Rosie Grace: How to Set Up New Parental Controls for PlayStation 4

PlayStation 4 just released a firmware update (5.50) that brings a full range of parental controls. You can set age limits for specific types of games and movies, set limits for the PlayStation Store, and limit the game time each day with new home management features.

You need to have your own PlayStation user ID so that you can become the system's "home administrator" or administrator. If you haven't already, you can learn how to do this here. Then you will open the PS4 and go to:

Settings> Parental Control/Family Management> Family Management.
The system will ask you to enter the password ("0000" if you have not changed the password before).
Then, if your PlayStation user ID is attached to your PSN account, you need to sign in.
After that, select "Set Now", verify your PSN email (if you have a PSN account), and select a user you want to add to your home. For example, if your child's username is "SuperBrent," you will choose that. Or, if they do not yet have a user ID, you can create one here.
Enter their name and birthday, then select OK.

Once you are done, you can:

Set the game's age level: Choose from Level 1 (under 3) to Level 11 (over 17). Level 10 and above can play all ESRB rating games, including adult and adult titles. Level 9 can only play mature rated games. Level 8 can only play teen rating games; etc. You can also choose "Allow", which makes all game types playable.
Set the age levels for Blu-ray and DVD: For Blu-ray, the younger you set, the stricter the controls, the more restrictions. For DVDs, the lower the level, the stricter the controls and the more restrictions. You may need to play with these to find the right age and level for your child.
Decide if they can use PlayStation VR: Choose between "Allow" or "Not Allowed".
Determine if they can use Internet browsers: Select "Allow" or "Not Allowed."

After that, you will be asked whether users can join PlayStation Network and play games online (if you allow, you will get more control options). Talk to your children about the games they play. Some games require access to the PlayStation Network to make all features available.

If you do allow your child's user ID to access the PlayStation Network, you need to determine if they can:

Communicate with other players: This includes voice chats and texts with other players and friends on the PlayStation Network. Select between "Allow" or "Not Allowed."
View content created by other players: This includes videos, pictures, and text created and shared by other players on the PlayStation network. Typically, it consists of video streams, game clips, screen shots, and other game play. Select between "Allow" or "Not Allowed."

Then set limits for content and spending, such as:

Age filtering for online content: Makes it an online game feature where users cannot access featured content that is older than the set age (enabled by default). It also changed what they can see in the PlayStation Store.
Monthly spending limit: Set a spending limit for users in the PlayStation Store. This includes the purchase of games, game accessories or DLC and trophy boxes.

Then you will be asked to set a time zone for your family. Choose the best choice for your family, if appropriate, select "Automatically adjust daylight saving time" and select "Confirm". Once set up, you can create a play time limit for family members. That's it:

Determine if you want to limit the time: Select "No limit" or "Limit."
What happens when you choose to run out of time: You can tell the PS4 to notify users that they have run out of time (send them an on-screen message every five minutes), or let the PS4 log them out of the system when the time is up ( They will be warned so that they can save their games or say goodbye to their friends.)
With this, you need to decide how much time they can play. With these settings, you can create any favorite play plan. For example, you can set it so that they get an hour of game time every day until 9pm. Or you can set different rules for different days of the week. You can set the weekday to one hour per day and then give them two or three hours on the weekend. Find a play schedule that's right for you and your kids.

Then you will be asked to agree to something (ToS and other things) and you must log in to the PlayStation Network again (if you have a PSN account), that's it! You will see a home management dashboard screen with your PSN ID at the top, listed as "Home Administrator." Below this, you will see your newly added family members and how much time they have played today (something you can check later if you are worried that they will exceed the agreed limit).

If you want to change your family members, just select their profile from this screen and adjust anything you like. If you want to add other family members and repeat this process, simply select "Add Family Members" at the bottom of the list and start the process again. Now, you can easily know what your child should not be playing when he should not.

Rosie Grace

Sunday 11 March 2018

How to Set Up New Parental Controls for PlayStation 4

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