How to block and report players on PlayStation 4

- October 25, 2018

Don't let your fun be ruined by other players.

Companies are continually pushing the boundaries of our gaming experiences to be more social than ever, but this can cause an influx of people who abuse the system and attempt to ruin the fun for others. When this happens, Sony can step in to take appropriate measures, but only if you send them a report first. Here's how to do it on PlayStation 4

What can be reported

PlayStation provides a very clear list of what you should not do on your account. If you find anyone breaking these conditions, you may report them.

Do Not:

Stalk, bully, discriminate against or abuse other users.
Post anything that is defamatory (making an untrue statement that may be damaging to the person concerned) or racially, ethnically, religiously or sexually offensive.
Be disruptive or threatening.
Send spam messages or forward recommendations / offers to your contacts without their permission. -Share other users' and your own personal and account information. Similarly, do not ask other people to give you their personal or account information.
Use or share codes, software or devices to cheat and do not attempt to hack, damage or exploit any bugs in PlayStation Network to gain an unfair advantage.
Use PlayStation Network for profit or for commercial purposes, infringe on copyright owned by anybody or break the law in any other way.
Give false information including making false complaints, giving us a false date of birth or impersonating another person.

What reporting does

When a player faces a violation of the above rules and a report is sent to Sony, the company will take a look at the report in question and determine what, if any, punishment there should be. Aside from removing the offending material, your results will vary on a case-by-case basis. Sony does not detail exactly the process through which they determine what has or has not violated their rules.

For a serious offense, Sony may either suspend or ban your account. If your account is suspended, you will see an error code when attempting to log-in on your console. You will then receive an email at the address associated with your account within 24 hours as to why and how long the temporary suspension will last. A ban, on the other hand, is permanent, and you will not be able to access a banned account at any point in the future.

How to report content and messages

Should you see a specific message or piece of content that you feel violates Sony's code of conduct, you can report it by following these steps.

Highlight the piece of content in question, whether it be a message, video, or screenshot.
Hit Options on your controller.
Select Report.

To report a user completely instead of a specific message, just visit their profile and hit the Options button on your controller.

How to block players

If you want to outright block a player who has been harassing you or ruining your enjoyment of a game, you can do so as well. This will block them from sending you messages and being able to communicate with you.