How to Put Parental Controls on PS4?
PlayStation 4 is Sony’s second-best-selling console. It is loved by children, teens, and adults alike. You might think that spending money on the predecessor of the PlayStation 4 is a poor investment. But this is false. Many game developers continue to support PS4 for new products. There are also nine years worth of entertainment on this platform. The PS4 console is affordable, comes with parental controls, and is more accessible than its predecessor.
However, great gaming power comes with great parental responsibilities. Although the PlayStation is mostly used for gaming, it also allows players to connect with other people online. These social features can be beneficial for parents who are concerned about their children’s safety and well-being. We will be discussing why parents should set parental controls for their children’s PS4 consoles.
You need to know that gaming consoles such as the PS4 are not like toys you can buy in toy shops. A PS4 is not only known for its entertainment capabilities, but it also allows players to socialize and access the internet fully. These are some reasons to activate parental controls on your child’s PS4:
Screen Time
Gaming can be addictive, even though it is fun. Your child will be able to set time limits on their account so they don’t spend too much time playing video games. Screen time without breaks can cause harm to your child’s health, and even affect their academic performance.
Interactions With Strangers
Developers have been adding voice and text chat features to multiplayer games to increase their popularity. The more social features you add, the more interaction between your child and strangers. Although communication tools can be helpful, they also introduce new problems like bullying, harassment, adult language, and other hateful behavior.
Adult Content
Many people view games as harmless entertainment. Although this is true in some cases, parents should not ignore the violent and explicit content of mature video games. Many games are not suitable for mature audiences due to the explicit or suggestive themes and violent scenes.
This may lead you to believe that you can solve the problem by picking out physical copies of the games in a shop. The gaming market is becoming increasingly digital. Imagine your child buying a game on the digital PlayStation Store and not telling you. You can’t access the content of their games if that happens.
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Web Browsing
Your child can access the entire internet with PS4’s fully functional web browser. Unsupervised children are at greatest risk online. Every responsible parent should make it a priority to filter inappropriate content and block websites from the internet.
Excessive or Unwanted Purchases
Your kids can shop for video games on PS4’s digital PlayStation Store. This creates two problems. They may spend too much on video games. The best solutions are to set a spending limit and block your child from purchasing online. You can also handpick the video games your child plays if you prohibit online purchases from their accounts.
Unsuitable Apps
Let’s say you have a Netflix Max or HBO Max subscription. You can download the associated apps to your PS4 and watch your favorite shows on the big-screen. These apps are not intended for children and should be restricted to only games for mature audiences. You must be able block apps from your child’s accounts to avoid this.
How to Use Parental Controls on PS4
Sony has a variety of parental controls that can be integrated into the PS4 for your child. These controls allow you to restrict access in four areas. These settings can be modified via PlayStation App, a browser or the console itself. A web browser is more convenient for parents. We will cover the steps to adjust parental controls using a browser. These features can be discussed but you will first need to create a family manager account.
How to create a Family Manager Account
- Open “Account Management”
- Click on “Create New Account.”
- Fill in your account details and preferences, and then click Next on each screen until the website sends you a verification request to email.
- Follow these instructions to verify your account.
Add a child to your Family Accounts
- Sign in to “Account Management”
- Click on “Family Management.”
- Select Set up Now > Add a child
- Enter the date of your child’s birth and click “Next.”
- To prove that you are an adult, the PlayStation website will ask for a small payment.
- Once you have completed the payment information, click “Next”, and then click “Next”. Once you have completed the information, close the tab and reopen it to complete the rest of the steps.
Limiting Purchases at the PlayStation Store
You have the option to either restrict or completely block your child from purchasing on Sony’s PlayStation Store. To do this, follow the steps below: Sign in to your account by opening the Account Management page select your child’s account by clicking on “Family Management”.Click on “Network Features” to edit the “Monthly Spending Limit” section. Enter the maximum amount of money your child can spend each month.
You can also set the amount to zero if you want to purchase all of their games yourself.
This will prevent their account from making purchases on the PlayStation Store. Save any changes made before closing the tab.
Blocking Adult Content on PS4 Games
Web browsers can restrict content. The best option is to use Parental controversies l applications like Safes. Subscribe to Trend Micro Kids Safety to filter out adult content from PS4’s internet browser. Trend Micro Kids Safety, a premium web filtering service, blocks websites that contain adult content from the PlayStation 4’s browser. This is how to sign up and activate the service.
- Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS4 by searching for “Trend micro.”
- Look for the subscription you are looking for in your search results. If interested, subscribe. Subscribe to the first.
- Go to Settings > Parental Controls/Family Manager > PS4 System Restrictions> Web Filter > Trend micro for 4 Settings The system will require a passcode.
- If you’ve never set a passcode before, enter “0000.”
- Select all filtering features you wish to enable
Some games on PlayStation may not be suitable for children. Companies like the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) dedicate their efforts in providing information about video games’ content. They then create an age rating for each game. These ratings can vary from one country to the next.
PlayStation’s Family Management settings allow you to block games based on your child’s “maturity levels,” which range from 1 to 11. (11 being the most mature). This is how you enable this feature in a browser.
- Sign in to “Account Management”
- Select your child’s account by clicking on “Family Management”.
- Click on the Edit box in the “Applications and Devices”, next to the “Age Level for PS4 and PS3 Games” section.
- You can set your child’s maturity level between 1 and 11. Click on “Save” to save the chart. )
- Go to “Family Management” to return to.
- Click the “Age Filtering Online Content” button and then click on the Edit box. Select “Restrict” to make your changes.
Turning off Chat on PS4
It is much easier than other settings to disable chat on PS4 by using the console. Follow these steps to deactivate communications from the PlayStation Network. Select Settings > Parental Controls/Family Management > Family Management. Pick your child’s account. Select Applications > Devices> Network Features
You can select the Network Features tab to indicate if your child should: Connect with other players via the PlayStation Network (PSN). View the content posted by other players and your adjustments.