Warning: *Privacy Not Included with this product
Sony's PS5 is finally easier to get your hands on than it has been in recent years, so this may be your moment to play "without limits," as they say. Especially as old trusty (or big clunky, as original PS5 owners can relate) will soon earn vintage status since Sony’s releasing a lighter version -- which has already earned the nickname “Slim” -- just in time for the holidays. But whether you go with the classic console or its slimmed down successor, one thing’s for sure: its beefed up power and high-quality output makes games like God of War, Horizon Forbidden West, and the brand new Spiderman 2, fast and beautiful. If only your trusty PS5 were better at privacy. Ah well, here's to a web slingin' good time and hoping your Sony doesn't overshare your personal information.
Je, jambo gani linaweza kutokea mambo yakienda mrama?
Not gonna lie, this privacy researcher loves her PS5. I also recognize it collects and shares lots of information on me. Things like name, email, phone number, location, and lots and lots of device information and info on how much I game (not that much, really, I’m too busy reading privacy policies), when I game, how good I am at gaming (pretty terrible, actually). Sony knows what obstacles I jump in a game, what levels I reach, who I play against, how many times I die, and more. Am I worried Sony knows I’m terrible at racing games, while kinda obsessed with Kassandra from Assassins Creed Odyssey? No, not really. But maybe it’s hard for me to get worked up about the privacy of my gaming history knowing that cars can collect information about my heartbeat, fingerprints, and sex life. Anyhoo!
Sony does say in their privacy policy they can collect information from third parties and combine that with data they already have on you. Fortunately, they lay out who those third parties generally are and for what purposes, so that’s nice. We sure hope they aren’t collecting any data on you from data brokers. But they can collect data on you from others users you are linked to and from any social media you link, so be mindful of that.
Sony says they can use all the information they collect on you for things like targeted marketing and advertisements they show on their own and third-party websites and services. This isn’t great. It’s also not uncommon in our data economy right now. Also remember, when you play games from other companies on the platform, you may share your data with those third parties and their privacy policies would apply to your personal information. So many freakin’ privacy policies to just play games.
And Sony says they can share your information not just with third parties for advertising purposes, but also within the huge Sony Group -- which includes music, videos, software, and much more -- “so that other Sony group companies may contact you about products, services or other offerings that may be of interest to you.” So yeah, all that data about how bad you are at video games and who you like to play games with could be shared around pretty far and wide.
Also with the PS5, Sony now records all voice chats in order to combat abuse during online gaming. Users experiencing abuse can submit recordings--no more than 40 seconds--of abusive voice interactions to Sony for review. There will be no way to opt out of this. And Sony reserves the right to monitor and record everything else you do too on the Playstation Network and potentially remove any of that content. This tug-of-war between privacy and safety feels mostly fine to us, because something needs to be done about abuse in online gaming, especially abuse targeting women gamers. Just know, if you use the voice chat features on the new PS5 you are being recorded, although not actively listened to by Sony, at all times.
What’s the worst that could happen with your PS5? Well, it’s always smart to set up two-factor authentication to keep bad people from sneaking into your PlayStation account and buying a bunch of games at your expense. That could be costly and you don’t want that headache. And it’s good to be mindful all your voice chats are being recorded, so probably good to not shout out your social security number over voice chat (duh). All in all though, it seems from this gamer’s perspective the biggest privacy worry comes when non-male gamers try to talk over voice chat and get harassed out of the games by immature people. That really does need to stop.
Vidokezi vya kujilinda
- Set up two-factor authentication on your Playstation account immediately
- Adjust your privacy settings
- Be aware that anything said over microphone is being recorded
- Do not sign up with third-party accounts. Better just log in with email and strong password.
- Chose a strong password! You may use a password control tool like 1Password, KeePass etc
- Use your device privacy controls to limit access to your personal information via app (do not give access to your camera, microphone, images, location unless neccessary)
- Keep your app regularly updated
- Limit ad tracking via your device (eg on iPhone go to Privacy -> Advertising -> Limit ad tracking) and biggest ad networks (for Google, go to Google account and turn off ad personalization)
- Request your data be deleted once you stop using the app. Simply deleting an app from your device usually does not erase your personal data.
- When starting a sign-up, do not agree to tracking of your data if possible.
- Read Playstation's Safety Guide
Unaweza kunichunguza?
Kamera
Kifaa: Hapana
Programu: Ndiyo
Kipaza sauti
Kifaa: Ndiyo
Programu: Ndiyo
Inafuatilia eneo
Kifaa: Ndiyo
Programu: Hapana
Unaweza kutumia nini kujisajili?
Barua pepe
Ndiyo
Simu
Hapana
Akaunti ya mhusika mwingine
Hapana
Kampuni inakusanya data gani?
Ya kibinafsi
Name, email address, and your PSN Online ID; age, voice and text chats, IP address, location
Shirika linalohusiana
Voice recordings
Kijamii
PlayStation friends and followers
Je, kampuni inatumiaje data hii?
Unawezaje kudhibiti data yako?
Je, rekodi ya kampuni inayojulikana ya kulinda data ya watumiaji ni gani?
In October 2023, Sony reported server security breaches that exposed employee data.
In September 2023, ‘All Of Sony Systems’ were allegedly hacked by Ransomed.vc group. Within those 6,000 files are supposedly a bevy of documentation, including unknown “build log files,” a swath of Java resources, and HTML data.
Security vulnerabilities have been reported in the PS5 over the past couple of years. In 2021, Threatpost reported back-to-back security breaches. In 2022, Ars Technica reported on a potentially "essenttially unpatchable" vulnerability and another hack that could unlock root privileges for PS5 hackers. As far as we can tell, none of these security vulnerabilities resulted in a major leak of users' personal information.
Taarifa ya Faragha ya Mtoto
Je, bidhaa hii inaweza kutumika nje ya mtandao?
Maelezo ya faragha yanayofaa watumiaji?
Sony's Playstation privacy documentation isn't the easist to read and we did find some contradictions between their consumer privacy explainer page and their actual privacy policy that left us scratching our heads.
Viungo vya taarifa za faragha
Je, bidhaa hii inakidhi Viwango vyetu vya Chini Zaidi vya Usalama?
Usimbaji fiche
Nenosiri thabiti
You need a strong password to access your PlayStation Network account. You can set up a passcode for your PlayStation device.
Masasisho ya usalama
Inashughulikia hatari
Sera ya faragha
Chunguza kwa Kina
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PlayStation 5: Pros & Cons Of Recording Voice Chat On PS5 & In GamesScreen Rant
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‘All Of Sony Systems’ Allegedly Hacked By New Ransomware Group [UPDATE]Kotaku
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Sony confirms server security breaches that exposed employee dataThe Verge
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New PS5 exploit unlocks root privileges, read/write memory accessArs Technica
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Why You Probably Need To Change Your Privacy Settings On PS5Slash Gear
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Console hacker reveals PS4/PS5 exploit that is “essentially unpatchable”Ars Technica
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PS5 issues: All the big PlayStation 5 problems to look out forTom's Guide
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Critical Vulnerability In The Way Sony PS3, PS4, And PS5 Consoles Read Bu-Ray Discs Allows Rooting And Modifying The FirmwareInformation Security Newspaper
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Back-to-Back PlayStation 5 Hacks Hit on the Same DayThreat Post
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How to Manage PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox Privacy SettingsNew York Times
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PS5 vs. Xbox Series X: Security and Privacy Features ComparedIGN
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PS5 games could get even better thanks to Sony AITom's Guide
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PS5 won’t actively monitor or listen to your voice chat, Sony saysPolygone
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Sony clears up when and how it’ll listen to recordings of PS5 voice chatsThe Verge
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Sony's AI-created PS5 soundtracks could react to your playstyle and emotionsTechRadar
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Sony establishes AI R&D divisionGamesIndustry.biz
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PlayStation SafetyPlayStation
Maoni
Una maoni? Tuambie.