Nintendo Pulls 3DS SwapNote Due To “Offensive” Material

Nintendo has pulled the SwapNote application from the 3DS due to users sending “offensive material.” The free app allowed people to send notes and photos to one another online, and apparently some of those using the program were being a little too naughty for Nintendo’s liking. Because of this, now SwapNote is no longer available worldwide, and it doesn’t seem likely that it will ever come back.

All users have been notified of this removal via a message that pops up when StreetPass is turned on. Here it is in full:

Notice about service for Nintendo 3DS software Swapnote

Thank you for your support.

Nintendo has learned that some consumers, including minors, have been exchanging their friend codes on Internet bulletin boards and then using Swapnote (known as Nintendo Letter Box in other regions) to exchange offensive material. Nintendo has been investigating ways of preventing this and determined it is best to stop the SpotPass feature of Swapnote because it allows direct exchange of photos and was actively misused.

Nintendo always wants to provide a positive experience for all consumers and limit the risk of any inappropriate activity or misuse of a service. We feel it is important on this occasion to take this action.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience to the many consumers who have been using this service responsibly; however this decision was made considering the point that many minors also use this feature of Swapnote. Thank you for your understanding.

Nintendo will continue to work to ensure more consumers are aware of our Parental Control features, which allow parents to manage their children’s experience on our systems. For more information, please click here.

Service stop date: Thursday, Oct. 31, 2013, 7 p.m. PT

Service being stopped: Nintendo 3DS software Swapnote – Sending and receiving notes using SpotPass

Affected regions: All regions where the service was offered

Special Notes services are also stopped

The oddest bit about this news is that somehow Nintendo knew that adult material was being shared on the service. Some might say that Nintendo has been spying on its customers, but even this isn’t enough evidence to prove that. The more likely scenario is that The Big N was being hit with numerous complaints from parents.

It’s a terrible thing that minors might have possibly been exposed to raunchy pictures, and if they were so easy to pass around with the StreetPass feature, it’s no wonder Nintendo felt they had to do something. Perhaps they’ll figure out how to make SwapNote safer in the future and bring it back, but don’t hold your breath.