Safer play for gamers of all ages
It’s easy for parents or guardians to ensure gaming is safer, more secure and fun for every family member, using the flexible parental controls on PS4, or via the web on your PC and smartphone.
Whether you have a brand-new PS4 or want to activate Parental Controls via the Family Management settings for an existing console, follow our step-by-step guide and get started in minutes.
What you can do with Parental Controls on PS4:
Set age restrictions for games, Blu-ray Discs and DVDs
Every child family member’s account can be set up to only allow age-appropriate content.
Manage how long child family members can play each day
Schedule daily Play Time sessions, set the duration that children can play or award extra time for gaming from your smartphone or web browser.
Disable chat, messaging and content sharing
Choose whether to allow your child to communicate with other players via PlayStation Network, share content or view content created by other players.
Restrict child access to the PS4 web browser
Be confident that children can’t view unsuitable websites and social media by disabling internet access for their account.
Set monthly spending limits for digital downloads
Control how much children can spend on PlayStation Store each month and protect your payment details with a password.
Set up multiple layers of passcode protection
Create a system restriction passcode to disable guest login and prevent changes to the parental control settings or account creation, and set up a log-in passcode so only you can access your account.
How Family Management and Parental Controls work
With an account for PSN, you can use our Family Management tools to assign roles to yourself, other adult family members and child family members under the age of 18, and make use of Parental Controls so everyone can enjoy using their PS4 with age appropriate games and content.
Family Manager
As the Family Manager, you have control over each child family member’s account. You can tailor their permissions individually, keep track of their PS4 usage and oversee play time, and set spending limits.
Guardian
Family Managers can also appoint Guardians – other trusted adult accounts who can control permissions for child family members’ accounts.
Family member
Child family members can have their permissions individually set depending on age, so they can access appropriate content and follow pre-arranged spending limits on PlayStation Store.
You can have up to seven accounts in your family, including yourself, and each family member’s settings and data are kept separate, so everyone has their own game progress and Trophy collection.
Stay in control from your phone, PC or PS4
All your Family Management tools and parental controls can be accessed via your PS4 console’s settings menu, from the web on PC or smartphone or via the PlayStation App.
Simply sign-in with your account for PSN, go to the Family Management dashboard and you can review what children in your family have permission to access and adjust your settings on-the-go.
Great PS4 games for kids and parents alike
In search of family-friendly fun or something just for the adults? Check out our extensive buyer's guides to some of the best games for younger players and those raising them, too.
Great PlayStation games to relax and de-stress
Escape to new worlds with a rundown of some of PlayStation’s mind and body friendly games.
Get more help and support
You can find answers to all sorts of questions related to many PlayStation products and services – including additional safety resources – via our online help and support hub.
