The PlayStation® guide to sharing
Whether you’re a photo mode shutterbug, streaming superstar or social media sensation, the SHARE button has you covered.
If you’ve ever scored the last-minute winner, hit an incredible long-range headshot or obliterated your friends’ fastest lap time and there was no one there to see it… fear not. The world can watch you bask in glory thanks to the SHARE button on your DUALSHOCK® 4 controller.
If you’ve never shared any content from your PS4™ or want to go a little further than simply tweeting a screenshot, then read on.
OK, so what can I share on PS4?
If it happens in your game, you can share it, both quickly and easily while you’re still in the game, or later via the PS4 Capture Gallery.
Screenshots
Grab a quick screenshot of your latest triumph, Trophy win or anything else to show off to your friends and followers. You can share screenshots direct to Twitter, to the PS4 What’s New feed, a PS4 community group, or as a direct message to one or more of your friends.
Video clips
Sometimes, your greatest moments have to be seen to be believed. With the SHARE button you can begin recording whenever you like or capture those unexpected moments even after they’ve happened: your PS4 is always recording a 15 minute loop of your gameplay.
Broadcast your gameplay
You can share your gameplay live via Twitch, YouTube and the PS4 ‘Live from PlayStation’ feed and become the latest PS4 streaming sensation. You can interact with your viewers in the chat panel, and hook up a PlayStation camera to add a live feed of yourself playing and chatting in real time.
How do I share my content?
It all starts with the SHARE button on your PS4 controller: it’s the gateway to getting your content out there, no matter which platform you use.
While you’re still playing
Hitting the SHARE button while you’re mid-game makes it quick and easy to pause your game and share content without spending too long away from the action.
- Screenshots can be shared to your chosen platform along with a short message – and if you’re sharing to Twitter, #PS4share will be added to make your content discoverable to everyone.
- Video clips can be trimmed before they’re uploaded, to ensure they only show the action you want to share. Select ‘Trim’ to choose the start and end point, then add your comments and choose where to upload.
From the PS4 Capture Gallery
The Capture Gallery is the area of your PS4 where all of the screenshots and video clips that you collect are saved. From there, you can browse all your gameplay moments, select your favourites and choose where to share them by pressing the SHARE button.
To find your Capture Gallery, check the Library on your PS4 home screen – it’s in the Applications menu.
- To save a screenshot to the Capture Gallery, press and hold the SHARE button, or press the SHARE button then the Triangle button.
- To save a video clip, double-press the SHARE button, or press the SHARE button then the Square button.
You can easily change the button presses needed to save your content by going to your PS4 Settings menu, finding ‘Sharing and broadcasts’ and selecting ‘SHARE control button type’.
If it’s your first time sharing to a particular platform, you’ll need to sign in to grant your PS4 permission to post your content. If you’re not a member yet, you’ll need to visit your chosen platform and create an account.
How can I make my content stand out?
If you want to take your sharing further and really get creative with your in-game captures, there are some incredible tools available to make them stand out from the crowd.
SHAREfactory™
Budding movie editors or directors need look no further than SHAREfactory, a free suite of video editing tools that can turn your clips into personalised showreels of your finest PS4 moments or even 60-minute-long epic movies fit for an Oscar.
This is just a brief overview of what you can do with SHAREfactory. For a deep dive, check out the online Wiki – or just download the app and start experimenting!
Start a project
Each SHAREfactory project can contain up to 50 video clips and export 60 minutes of footage. You can add a theme to your project which contains a unique set of assets including stickers, fonts, intro and outro clips, transitions and artwork.
Edit your clips
You’ll have tools at your disposal to trim your clips and edit them together using transitions and wipes to smoothly blend them together, create slow motion or time lapse effects and add filters to any scene you choose.
Add commentary and music
You can narrate your gameplay clips and create video and audio commentary over your projects, or use the content import feature to add any music clips you like to your movie.
Create memes and gifs
What’s more shareable than a meme or a gif? In SHAREfactory you can use Photo Mode to add text to still screenshots or create a looping video gif from your most ridiculous, hilarious or epic captures.
Photo Mode
Many PS4 games come equipped with Photo Mode – a special setting, usually found in the pause menu, designed to let you create stylised shots within your games.
The controls and options available vary by game, but common functions include removing all HUD elements, panning and zooming the camera in three dimensions around your character, and even removing the character entirely from the frame.
Once you have the perfect shot, hit the SHARE button and start turning you Capture Gallery into a professional looking photography portfolio, ready to share with the world.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End
Nathan Drake’s globetrotting adventures are enough for a lifetime of great pictures, from the rugged Scottish coastlines providing dramatic and stormy scenes, to the vibrant jungles of South America.
No Man’s Sky
With an entire galaxy to explore, you’ll never run out of unique photo opportunities, from the bizarre flora and fauna to planets rising above alien landscapes in.
Horizon Zero Dawn
The lush backdrop of Aloy’s far-future Earth home is a perfect photoshoot location, with mountains, deserts, overgrown ruins and colossal machines as possible subjects for your snaps.
Where can I find more shared content?
Need some inspiration? Check out your fellow players’ shares in the following places:
Search for the #PS4share hashtag for a constant stream of freshly shared content – with on average more than 1 million shares each month, there’s a lot to choose from!
On your PS4
Check the ‘Live from PlayStation’ tab for a selection of popular uploads and live broadcasts. You can search by game or by user to get right to the content you want to see.
Enter the regular ‘Share of the Week’ contest and submit themed snaps, and you could be featured on our Instagram feed and PlayStation Blog.
How do I share games with Share Play?
It’s not just videos and images that you can share – you can let friends play games from your collection, even if they don’t own them themselves.
How to get started
Unlike other forms of sharing on PS4, Share Play starts in the Party area of your PS4 home screen. Invite a friend into a party, and the select the Share Play option and your visitor can watch you play, or have control passed over to them so they can play the game instead of you. If your game has multiplayer modes, you can play them via Share Play too, without both of you owning the game.
How can I share safely?
We want everyone to enjoy sharing their PS4 content online; here are a few guidelines to ensure you and younger players in your family stay safe:
Never share any personal information. If you’re live streaming using a PlayStation camera, make sure there’s nothing on-screen that could identify you or where you live.
Don’t share anyone else’s details without permission. That includes their voice or PSN name if you’ve been playing multiplayer games.
Set up Parental Controls for younger players. Parents and guardians can use a set of Family Management tools to activate Parental Controls that can restrict how young people are able to share and interact online.
