If you log in to your Nintendo Account with the Google or Apple button, your shortcut is about to expire. Nintendo has announced that starting January 26, 2027, it will no longer be possible to sign in to a Nintendo Account — or create a new one — using a Google or Apple account.
The change covers every current Switch console: Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite and Switch OLED Model. From the cutoff date, three things stop working: signing in with a linked Google or Apple account, creating a new Nintendo Account with either service, and linking a Google or Apple account to an existing Nintendo Account. Nintendo is also ending the My Nintendo Platinum Points mission that rewards players for linking a Google account.
Set a password or passkey now
Nintendo is asking anyone who relies on Google or Apple sign-in to set up a password or a passkey before the deadline, to avoid losing access to their games, the eShop and Nintendo Switch Online. The company recommends a passkey: from the Accounts page, sign in, choose Sign-In and Security Settings, select Passkeys, then Edit, and choose Register New Passkey to start signing in with your device’s own authentication.
One caveat on the date: Nintendo says the exact end time “may be delayed depending on the progress of the system change work,” so January 26 is the earliest the switch-off happens, not a guaranteed minute. NotebookCheck reports the cutoff at 4 PM Japan time — 2 AM Eastern — but the notice itself gives no time zone, so do not plan on having the full day.
No reason given
Nintendo has not said why it is removing the two sign-in options, or whether security concerns played a role. Its notice simply apologizes to the people who used them. This is not the company’s first cleanup of third-party logins: Facebook and Twitter sign-in for Nintendo Accounts ended on October 25, 2022, along with the My Nintendo missions tied to them, leaving Google and Apple as the only third-party options. Now those are going too.
The Bit Take: This is a two-minute fix that becomes a real headache if you ignore it until January. If your Nintendo Account has only ever known the Google or Apple button, set a password or a passkey this week — while you still remember which email the account uses.
Sources: Engadget, “Nintendo is ending Google and Apple sign-ins early next year” (2026-11-12); Nintendo support notice, “Discontinuation of Google and Apple accounts linking to Nintendo Accounts”; NotebookCheck, “Nintendo will soon end Google and Apple sign-ins” (2026-11-11).
