sync between app and console
  • Time limit still counts down when paused

Requested features

4 requests
  • Set specific start and end times for usage
  • Ability to restrict access to individual games/apps
  • Option to lock device until parent approves
  • Separate time limits for each user profile

Scouting

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Incorrect rank and requirement completion tracking
  • Unable to submit advancement requirements
  • Inability to remove guardians
  • Outdated merit badge listings
  • Inconsistent app behavior across devices

Requested features

5 requests
  • PDF version of scout handbook
  • Integration with device calendar
  • Ability to add photos and comments
  • Better notifications and alerts
  • Improved tracking for merit badges and advancements

In-app purchases

None

Nintendo Switch Parental Cont…

No in-app purchases

None

Scouting

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… free?
Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Scouting free?
Scouting is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… or Scouting?
Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… is rated higher. Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… averages 4.7 out of 5 from 165K ratings, while Scouting averages 2.0 from 915 ratings.
Do Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… or Scouting have ads?
Neither Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… nor Scouting shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… or Scouting?
Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… ships an update every 3 months, and Scouting fortnightly. Most recently, Nintendo Switch Parental Cont… was updated on September 25, 2026 and Scouting on September 25, 2026.

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