If you have a whole family of PlayStation 5 fans in the house, learning how to set up PS5 parental controls can set your mind at ease, and we walk you through the process.
If you’re not the only PlayStation 5 user in the house, you may want to have more control over how the rest of the family uses the Sony console. Setting up parental controls on the PS5 can give you peace of mind, letting you customize a whole range of options. From spending limits on the PS Store to limits on the length of time your kids spend playing games on any given day.
There are a few facets to getting parental controls running on your PlayStation 5. While parental controls are difficult to set up, the process can be daunting if you’re unfamiliar with the inner workings of the console. With that in mind, we’ve gathered all you need to know about setting up parental controls on the PS5.
How to set up a child account on PS5
- Turn on PS5
- Select your account profile
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Navigate to ‘Family and Parental Controls’
- Scroll to ‘Family Management’
- Select ‘Add Family Member’
- Use a QR reader to log in
- Access PlayStation Account Management
- Create an account with the child’s email address
- Confirm account setup via verification email
To set up parental controls on the PS5, you need to have at least one child account on your console. Having a child account will let you set all the limitations you want, from your own PlayStation 5 account.
To set up a child account, first turn on your PlayStation 5 console and select the account you wish to be the parental account for the whole system. Once in that account, access the PS5 system settings by selecting the settings icon from the top right of the screen. If you’re having trouble finding it, the PS5 settings menu is represented by an icon of a small white cog that can be found next to your account profile picture.
From the PS5 system settings menu, navigate to ‘Family and Parental Controls’, and select ‘Family Management’ from the newly listed options. The PS5 will now ask you to use a QR reader or log in manually before you can set up your new child account.
Log in, and you’ll be presented with the family management screen. From here, select ‘Add Family Member’ and you will be prompted with another QR code. Reading the generated QR code with a QR reader will take you to the PlayStation Account Manager settings on your device’s web browser.
Within the account management options, you will be requested to sign up for the child’s account using your child’s email and setting them up with a password. After entering these details, you will get a verification email sent to the child’s email address, which you need to select to finish the setup process.
After verifying the child’s account from the email, you will now have a child account attached to your PlayStation 5 console. From now on, you will be able to access the parental controls to set restrictions for that new account.
How to set up parental controls on PS5
- Turn on PS5
- Select your account profile
- Go to ‘Settings’
- Navigate to ‘Family and Parental Controls’
- Scroll to ‘Family Management’
- Select ‘Parental Controls’
- Select the child account you want to restrict
Now that you have a child account on your PS5, you can set up the parental controls. To get started, turn on your PS5 and select your profile or the profile of who will be the main parental account for your console.
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Once at the home screen, access the system settings menu like before, by clicking on the small cog icon in the top right corner of the screen. Once in the PS5 ‘Settings’ menu, navigate to and select ‘Family and Parental Controls’, followed by ‘Family Management.’
From here, your PS5 will prompt you to log in, either with a QR code or manually. Log in with your personal PlayStation details associated with your account, and you will be brought to the ‘Family Management’ screen. This screen will list all the users attached to your account, including the new child account you just created.
Select the child account from the list of family members to access all the parental controls for the PS5. From here, you can customize your child’s PlayStation 5 experience, including restricting how long they can play their PS5 games and spending limits on the PS Store.
What PS5 parental controls can you change?
Within the parental controls, you can set play time limits, and spending limits, and change the age rating of games your child can access.
When it comes to playtime limits, you can change how many hours your child spends playing a game on any given day. Not only can you customize the amount of time spent gaming, but you can also set individual times for each day of the week.
Additionally, you can set the parental controls to warn your child when their playtime limit is finished, or to automatically log their account out when their time is up.
If you’re concerned about spending habits, you can also set spending limits. Setting spending limits from parental controls can help limit how much your child spends on the PS Store, and lets you avoid any potential mishaps. Through the ‘Monthly Spending Limit’ menu option, you can set limits between $10, all the way up to $300. Or even set it to zero so they can’t spend anything.
It’s worth noting that anything spent will come from the wallet of the parent’s account for the PS5.
