Setting up parental controls on the PlayStation 4
Want to prevent your kids from accessing inappropriate content? It's relatively simple thanks to Sony's advanced parental controls.
Picking up a PlayStation 4? You won't be disappointed; Sony's latest console has a great lineup of launch titles. Games like Killzone Shadow Fall, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Battlefield 4, and many others, will ensure that you're entertained for hours.
Some of these games, however, may not be appropriate for young kids. To make things easier for parents, Sony has included numerous parental controls that can prevent kids from accessing certain content, features, and games.
From the PlayStation 4's main menu, hit the up arrow and scroll over to the system settings. Next, select Parental Controls and click on the "Restrict Use of PS4 Features" option. The parental options include the ability to restrict access to certain games, Blu-ray movies, DVDs, and the Web browser. The system can also be configured to prevent other accounts from logging in.
To restrict access to certain games, open the Application tab and set a level between 1 and 11. The lower you set the level, the tighter the restriction will be. For example, a level 1 rating prevented us from playing all games, even Knack, which is rated Everyone and contains some cartoon violence.
You should play around with the settings and find the one that's right for you and your family. A middle level should suit you well, depending on the age of your kids.
Blu-ray movies and DVDs can be restricted using the same level as games, and the Web browser can be disabled by clicking on the Internet Browser tab. Meanwhile, the User Accounts option will allow you to prevent others from creating new accounts and logging in to the system.
The passcode on the PlayStation 4 is set to 0-0-0-0 by default. I highly recommend you change it. The passcode can be changed by clicking on the "Change Passcode" option in the Parental Control settings, followed by entering your old code and creating a new one.
Parents can also create subaccounts that will have the restrictions they've created set by default. This can be done by going to Settings, clicking on Parental Controls, and selecting Sub Account Management.
