How to Set up New Parental Controls on PlayStation 4

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PlayStation 4 just released a firmware update (5.50) that brought a ton of great features like comprehensive parental controls . Here’s how you can set age limits for certain types of games and movies, set spending limits on PlayStation Store, and adjust your game time each day with the new family management feature.

You will need your own PlayStation User ID to be a Family Manager or System Administrator. You can find out how to do this here if you don’t already have one. Then you turn on your PS4 and go to:

  1. Settings> Parental Control / Family Management> Family Management.
  2. You will be prompted to enter a password (this is “0000” if you have not changed it before).
  3. You will then need to sign in to your PSN account if your PlayStation ID is linked to it.
  4. After that, select Set Up Now, confirm your PSN email address (if you have a PSN account), then select the user you want to add to your family. For example, if your child’s username is “SuperBrent”, you must select that. Or, if they don’t already have a user ID, you can create one here.
  5. Enter their name and date of birth, then click Submit.

Once you have done this, you will be able to:

  • Set the age level for games : choose from level 1 (under 3 years old) to level 11 (17 years old and up). Level 10 and above can play all ESRB rated games , including adult and adult only games . Level 9 can only play adult rated games. Level 8 can only play teen rated games; etc. You can also select Allowed to play all types of games.
  • Set the age level for Blu-ray and DVD : For Blu-ray, the lower you set the age, the tighter the control and the more restrictions. For DVD, the lower the level, the tighter the control and the more restrictions. You may need to play with them to determine the appropriate age and level for your children.
  • Decide if they can use PlayStation VR or not : choose “Allowed” or “Denied”.
  • Decide if they can use an Internet browser : select “Allowed” or “Denied”.

You will then be asked if the user can join the PlayStation Network and play online games (you will be prompted for more control options if you allow this). Talk to your child about the games they are playing. Some games require PlayStation Network access for all features to be available.

If you allow your child’s ID to access PlayStation Network, you need to decide if they can:

  • Chat with other players : This includes voice chat and text messages with other players and friends on the PlayStation Network. Choose between Allowed or Not Allowed.
  • Viewing Content Created by Other Players : This includes videos, images, and text created and published by other players on the PlayStation Network. It usually consists of video streams, game clips, screenshots, and other gameplay-focused content. Choose between Allowed or Not Allowed.

And then set limits on content and costs, for example:

  • Age filtering for online content : Prevent users from accessing features of online games that contain content beyond your age limit (this is enabled by default). Also changes what they can see in the PlayStation Store.
  • Monthly Spend Limit : Set a user’s spending cap on the PlayStation Store. This includes purchasing games, game add-ons or DLCs, and loot crates.

You will then be asked to set the time zone for your family. Choose the option that best suits your family, if necessary, leave the Automatically change to daylight saving time box and select Confirm. Once this is established, you can set game time limits for your family member. Here’s how:

  1. Decide if you want to limit the time : select “Do not limit” or “Limit”.
  2. Choose what happens when the time runs out : You can either set up your PS4 to notify the user that their game time is up (sends them an on-screen message every five minutes), or the PS4 will log out when the time runs out. up (they will be warned so they can save their games or say goodbye to their friends).
  3. That being said, you need to decide how long they can play . With these settings, you can create any game graphics you like. For example, you can set them to receive one hour of game time each day until 9:00 pm. Or you can set different rules for different days of the week. You can set weekdays to one hour of game time per day, and then give them two or three hours for the weekend. Find a play schedule that works for you and your child.

You will then be asked to agree to a few more things (ToS and whatnot), you will have to log into the PlayStation Network again (if you have a PSN account) and that’s it! You will see a Family Management dashboard screen with your PSN ID at the top labeled “Family Manager”. Below you will see your recently added family member as well as how long they played today (which you can check later if you’re worried about them exceeding the agreed limits).

If you want to make changes to your family members, just select their profile on this screen and customize whatever you like. If you would like to add another family member and repeat the process, simply select Add Family Member at the bottom of the list and start the process over. Now you can rest easy knowing that your child is not playing what he should not, although he should not.

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