The Complete Guide to Setting Up Parental Controls on a PlayStation 5
Not sure how to set up a child account on a PlayStation 5? How do you navigate the parental controls? We've got you covered.
Hey, folks. With Split Fiction, I’ve started using a PlayStation 5 with my oldest kid, and it seemed like the right time to kick off something I’ve wanted to do with Crossplay for a long time: guides to setting up child accounts and using parental controls. I’ve kicked the can down the road but it’s time to make this happen. What follows is a work-in-progress, but I’m hoping for feedback on the format and whether it’s useful.
The goal is to produce these for all platforms—and eventually, “platforms” would include places like Roblox and Fortnite with their own controls—and make the collection a paying subscriber benefit. There would be written guides, video guides, and a PDF. The video version is coming, but I wanted to get this version into the world.
Stay tuned for the video version next week! This is a good start, I hope. Lastly…
Does anyone know how to export a Google Doc as a single page PDF? Let me know!
When you hand your child a controller, you want them to have a good time. You also want them to be safe while having fun. Understanding how the parental controls work on whatever device your child is using, whether it’s a PlayStation 5 or an iPad or another one of the many devices that play games, is critical to achieving those goals.
Unfortunately for parents, setting up parental controls on one device does not mean they’re ready to go on every device. You need to go through this process all over again with every device, and there are little but important differences in each one. But that’s where Crossplay is here to help, because we’re in the process of making guides, both in video and written formats, that help make understanding this process painless.
These guides are a work in progress. Your feedback is welcomed and appreciated.
Now, here’s how to set up a a child account and parental controls on a PlayStation 5.
If you’re logged into your account, start by logging out. You want to be at the screen below.
Press the PlayStation logo button at the center of your controller. Now, there are two options:
Play as a One-Time Guest: This is useful if you want to play co-op with a child, but do not want to set them up with their own PlayStation profile. However, it will not keep track of their saved games, trophies, or other individual accomplishments.
Add a User to this PS5: Follow this step to add an existing account or make a new one.
This legal information is important to a lawyer…but not to you. Click agree and then “confirm.”
You now have a few different options.
Sign in Manually: This is where you’d enter an existing username and password.
Create an Account: Where you go to create a new parent and/or child account.
Skip and Play Offline: Create a local account with no parental control options.
QR Code: Use the official PlayStation app (App Store, Google Play) to sign in.
Choose your preferred language and region. We’ll use English/United States for this guide.
Enter the birthday of the child. Being under 18 years old triggers setting up a child account.
Important Note: You need a parent account to make a child account. If you are setting up a PlayStation 5 for the first time, make your account and then make a child account.
You can skip this page. Clicking on “learn about privacy” leads to a few pages that will tell you a little bit about PlayStation as a company and its approach to data privacy. It’s not that important.
If you’re setting this up for your child, this doesn’t matter. If you’re a kid…wel, it’s time to hand over the controller. When I was setting up my child's account, she did hand over the controller!
If you already have an account that’s logged in, it will appear. Select the parent’s account.
Your email will appear in the blurred portion of the screen above. There are two options:
Sign In Manually: Use your login and password to sign into your account.
QR Code: Scan the QR code to launch a web browser or use the PlayStation app.
The parent/child relationship has been linked between accounts. You can click “next.”
Confirm your kid’s date of birth. This is a backup mechanism to ensure your child isn’t, for example, stating they are older than they actually are to try and access inappropriate material.
This is a strange one. It’s unclear why Sony requires charging $0.50. This does not happen on other platforms. However, the $0.50 charge is money you can spend in the PlayStation Store.
If you have a credit card associated with your account, it appears here. Click “verify” to continue.
Click “OK” to continue.
Your child will need their own email address for this because you can’t have two PlayStation Network accounts tied to the same email address. This is where account confirmation emails, password reset notifications, and other important information will be delivered. As noted in the screen shot, this email address will not be visible to anyone your child plays with.
Crossplay recommends using a password manager like 1Password to track passwords.
Once the information is entered, click “next.”
You’re clear to enter their real name here. Only family members (i.e. a designated parent who is managing the account and the associated parental controls) will actually see this information.
After you enter their name, click “next.
It’s time to choose an “avatar” to represent their PlayStation account on the machine. This can be changed later, in case Sony adds new avatars or the child changes their mind in the future.
This confirms the avatar selection. Click “next.”
Do not choose an “online ID” that uses your child’s real name or other identifying information. Sony has suggestions below, or you can come up with your own. If your child has a nickname they’re attached to that’s already taken by another user, just add random numbers.
Clicking “refresh” will introduce new options picked by Sony. Clicking “next” will continue.
PlayStation offers a different “privacy profile” based on the preference of you and your child.
Social and Open: “I like to maximize my chances to connect, be seen, and socialize.”
Team Player: “Effortless multiplayer, but I limit who knows my real identity.”
Friend Focused: “Anything for my crew, more restrictions for strangers.”
Solo and Focused: “I keep a low profile, and choose who I interact with.”
You are not locked into any of these profiles and change every setting whenever you like.
Choosing a profile will reveal more detailed information about what that profile actually means. In clicking “Review and Customize,” you will get a chance to review how all these settings work.
The privacy settings are available to customize using straightforward language. In general, Crossplay recommends making these options more restrictive upon initial setup, and changing them later as you and your child become more accustomed to playing games on and offline.
“Friends Only” is a good policy for younger players. “Friends of Friends” is a good policy for older players, because it means their information can be seen by people who are friends they are already friends with. “Anyone” means exactly that—anyone can see the information in question. “No one” is the most restrictive and means that no one can see the information.
Once you’re happy with the settings—again, you can change them later—click “apply.”
Important to note, but you can click “next” and keep going.
What this means is that Sony isn’t tracking your child’s data and habits as closely. Click “next.”
PlayStation uses ESRB ratings to determine if a game is age appropriate. You can always change these settings later, either by using your PlayStation 5 or the official PlayStation app.
Child: Recommended setting for ages 7 to 17.
Early Teens: Recommended setting for ages 13 to 15.
Late Teens or Older: Recommended setting for age 16 and older.
There are a number of restrictions in this section that are worth noting and customizing:
PS5: Set the age level for PS5 games and apps.
PS4 and PS3: Set the age level for PS4 and PS3 games.
Blu-ray Disc: Set the age level for playing Blu-ray discs.
DVD: Set the age level for DVDs.
Use of PS VR2 and PS VR: Restrict/Don’t Restrict
Web Browsing: Restrict/Don’t Restrict
Communication and User-Generated Content: Restrict/Don’t Restrict
Age Filtering for Online Content: Restrict/Don’t Restrict
Monthly Spending Limit: Default is set to $0.00.
Once you’re happy with the settings, click “confirm.” You can change every setting later.
Manage how long your child can play each day, in addition to what days of the week they’re allowed to play (i.e. not on a school night). This is very important if the PlayStation 5 is likely to be one of the primary ways your child plays games and especially so if they’re unmonitored.
Click “set up now” to modify the settings or “do this later” to change the settings another time.
“Read each document carefully” is something no parent will do. You can agree and click “confirm,” knowing you are joining the rest of the universe in figuring everything will be fine.
This is important if the PlayStation 5 is likely to be one of the primary ways your child plays games and especially so if they’re unmonitored. This will help keep your parental controls working as intended. Either set up these additional options or click “do this later” to continue.
Scanning this QR code takes you to the “privacy settings” section for your child’s account. However, these settings can be changed on the PlayStation 5 or in the official PlayStation app.
A confirmation email is now sent to your child’s email address. Clicking the verification button in the email will make this screen disappear automatically, and you will not have to press anything.
You can set a passcode to prevent other people—like, for example, a sibling—from logging in as someone they are not. This is most useful if there are multiple accounts on the same device, or if there are worries that a child might try to login to a parent’s account to change their settings.
Almost done. It’s time to hand the controller back to your child (if you want) and click “OK.”
Ta-da. You’re done. The account has been created. Click “OK” and it’s time to play games!
And so…well, that’s the idea. I hope folks are into these guides, even if people reading Crossplay might already feel well-versed in how they work. My hope is they could be a good reference for other people in your life, or if you pick up a new device.
Have a story idea? Want to share a tip? Got a funny parenting story? Drop Patrick an email.
tldr; do not setup child controls on ps5, its a disaster. 1) you cant undo it, child has to grow to 18 to leave 2) lots does not work in a child account (vr headset) 3) time controls are dumb, you cant just give a 1 hour boost, you have to change it for that day or everyday (and remembeer to undo it). 4) using vbucks or similar is hard to know which account is paying 5) the android app is hard to use (add funds keeps disappearing, similar on the web version. 6) playing games like fortnite is not allowed, so then you have to follow a painful, nondocumented, counter intiutive process to add the game as an exception (and no, it does not work how ps5 says)
make sure ppl know this BEFORE they setup child controls - its really half baked
Man, I wish I had this about 2 months ago when my kids decided they wanted to try Fortnite and I needed to setup PSN accounts for them.
You should do a follow-up guide on creating an Epic Games account and connecting it to a PSN account. There may have been some user error along the way when I did it, but the whole process of PSN + Epic accounts was a nightmare for me.