PlayStation® 4

Follow the steps below to help ensure your children can only access content that is appropriate for them.

Setting PlayStation 4 Parental Controls Instructions:

Finding the “Parental Controls” Options

From the Home screen, scroll up to get to the Function screen. Scroll right to “Settings” and select it by pressing the X button. Then select “Parental Controls/Family Management” to view two different types of parental controls. Here is an overview of each type of parental controls to help you choose what’s best for your family.

1. “PS4 System Restrictions” is where you can set default parental controls that are applied to all new users on your PS4 system who have not joined PlayStation^TM Network.
2. “Family Management” is where you can set parental controls individually for each of your children. As family manager you’ll have control over each child’s online experience. You decide if your child can join PlayStation Network and play online games. You choose whether to share your PSN wallet with each child and you set their spending limit. You can restrict each child’s access to games based on their rating.  You can also invite other adults to share parental controls over the children in the family.

Choosing “PS4 System Restrictions”

PS4 System Restrictions apply to all users on your PS4 system.

1. Select “PS4 System Restrictions” by pressing the X button and entering the system restriction passcode. This is a 4-digit code passcode that enforces system restrictions. The default passcode is 0000 (four zeros). It is recommended that you change the passcode. This can be done from the “PS4 System Restrictions” menu. Select “Change System Restriction Passcode” using the X button, then enter the current passcode, and you will then be prompted to enter a new passcode. Make sure it is something easy to remember, as you will be prompted to enter this new passcode every time you want to adjust the Parental Controls setting. Don’t use a code that would be easy for your children to guess, such as 1234.
2. “Default Parental Controls” determine what system features can be accessed by:
   • Newly created users on this system who haven’t joined PlayStation^TM Network.
   • Guests who don’t sign-in to PlayStation Network.

It’s best to choose Default Parental Controls before creating user profiles for your children. This is because default controls are not applied to users already on the system and who haven’t joined PSN. Select these users in “Settings”, “Parental Controls/Family Management”, then “Applicable Users” to adjust their parental controls.

Default Parental Controls can be bypassed by entering the system restriction passcode. Select “Default Parental Controls” in the “PS4 System Restrictions” menu to access the following controls:

1. Select “Age Level for Games” and then choose a restriction level. A number system indicates the relative level of restriction: the lower the number, the tighter the restrictions. ESRB ratings icons are displayed for each restriction levels to show what’s permitted by each setting. Choose a restriction level and then press X to confirm. The following numbers correspond to ESRB’s age ratings:
   • 3 – E (Everyone)
   • 4 – E10+ (Everyone 10+)
   • 5 – T (Teen)
   • 9 – M (Mature)
   • 10 – AO (Adults Only)
2. To control what videos are viewable, adjust “Age Level for Blu-ray Disc/DVDs”.
3. To require the system restriction password before using PlayStation VR, set “Use of PlayStation VR” to “Not Allowed”.
4. Select “Use of Internet Browser” and then choose “Allowed” or “Not Allowed.” Selecting “Not Allowed” will block access to the browsing the Internet on the PS4 system.

Choosing “Family Management”

Family Management offers parental controls that can be set differently for each child. One adult with an account on PlayStation Network can invite others to join their family. They become the family manager who can invite up to 6 additional family members, set parental controls for child family members, and choose which adult family members get to share those parental controls. Each child family member can have individualized parental control settings. Additionally:

1. The family manager can remove adult accounts from the family.
2. Adult family members who aren’t the family manager can choose to leave the family.
3. Child accounts added to the family cannot be removed by the family manager, but the account holder can upgrade to an adult account after they reach the age of 18 (based on the date of birth associated with their account on PSN).

To add a child account, select “Family Management” followed by “Add Family Member”. Next choose “Create User” and enter your child’s name and date of birth. When adding a family member who is less than 18 years old, you can customize the parental controls discussed above. If you allow the child to join PlayStation Network, then more settings become available to customize their online experience. These include allowing or blocking online chat and messaging, setting monthly spending limits, and more. When you’re done, your child will have a profile on this PS4 system. If you allow it, your child can create their PSN account by logging in with their profile, going to “Settings” and choosing “Account Management” followed by “Sign In”. The Family Manager will be required to sign in and verify their child’s account before that child can join the PlayStation Network.

Once you’ve set up your child’s profile, follow these steps to schedule when they are allowed to use the PS4 system:

1. On your PS4 system, go to “Settings” and select “Parental Controls/Family Management.”
2. Select “Family Management”.
3. Select the user for whom you want to schedule play time, then select “Play Time Settings”.
4. Choose a time zone for your child.
5. Choose “Play Time Restrictions” and set it to “Restrict”.
6. Choose “When Play Time Ends” and choose “Notify Only” if you want your child to see an on-screen message when their play time is over. Choose “Log Out of PS4” for stricter play time controls.
7. In “Duration and Playable Hours” you can choose when your child is allowed to use the PS4 and for how long. Add a check mark to “By Days of the Week” to schedule different play times for each day of the week.
8. Save your changes to play time settings.

Setting Spending Limits

You can follow these steps to set spending limits after setting up your child’s account:

1. On your PS4 system, go to “Settings” and select “Parental Controls/Family Management.”
2. Select “Family Management”.
3. Select the user for whom you want to set a spending limit, then select “Applications/Devices/Network Features”.
4. Scroll down to “Monthly Spending Limit” and press the X button.
5. Choose a monthly spending limit for this user and press the X button. When you’re done, your changes will be saved automatically.

NOTE: Funds will be taken from the family manager’s wallet, so make sure you set limits and don’t pre-load funds into the wallet. The family manager account holder will always receive an email whenever they fund a purchase on the PlayStation Store.

Managing Your Child’s Online Experience

You can follow these simple steps to control the online experience of children who have joined PlayStation Network.

1. On your PS4 system, go to “Settings” and select “Parental Controls/Family Management.”
2. Select “Family Management”.
3. Select the user whose online experience you want to manage and then select “Applications/Devices/Network Features”.
   • “Communicating with Other Players” lets you decide if your child can chat with others in parties or send messages on PlayStation Network.
   • “Viewing Content Created by Other Players” lets you restrict viewing of player-created content and sharing of content by your child over PlayStation Network. Some examples of player-created content are videos, images, broadcasts, and text shared by other players over PlayStation Network.
   • “Age Filtering for Online Content” lets you filter your child’s view of the PlayStation Store to show only age appropriate games. This setting also restricts access to online features of games.