How to Use Fortnite Parental Controls

Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, and a huge part of its massive fanbase are kids. If you want to let your kids join in the fun without exposing them to inappropriate content or conversations, Epic Games provides a fairly robust set of Fortnite parental controls.

What Can Fortnite Parental Controls Do?

Fortnite is a multiplayer game, which means your kids may end up playing with complete strangers in addition to their friends. Some of those strangers are other kids, and others are adults. If you don't want your kids interacting with strangers in Fortnite, parental controls allow you to turn off both voice chat and text chat. You can also filter mature language, and even prevent non-squad members from seeing your child's in-game name.

In addition to controls designed to prevent your child from interacting with strangers, there is also a parental control that allows you to view playtime reports on a daily or weekly basis to keep track of how much time your kid is sinking into the game.

How to Turn on Fortnite Parental Controls

Fortnite parental controls have to be turned on from inside the game, so you'll have to get your hands on one of your child's devices to get everything set up. If your child plays on multiple platforms, like both PC and Nintendo Switch, you can set up parental controls on one platform and they will work on every other platform.

1. Launch Fortnite and enter a lobby.

2. Once you've entered a lobby, open the Main Menu.

   You can select the Hamburger Menu in the upper right on PC, tap the Menu icon on mobile, or press the corresponding Menu button on your controller if you're playing on a console.

3. Select Parental Controls.

4. Select SET UP PARENTAL CONTROLS.

5. Select NEXT.

   If your child set up Fortnite using their own email address, select CHANGE EMAIL in this step, follow the on-screen instructions to link your own email, then return to this step.

6. Enter a six digit personal identification number (PIN), confirm it, then select NEXT.

7. Set the parental controls to your liking, then select SAVE.

   If you select MORE SETTINGS, it will open an Epic Games website that discusses platform-specific parental controls for consoles like the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 that aren't specifically related to Fortnite.

8. You can make changes to the parental control settings at any time by entering a lobby, navigating to Menu > Parental Controls, and entering your PIN.

What Do the Individual Fortnite Parental Controls Do?

Each of the individual Fortnite parental control options has a toggle switch that allows you to turn it on and off. If you aren't exactly sure what switching this toggle will do for any of these options, here's a detailed explanation of each parental control option in Fortnite:

Filter Mature Language

Fortnite includes a text chat feature that allows players to communicate by typing into the chat. This feature is available in the competitive Battle Royale mode in the lobby, where your kids will be able to type to their friends. It's also available in the co-op Save the World mode, where they will be able to text chat with both friends and strangers.

Turn this setting ON to censor mature language in text chat. Turn this setting OFF to allow mature language like cursing.

Hide Your Name From Non-Squad Members

When your child is eliminated during a match, their in-game name is normally visible to other players. This setting allows you to prevent non-squad members from seeing your kid's name. People in your kid's squad will still see their name, even strangers if your child has chosen to fill their squad with random players.

Turn this setting ON to replace your kid's name with "Player" for anyone who isn't in their squad. Turn this setting OFF to allow everyone to see their name.

Hide Non-Squad Member Names

This works just like the previous setting, but it blocks your child from seeing the names of other players. If you're worried about your child seeing inappropriate names or trying to contact strangers outside of the game, turn this on.

Turn this setting ON to replace other players names with "Player" in your child's game. Turn this setting OFF to allow your child to see the names of other players.

Turn Voice Chat On and Off

Fortnite includes built-in voice chat. When your child plays in a party with his friends, or fills their squad with strangers, the voice chat becomes available. Voice chat can be a fun way for your child and their friends to talk, but it allows them to talk to strangers if they elect to group up with strangers.

Turn this setting ON to allow your child to speak to other players with voice chat. Turn this feature OFF to prevent your child from using voice chat.

Enable and Disable Text Chat

As mentioned earlier, text chat is available in Fortnite in a few different places. If you want to block your child from using text chat, instead of just censoring mature content, then this is the feature you're looking for.

Turn this setting ON to prevent your child from using text chat. Turn this setting OFF if you want your child to be able to use text chat in Fortnite.

Receive Weekly Playtime Reports

This setting is different because it doesn't impact your child's in-game experience. Instead, this feature allows you to receive playtime reports from Epic that details how much time your child has spent playing Fortnite. If you want to keep tabs on their gaming time, then this is the option you're looking for.

Set this to WEEKLY for weekly reports, DAILY for daily reports, or OFF if you don't want to receive Fortnite playtime reports.