PlayStation players come from a diverse range of backgrounds, with gamers of all ages, abilities, and interests playing together, so we’ve created easy-to-use tools to help you take control of who you interact with, how we use your personal information, and how it is displayed and shared.
You'll find information on some of our settings below, or you can visit our Help & Support hub for more detailed instructions on how to set them up.
Our commitment to Online Safety, Account Security, and Privacy
However you choose to play, PlayStation will always strive to make gaming welcoming, secure, and inclusive for everyone.
Your profile
Flexible privacy settings to control how you appear online.
Chat & Messaging
Receive messages only from the people you want to hear from.
Sharing content
Share your content with the world or only the people you know.
Reporting & moderating
Reporting inappropriate conduct in online games and action we can take.
Pre-set privacy controls on PS5
If you’re playing on PS5, there are four pre-set privacy options that you can access and switch between quickly, depending on the level of privacy you want.
They range from ‘Social and Open’ for players who are happy to share their profile information and communicate with anyone, to ‘Solo and Focused’ where other players – including friends – will not be able to see your profile or send you messages.
You can also choose to adjust many of these settings individually to customize your controls.
Parental controls
If you’re the parent or guardian of young players and you manage their accounts, there’s a whole suite of tools that you can use to shape what they can see, play, or interact with based on what you determine is appropriate to their age.
You can set play time limits, disable chat and messaging, restrict age-rated games and media, set spending limits, and more, all from your console, PC, or smartphone, as well as PlayStation App.
Account and console security
Keep your console and account information locked behind flexible layers of security.
Account and console security
Control who can sign in on your PS4 or PS5
PlayStation Store security
Take charge of your spending on our digital game store
QR code sign-in
If you use PlayStation App on your smartphone, signing in to your PS5 console for the first time is as quick and easy as scanning an on-screen QR code with your phone. The process becomes even simpler with future sign-ins: instead of scanning the QR code, you will automatically receive a push notification to your PS App whenever you need to sign in.
‘Quick Play’ guest accounts
Friends and family members can play on your PS4 or PS5 console without having to sign-in to an account for PSN. This means they won’t have any access to your profile, payment information, saved games or anything else that’s linked to you. Likewise, when you play as a guest on a friend’s console, your data won’t be stored on that device.
Two-step verification
Two-step verification adds an extra layer of security to your account for PSN, ensuring that only you can access your profile. When you sign in on any PlayStation console or your mobile device, tablet or computer, you can opt to receive a unique, one-time verification code to your registered phone number or a third-party verification app, so we’ll know it’s definitely you that’s signing in. You can also choose to receive the code to your third party authenticator app of choice, if you prefer.
Multi-layer password protection
Keep your console and your account for PSN safe with unique passcodes that only you know.
- Set a unique four-digit login passcode that prevents others from automatically signing in with your account on your console.
- Disable guest login and prevent others from creating new console users or adjusting parental controls on your console by setting a separate system-level passcode.
Additionally, we’ll ask you to re-enter your PSN account password if you need to access and make changes to select settings, including your Privacy settings.
Suspicious log-in alerts
If we detect any unusual attempts to access your account, we can block that sign-in and alert you via text message or email.
Keeping your account information up to date – including adding a phone number – lets you take advantage of the full range of security features. You can do so from your account management settings.
PSN wallet
Adult accounts for PSN have an online wallet that can be used to store funds for purchases on PlayStation Store or from in-game storefronts. Parents can grant access to their child’s account to spend from this wallet and set monthly spending limits for purchases.
Password at checkout
Secure your purchases with your console sign-in password so that only you can authorize payments made to PlayStation Store.
Privacy
What personal information we collect from you, how we use and share it, and how you can tailor your privacy preferences.
What personal information does PlayStation collect from me?
Personal information is the information that identifies you, such as your name, email address, and your PSN Online ID. It also includes the information that we link to you, such as the games you play, the products you have, or the actions you take while on our devices and network.
When you engage with us through, for example, the account creation process, using the console or PlayStation App, or playing a game, we collect personal information. During the account creation process, for instance, we collect identifiers such as your name and email address.
When you use our services or play games on console or on PlayStation App, we collect additional information that we link to you such as age, trophies earned, progress within a game, or which players you play against.
We may also receive information from third parties. For example, when you link your account with a third party service like Apple Music on PS5, we may have access to your Apple Music media library, ratings, or listening activity.
For more details on the personal information we collect, check the “Information that We Collect or Receive” section in our Privacy Policy.
How can I limit PlayStation’s collection of personal information about me?
While much of the personal information we collect is necessary to deliver you our services, you can choose whether we collect more information. For example, on the PS5, you can choose whether we only collect the data that is necessary to deliver you our services (“Limited Data”) or whether we can collect more data for purposes such as improving your experience (“Full Data").
Learn more about how to update your privacy settings here or see “Where can I adjust my privacy settings” below.
How does PlayStation use personal information?
We use your personal information to provide you with the games you play and to enable the features and functions of PlayStation Network, playstation.com, and our mobile apps.
In addition, we may use your information to understand, improve, and enhance our existing services, and to develop new ones. These enhancements may include improving user interfaces, game performance, or game design.
We may also use your personal information to protect you, other users, our rights and properties, or those of our partners. For example, we may use your information to enforce our terms of service or other applicable terms, to identify fraudulent activities and to prevent abuse, or for auditing, compliance, and legal purposes.
For more details about how we use your personal information, check the “Information Use” section of our Privacy Policy.
How can I control PlayStation’s use of the personal information it has about me?
You have several options to control how we use your personal information.
For example, you can choose whether we can use your information to recommend you products and services that are tailored to your interests. If this is turned off, you may still see offers and recommendations, but they may be less relevant to your interests.
You can also decide whether we can use your information to show you personalized ads in our products and services, and on third-party apps and sites.
You can also decide whether your information can be used to send you video and music recommendations from our partner media services and apps. If you do not want to receive these recommendations, you can disable this setting, and you may still see recommendations from those partners and services, but they will be less relevant to your interests.
You have the option to disable these settings at any time.
Learn more about how to update your privacy settings here or below.
How does PlayStation share my personal information?
We may share your personal information with third parties, such as service providers:
- to provide you with the services, games, or apps you requested; to process your payments; or to protect the security of your personal information or against fraud,
or partners such as:
- game publishers to deliver you their games and when we jointly deliver advertising, sweepstakes, promotions, or contests;
- security and fraud mitigation partners;
- Sony Group, to support various business and security processes; or
- business transfer partners in the context of mergers and acquisitions.
We will share your online ID with other users when you play a game with them.
In addition, we may share your information with police and other government authorities to protect any person, their property, or their rights.
For more details about how we use your personal information, check the “Information Sharing and Transfers” section of our Privacy Policy.
What rights do I have regarding my personal information?
We give all users the ability to access and delete the personal information we have about them. Depending on your country, you may have additional rights.
Learn more about your rights, including how to exercise them, in our Privacy Policy.
How can I control what personal information is shared about me?
You have several ways to control the sharing of your personal information, depending on the services you use.
For example, you can decide who can see the games you play or the trophies you earn. If you decide to share these activities, you still have the ability to hide specific games you play from other users. This would hide that specific game from users, as well as the trophies you have earned within that game.
On the PS4, you can also choose who can see the videos you watch, or who can see the last song you played on Spotify.
In addition, you can decide who can request to watch your game play via Share Play.
Learn more about how to update your privacy settings here or below.
Where can I adjust my privacy settings?
There are several places that you can sign in using your account for PSN and adjust your privacy settings:
- On PlayStation.com. Once you’ve signed in, go to Account Settings and choose Privacy Settings.
- Via your PS4 or PS5 console’s Settings menu.
- On the official PlayStation App. Tap your avatar then head to the ‘Privacy’ icon.
Friend Requests
You can decide how you appear in member search results and who can send you friend requests.
Close Friends
You can choose to reveal your real name to any of your friends and become ‘Close Friends’. Otherwise, you can continue to appear online as your chosen online ID. For our young gamers, child accounts are prohibited from sharing their real name or picture.
Online Status and Activities
Choose to show your online status to friends, or to appear offline or busy, when you sign in and play. You can also decide whether other people can see the games you play, music you listen to, and entertainment services you use.
Parties
You can create a party when you play online. A party is an online space for you to plan your next gaming session, invite friends to play or to chat with while you play games.
These can be private and restricted only to you and your friends, and if you started the party, you’ll have the power to mute or remove anyone from the session if they’re not welcome.
Messaging
PSN privacy settings let you decide who can send you direct or group messages, so you can stay in touch with friends without unwanted interruptions.
URL Filters
If a message contains a link to a website, we may scan the URL and remove it from the message if it leads to a site known to contain offensive or inappropriate material.
Spam Filters
We may screen PSN messages for spam to protect you while you play. If you ever receive a message that you think is spam, please report it to us so we can protect others.
Video clips and screenshots
If you share screenshots and videos to social media, who sees your content is controlled by your social media account settings for those services. On PS4, shared content can also be displayed in the What’s New feed for your PSN friends and followers to see – or you can adjust this setting so only you see clips and screenshots, if you prefer.
Gameplay broadcasts
When you live stream or post videos to YouTube or Twitch, who sees those broadcasts depends on the settings you have for those services. If you broadcast from the PS4 and the broadcast is set to public on YouTube or Twitch, it will appear in your Activities. You can still choose who can see your Activities by going to your privacy settings, clicking on Game / Media, and adjusting your Activities settings.
Voice sharing
If you’re playing online and using your microphone to chat with other players, you can restrict whether your voice can be included if another player is streaming their gameplay or recording a video clip.
Blocking other players
You shouldn’t have to play with anyone who acts inappropriately or makes you feel uncomfortable. You can mute players in-game, or block them to stop them from viewing your profile, contacting you or adding you to parties, and to limit contact with them next time you play.
Reporting toxic behaviour
Any behaviour that you believe violates the PlayStation Code of Conduct can be reported to our moderators. We take action on anything that violates our Terms of Service in a player’s profile, messages, broadcasts and other PSN features. You can also report any offensive voice chat on your PS5 console.
To report in-game behaviour– like cheating, offensive chat, or any other actions that spoil the game for others – you should use that game’s reporting tools. Each game’s reporting function is different but can usually be found by selecting the offending player’s ID from the online menus.
Reporting on PS5 | Reporting on PS4
What we do
Reports go to our team of moderators who review each case and decide if it breaches the code of conduct. If it has, the content will be removed and action will be taken, which could include suspending the player’s account from PSN.
