Kids today are tech-savvy at a very young age, but you might not want your kids sitting in front of a PS5 without a few protective measures. Sony has built parental controls right into its console software, and these can be used in combination with the user profiles feature to set limits on what your children can do.

Contents

Family management on the web Add child accounts on PS5 How the child account works

These limits cover everything from the number of hours your child can spend playing to how much they can spend on in-game purchases, and it all relates to the accounts you have set up on your console. Most of these parental controls can be managed both on the web and on the PS5, although new child accounts must be created on the web.

Family management on the web

First of all, you need to tell Sony who is in your family before it can start restricting what they can do on the home PS5. Assuming you already have a PlayStation Network (PSN) account:

go to your Accounts administration page in a web browser.
Click Family management > Set up now > Add a child.
You’ll need to provide a date of birth for the child, an email address, and a password so they can sign in to the PS5.

You’ll then be shown a series of parental control settings that will be applied to the account, covering which games, VR features, and websites can be accessed on the PS5.

You have the option of parental controls for child accounts.

Click Age level for PS5 games to set a new age level; By default, this will be calculated based on the date of birth you provided.
Click Using PS VR2 and PS VR if you have a virtual reality headset. Choose Restrictand your child will not be able to use these devices without your permission.
Click searching the web and then Restrict to prevent games and chats from opening web links without your permission while your child is connected to the PS5.
Select Confirm.

Now, you get another set of settings to work with.

Choose Communication and User Generated Content and Restrict to block features such as voice chat, sending and receiving messages, and sharing screenshots.
Choose monthly spending limit to put restrictions on how much your child can spend through the PS5: amounts range from zero to unlimited, with various amounts in between.

You can set how much playing time there should be, when it can start and when it should end.

Click Confirm, then set your time zone. After this, you will immediately be prompted to set screen time restrictions based on how much time your child can be on the console per day and between what times. Select Confirm again and Accept and add to familyAnd you are ready.

For whatever configuration you have chosen Restrict instead of do not restrict, if your child attempts to use the feature in question, a permission request will be sent to them via email or the PlayStation mobile app, if installed. She can then make a single exception if she wishes.

you can go back to Accounts administration On the web at any time to change this setting or to see your child’s activity on the PS5 (how many hours a day they’ve been playing, for example). You can also access the same parental controls on the console.

Add child accounts on PS5

Now that Sony knows who is in your family, you can add them to user accounts on your PS5. His son will be able to log into his own account, with his own games, high scores and preferences, and with his parental control settings applied.

Sign out of your account by selecting your avatar (top right on the home screen) and then choosing Sign off. then choose add user To allow your child to log in, they’ll be able to set their own username and profile picture along the way.

How the child account works

A child account does not have the same privileges as an adult account. If your child opens Settings (via the gear icon, top right), then Family and parental controlsThey won’t be able to edit those controls, but they will be able to see how much game time they have left for today.

If you want to make changes or tweak the controls, just go back to your own account on the PS5 and open the console settings via the gear icon in the top right corner of the home screen. From there, you can access all the parental controls we’ve covered above in the web interface.

Choose Family and parental control > Family management and then choose the child account to make changes.

Your PS5 will tell you how long your child has been playing today.

Select Change game time for today to give your child more time on the PS5 or to see how much time they’ve already spent playing.
Select games allowed to view your child’s pending requests for games that have been blocked or communication options (such as voice chat) that are not allowed.
Select parental controls to tweak all the settings you’ve already set up on the web, from monthly spending limit to age range restrictions on games.

You can edit all the parental controls on the PS5, including the allowed games.

It’s a good idea to protect your PSN account on the PS5 with a PIN code; otherwise, your child could simply log in as you on the console and disable parental controls. To do this from the PS5 settings screen select Users & Accounts > Sign-in Settings > Require a PS5 Sign-in Code.

It doesn’t really matter if you manage parental controls on the web or on the PS5. It’s exactly the same selection of options, so use the one that works best for you, although you’ll get more information about your child’s activity if you log in to the web. For example, if your child can change privacy settings, you can see what the settings are and when they have changed.