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How To Tell If Your PS5 Is Spying On You And What You Can Do About It
By PETER CAO
Data collection has become a big market, with small and large companies happily selling your private information gathered from devices like your smartphone to advertisers. A PS5 may not be high on your list of devices that could be recording you, but if you use the Voice Chat function on the console, you can be sure that your conversations are passively recorded.
Sony explains that the feature cannot be opted out of as it is part of the company’s effort to promote online safety; however, there are ways to reduce the amount of data it gathers. Users can turn off the built-in mic on the DualSense controller by heading to Settings > Sound > Microphone > Microphone Status When Logged In and toggle that setting to “Mute.”
The PS5 can also potentially collect everything, from your IP address to what you do in games. Though you can’t altogether disable this function, you can minimize it by going to Settings > Users and Accounts > Privacy > Data You Provide and switching to the “Limited” option — you may also want to disable the Voice Data Collection by selecting “Don’t Allow” from its menu.