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Sony Will Record Voice Chat on PlayStation 5 and PS 4

By Laura Tucker
News Ps5 Record Chat Featured

There are many gamers who are waiting patiently for the PlayStation 5 to be released in a few weeks. There’s not that much time left. But now Sony has hit them with some possibly upsetting news. Users of the PlayStation 4 have been informed that Sony has the right to record their voice chat for moderation if they are chatting with someone on a PlayStation 5.

PS4 Discovery

Unknowing users who downloaded the latest 8.0 update to their PlayStation 4s received a message on their consoles that said Sony has the right to record their voice chat for moderation purposes.

Users did not respond kindly. One user tweeted, “Not only did Sony break every PS4 due to how bad the update was, they’re even recording us.”

“So apparently, in case y’all didn’t know this beforehand. But apparently, the newest Sony update to the PS4 and will continue onto 5 will be recording your voice while in party chat,” tweeted another user.

News Ps5 Record Chat Gamer

Initially, the release notes for the update didn’t mention the voice recordings. Later, Sony clarified what the message that was received on the console meant in a blog post update.

“Following this update, users are seeing a notification about Party Safety and that voice chats in parties may be recorded. Voice chat recording for moderation is a feature that will be available in PS5 when it launches and will enable users to record their voice chats on PS5 and submit them for moderation review,” wrote Sony.

“The pop-up you’re seeing on PS4 right now is to let you know when you participate in a chat with a PS5 user (post-launch), they may submit those recordings from their PS5 console to SIE.”

What This Means

Basically, this means that when you’re on a voice chat, even if you’re on a PlayStation 4, another user can record the chat and submit it to Sony for moderation. Anything you say could be sent. It could also be useful if you have a lot of concerns about other uses harassing you.

News Ps5 Record Chat Headphones

It doesn’t seem like Sony will be actively listening. So if you’re just sitting around playing a game with your friends and chatting, you’re good. But if you’re on a chat with someone you don’t know, they could turn on you.

In this privacy-centric time, it seems like it will be more despised than useful. People will hate the thought of losing their privacy more than they will enjoy the thought they could report someone else.

The software update also changes the way parties and message work. It adds avatars, parental communication controls, and two-factor authentication support for authenticator apps.

Read on to learn the details of the PlayStation 5 that were released early on that got everyone excited.

Image Credit: 100Myggan via Wikimedia Commons and public domain

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Laura Tucker Avatar
Laura Tucker
Laura has spent more than 20 years writing news, reviews, and op-eds, with the majority of those years as an editor as well. She has exclusively used Apple products for the past 35 years. In addition to writing and editing at MTE, she also runs the site’s sponsored review program.

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