Parental controls on PlayStation Portable

What do parental controls on the PlayStation Portable system do?

If children will be using the PlayStation Portable system, parents or guardians can restrict access and play of content which may not be suitable. You can adjust these restrictions by selecting the correct option from the settings menu.

What types of content can be restricted?

On the PlayStation Portable the following features can be restricted.

• Restrict UMD and digital game playback
• Restrict use of the Internet Browser

How do I set up parental controls and how do the levels relate to the age of my child?

You first need to know the appropriate parental control level that corresponds to the age of your child.

Player's Age	Under 3	3-6	7-11	12-15	16-17	18 and over
PSP parental control setting	1	2	3	5	7	9
Highest appropriate game age rating

So if your child is 12 years old, select level 5 following the steps explained below.  This means that your child will only be able to play games age rated 12 or below.

The parental control levels apply similarly to films as well.

Player's Age	Under 3	3-6	7-11	12-15	16-17	18 and over
PSP parental control setting	1	2	3	5	7	9
Highest appropriate film age rating

Find out more about age ratings and parental controls.

If you are unsure what level to choose to prevent or allow a child to play a particular product, you can select the application or content from the XMB menu, press the Triangle button and then select [Information].  The restriction level will then be displayed.  

How do I restrict the use of UMD and digital game playback?

1. Go to [Settings] > [Security Settings] > [Parental Control Level].
2. Enter your password
3. Set the parental control level (the lower the level the tighter the restriction).
4. Once these levels are set, users who have been restricted will see a padlock icon in place of the normal artwork for the game or application. The default level is 9 which equates to an 18 age rating. Change it to suit the age of the youngest child in your home.

How do I restrict the use of the Internet Browser?

1. Go to Settings and scroll down to [Security Settings] and press the X button.
2. Choose [Internet Browser Start Control] and press the X button.
3. Enter your 4 digit password.
4. Choose ‘On’ if you prefer to have the Internet Browser Start Control enabled.  Choose ‘Off’ if you prefer to have this feature disabled.
5. Press the circle button twice to back out of the Internet Browser Start Control menu.

How do I change or recover a forgotten password?

If you wish to change your password go to [Settings] > [Security Settings] > [Change Password].

If you have forgotten the password for the parental controls settings menu you must reset it in order to change or remove the settings.

1. To reset the password for parental controls for the PlayStation Portable Go to [Settings] > [System Settings] > [Restore Default Settings].
2. The PlayStation Portable system will then restart and your parental control password will be reset to the default passcode of ‘0000’.

If your child will be going online with the PlayStation Portable system, such as to play online against others, you can also restrict the features they can access and interactions they have by creating a sub account and setting the appropriate parental controls.

Find out more about sub accounts and master accounts

Find out more about setting up a sub account

Find out more about sub account parental controls