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NCL suspends image sharing in Swap Note and Flipnote [Spot pass Notes disabled]

NoA statement:

Notice about service for Nintendo 3DS software Swapnote

2013-10-31
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

http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/UHQZFP2Jxcll_Vm-PsZpxNIK5920bRRK

NCL has made the decision to shut down services in two 3DS app with online image sharing capabilities - Swap Note and Flipnote Memo 3D - as of 11AM (JST) Nov 1st, 2013. Images inappropriate for children/minors were allegedly being shared on the service. The company says there have been incidents with minors sharing friend codes with strangers online via message boards and receiving inappropriate content. They have determined that at the present time it is too difficult to provide a safe environment for all users of these apps without suspending online image sharing.

It is unknown if or when the capabilities will be reinstated, but I'm not hopeful from the wording. The company says it will aim to work harder for its customers to understand the 'Parental Control' functions of its devices.

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/support/information/2013/1101.html

TL:DR Spot Pass features in Swap Note has been suspended world wide. Notes sent via Spot Pass has been suspended. Notes via Street Pass with Friends appears unaffected.
 

Kuro

Member
Wow this sucks. I just recently got an XL and have been using swap note a lot with my cousin.
 

Elija2

Member
Don't you have to add someone to your friend list to send them Swapnotes? So it's not like kids are getting Swapnotes from random strangers. This is ridiculous. You might as well get rid of Swapnote completely because someone could just draw a pair of boobs or a penis.

Also, we haven't even gotten Flipnote in NA/EU yet and they're already removing features from it.
 

chadboban

Member
think_of_the_children.jpg


On a serious note though, when it comes to a online device it is pretty much impossible to protect every single person. The responsibility of what your children receive is in the parents hands. I check through my little brother's PSN messages from time to time to ensure that he's not up to anything. I also try to teach him things to look out for and what information he shouldn't share with others. He's a pretty good kid though and he's cool with me checking his messages because he wants me to know that I can trust him.

I wonder what caused all of this though? They're must've been multiple reports from parents about things that there kids received.

Edit: WTF they disabled swapnote worldwide?! Me and my cousin across in Maryland use it all the time!
 

GulAtiCa

Member
Not surprised sadly. I had some people send me nsfw porn images over it.... I unfriended them so it wouldn't happen anymore.
 

Sophia

Member
Oh god! Children might see something awful on the internet! What ever will we do? Shut down everything!. :\

Seems like a whole lot of overreacting. :\
 
Honestly from the wording is sounds like they discovered this from monitoring the service, rather than an actual report of someone finding something "inappropriate"

Them stating they want to teach more people about the Parental Controls suggests, to me, it was indeed parents.
 

Chopper

Member
Don't you have to add someone to your friend list to send them Swapnotes? So it's not like kids are getting Swapnotes from random strangers. This is ridiculous. You might as well get rid of Swapnote completely because someone could just draw a pair of boobs or a penis.

Also, we haven't even gotten Flipnote in NA/EU yet and they're already removing features from it.
So much this. What the hell us going on?

No. The whole services have been suspended.
What?!

What?! WHAT?!

SwapNote... ;_;
I will miss your notes the most. True story. :(
 

Jonnyram

Member
Can someone fix the thread title?

Also, I get Nintendo's reasoning behind this. Unlike Miiverse, these two services were never moderated. Maybe they will implement moderation and restore them in the future, who knows. I know my kid's gonna be pretty disappointed that Swapnote has gone offline though. The weird thing is that Streetpass Swapnotes will still go through, which is potentially more open for abuse than those sent over the Internet.
 

terrisus

Member
Images inappropriate for children/minors were allegedly being shared on the service. The company says it has determined that at the present time it is difficult to provide a safe environment for all users of these apps without suspending online image sharing.

No kidding?
You don't say.

Who couldn't have seen that from Day 1.
 
Don't you have to add someone to your friend list to send them Swapnotes? So it's not like kids are getting Swapnotes from random strangers. This is ridiculous. You might as well get rid of Swapnote completely because someone could just draw a pair of boobs or a penis.

The statement says it was people, including minors, who traded friend codes with strangers via forums/BSS.

Who wants to bet it was kids trading friend codes for Pokemon's Friend Safari?
 

Bleep

Member
There's no way to send messages to people unless you have added them to your friends list, which requires communication outside of what the 3DS offers. This is completely ridiculous.
 
Seems like a kneejerk reaction to a problem. You need to be friends with someone to view their Swapnotes anyways, and you can't even accept a random friend request on the 3DS.
 

axisofweevils

Holy crap! Today's real megaton is that more than two people can have the same first name.
This adds weight to my theory of Swap Note slowly being discontinued to make way for 3DS Miiverse.
 
Who was actually using Swapnote anyway?

I really wanted to like it when it first came out, but I quickly discovered that it was useless. It took hours before messages would actually arrive; by that time I might as well just send a text message or email etc etc.

I get that it wasn't really supposed to be instant, but… then what's the point? Nobody writes letters anymore.
 

Elija2

Member
Wow, so they actually just disabled sending Swapnotes through Spotpass completely? Well now Swapnote is completely useless. Who the hell sends Swapnotes to people through Streetpass? Way to kill a great thing, Nintendo.

Doesn't Swapnote have a parental setting where you can disable attachments and stuff? Like that wasn't good enough, now they have to disable everything? I hope this isn't permanent and that they restore the service soon. It was fine the way it was, Nintendo.

This adds weight to my theory of Swap Note slowly being discontinued to make way for 3DS Miiverse.

Wait, I changed my mind. If this is the case then screw Swapnote. Give me Miiverse.
 

Frolow

Banned
Loaded Swapnote just now:

"The SpotPass service has been discontinued for this software. Thank you for using this service"
 

Animekatt

Member
What? Not getting that from the OP.

As soon as you enter the app, it greets you with this message:

"The SpotPass service has been discontinued for this software. Thank you for using this service."

When you try to send a note, the spotpass option is completely greyed out.
 
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