Sony: 'We Do Not Record' PS4 Party Chats

Wow glad they clarified, the original wording was confusing. Sony isn't stupid and knows it could land them in hot water to record chats, for any reason.

I'm a bit unsure about party chats. I think for public in-game chats though, it's high time they started to enforce the terms of service instead of talking about raping kids and your mom. In-game chat shouldn't be a free pass to do whatever you would never say in person.

2020 Sony is reminding me very much of 2013 Microsoft. Back in 2013 there were concerns that Kinect was compulsory so Microsoft would record you. This new situation combined with the fact every DualSense has an internal microphone could become catastrophic.

I found absolutely nothing confusing about the original wording.
Some people seem to just ignore certain details of a sentence and then jump into crazy assumptions.

"Please be aware that voice chats in parties may be recorded and sent to us >>>> by other users. <<<<"

How is this confusing? To me this is super clear.

People could’ve always recorded your voice while in party. My buddy does it to us all the time for his Twitch channel. It’s just now there’s a pop-up letting the player know. Why’s this even a thing? And why are people speaking as if this is a new feature?

Also, It’s so odd that almost everyone in the world has a Facebook, an Instagram, Snapchat, etc. but the moment they think their voice is being shared online they lose their minds. I mean, 90% of the gaming community want to be Twitch streamers but don’t want their voice shared on the Internet. What gives?

Alexa, is Sony listening to my conversations?

@nessisonett lol perfect!

@get2sammyb exactly! I really don’t understand it. But I don’t think it’s possible to understand such a thing.

Can't wait for my PS5 to get a hold of my credit card number and order a pizza by itself.

Truly revolutionary technology.

Just think if Sony did record voice chats they would have millions of hours of beeping fire alarms, chirping birds, heavy breathing, distorted hip-hop, and preteens using the N-word. Sony could make millions selling that info to Duracell, Pharma, petsmart, Bose and the GOP.

I'm not about this, at all. Sony has gone in a strange direction since moving to California.

Unless the default setting has changed I don't think without fiddling with the chat settings you can be recorded.

Original story: "And anyway, this functionality has been around since the current-gen system launched back in 2013. The Japanese giant has included the point in its software usage terms for seven years — it's not something Sony has suddenly sprung on us earlier today."'

Update: "Voice chat recording for moderation is a feature that will be available on PS5 when it launches, and will enable users to record their voice chats on PS5 and submit them for moderation review. The pop up you’re seeing on PS4 right now is to let you know that when you participate in a chat with a PS5 user (post-launch), they may submit those recordings from their PS5 console to SIE"

Quite contradictory lol

I was wondering what the feature was people weren't happy about, I guess now some netizens will need to be on their best behaviour when they get the notion to harass people.

Everything on the internet is recorded period.

@jbreez00 unfortunately having a different opinion is seen as harassment these days, especially by silicon valley. I can see this being abused.

I've always only used party chat with friends because I just assumed people could record you or screenshot stuff or whatever and get you banned.

@oldschool1987 I guess you’ve never been called a n*gger before. Or have had your (11 at the time) son called one. It doesn’t just boil down to differences of opinion. Anyone who uses differing opinions to try and suppress someone else is an idiot. But don’t think that’s the only thing that’s out there.

A buddy of mine once has a grown man just into a chat with his 13 year old daughter and his niece and told them that he’d love to eat... well, you get the idea. And I’m not one for policing every little thing. But don’t minimize please.

And that's why I wont be getting a PS5.

All the years i've had my ps4 i have only ever talked to my friends...i think i have around 12 that i talk to always in a private party as in general i dont like the randoms i meet online..never talked to anybody in warzone because its call of duty and the majority of cod players are just downright toxic..this being able to record and report the racist and utterly horrible man childs that populate the psn/xbone/un-pc communitys is a welcome if double edged sword that should have been implemented ages ago...

@AhmadSumadi I've been called all sorts of awful stuff before, doesn't mean I advocate for Sony to listen to our chats. And you're using the most extreme example to justify this. You know for an absolute fact that this will be used to force political correctness. I never said it only boils down to different opinions being suppressed, I'm saying that different opinions could be suppressed, I wasn't talking about the extremes. I'm all for the people calling someone a n*gger being reported. I wasn't on about extreme examples.

I didn't minimise, I have a 7 year old daughter that plays games... I'm all for those people being banned, don't strawman me, please. I'm on about the other side of the argument, that Sony have been acting a little authoritarian since moving to California, with their censorship, and political correctness. Most people don't agree with that. We don't and we shouldn't live in a world where a certain type of politics is considered "correct".

I stated my concerns, it wasn't on about the extremes because most people agree the ones creeping on children and calling people n*igger should absolutely be banned, that type of behaviour isn't acceptable.

I just don't want to justify Sony recording entire voice chats.

Only an idiot will get offended by some random dude saying "bad words" on a game.
Sony and all this companies should stop being the polite police.

If i want to call my friends f*gg*t on a private chat i should be able to do it.

@tatsumi it was already clear, but the average gamer isn't taught reading comprehension at school, or, most likely, doesn't pay any attention, hence all the embarrassing comments we keep reading. Same with people, including Push Square staff, accusing Remedy of lying, when they simply didn't.

The pop icon message literally says that other users may record the chat not sony, do people can't read well?

@tatsumi well said.

@tatsumi Right and that is the problem. Sony would just use that data to sell me ads. An individual would use recordings for nefarious purposes. Anyone can record what someone is saying in a party chat(which is illegal without their consent) on their phone, recording device, or audio capturing software, but that person has gone out of their way to do that and Sony is not liable to anything in that scenario. Here they are saying the PS5 has a specific feature that allows you to record party chats. This will lead to users blackmailing each other and a whole mess of other issues that will end up forcing Sony into decades of litigation as they are now liable for any illegal activity or civil suits that are brought on by their users recording others.

It's actually a good feature. I remember trying to listen to a conversation again and only my voice was there.
You can disable it anyway if you dont want to be recorded.

@Grumblevolcano
The huge difference is Kinnect was always on, 24/7 listening.

@Wormold The competition also record party chat though, they're just not transparent about it.

Someone has already had a ban 30 days I think it said, & guess what it was for? Swearing. I usually wouldn't believe this sort of stuff but he has shown proof on twitter. I mean if your being abusive I understand some what, but for swearing is a bit much.

@Makina Please do not bring homophobic insults into the comments section.

This is an absolute cluster nut of an update, a literal system breaking mess. Why the change to making parties so complicated and convoluted, it wasnt needed and nobody wanted it.

Me and my clan mates had to download Discord to have a party chat and we'll prob just keep using that if this is the way Sony have decided to go. This is the last thing you should be doing a month before a new console releases.

@Makina imagine wanting to call your friends such a derogatory word in the word in the first place, why does that word come to mind as an insult? learn your history and perhaps grow up

... I remember getting my PS3 against all advice (XB had better cross-platform performance, PS3 was difficult to code for, etc. etc.) and even though it was severely behind XB there was something special about...

... PS4 came and because XB forgot about the gamers and went down the road of TVTVTV, trying to prevent swapping games, pointless Kinect, etc. - Sony wiped the floor with them by doing very little...

... and now we see what happens when Sony forget about gamers, treat them with contempt, tell them nothing and then remove useful features, whilst breaking others... all weeks before the launch of a new system...

..it's swings and roundabouts I guess, but Sony deserve one hell of a slow hand clap for how they've acted over the last few months and how they continue to act... XB might have dropped the ball with Halo, but they're sure as hell making it up everywhere else...

@Carck It doesn't matter if you consider racist and homophobic remarks to be banter during a private situation with friends, it is still not okay. It is also not okay to post them on a public forum, no matter whether they're directed at a specific person or not. Full stop.

They can record me all they like, I guarantee it won't be exciting at all lol

@Carck I absolutely disagree. Unless you are gay or the person you have "banter" with is a gay man or woman and has given you the OK to use that kinda language, then fair enough. Otherwise people using derogatory terms about someones sexuality in a negative manner as a form of cheap insult or banter or "JuSt a JoKe" is pretty much a no go and just common decency.

@Deadlyblack gonna be mad once it realizes it has no mouth because it's the digital edition.

Sony might not but the NSA sure is.

Great idea imo. The ammount of abuse ive had due to winning a match on MK11 is rediculous. Say what you want about me personally, i can laugh that off but when its about mums, your kids and other family members thats below the belt and pretty damn disgusting. Id rat on anyone talking filth like that in a heart beat.

@Makina They will only act if you get reported and you got recorded by the other user if i understand it right. Its up too others or your friends what you can say. No company will let you be racist or homophobic or whatever way because it reflects on their company and i understand that.

@Cycologist [I have no mouth, and I must scream intensifies]

@Ggmate it's more than these little bits... removal of wishlist, no official information of the console (the teardown in Japanese, with little / no fanfare) - the reason it has so many views is that people are clamouring for information on a product they've paid £450+ for!

The price hike of 1st party games (vs 'free' on M$), the price hike of PS+, the reduction of games with PS+, poor PS NOW value, no news on if there's a new PS Now, does PS5 even support Atmos? We don't know... it's the arrogance that people are upset about... for all M$'s faults, they're at least being more 'honest and open' this time around... and even though they're going down the Netflix subscription model... for the average gamer and newcomer it's a vastly better value-for-money proposition... don't get me wrong, my PS5 is preordered, and I've even got the headphones, charger, media remote control and camera(!) I'm all-in with PS5, but I feel like I've been cheated and completely undervalued / ignored by Sony this time around... and that will sting for a while and make myself and others think twice next time around...

@Carck absolutely nobody is saying you cant say what you like in private.. so enough of playing the victim. People are just saying next time you want to use an insult to "banter" with, perhaps have a little thought to the words you use, theres literally thousands of words you can use without associating someones sexuality with a cheap slur "for a laugh"

@Kefka2589 100% agree. Dont care what anyone on here says my oppinion on disrespecting other players will never be changed. Foul mouthed little cretins should be banned full stop. Id much rather have my ass whooped on MK11 and congratulate the victor but thats just me 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

"I felt a great disturbance in the Network. As if millions of misogynists, racists, and homophobes cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. I fear something wonderful has happened."

@oldschool1987 I would inagine Sony has people looking at this that can make the distinction whether somebody reporting has a legitimate complaint or not.

@jbreez00 maybe, pal. But my worry is what people in California find offensive, isn't seen that way by the majority of people. Apparently the word "preference" is now offensive, and that is a recent thing. As long as they only go after genuinely malicious comments then fine, but I'm not that confident in them not to enforce a politically correct type of dialogue.

@Kidfunkadelic83 why not block or mute them?

@LiamCroft it actually is OK to say whatever you want to your friends if they're in on it as well. You are not in control of how people interact, except on this site, which is fair. But to tell them they're not allowed to say stuff to their friends is you overstepping. You don't control what people say in private

@Carck you're hitting the nail on the head.

@Carck
You couldn't be more correct!!! Everything you said is 300% right on! It's about being free.
@oldschool1987
You too man. I'm free. I dont intend to be a mind slave to anyone else's restrictions in my own home. I don't need to have some frail listening, judging, and tattling on me if I said a naughty . And that's why I'm not buying a PS5.

@Powerpellet cheers, pal

@LiamCroft
Who are you to decide what I say in private conversations comrade?

@oldschool1987 because i cant in the middle of a fight. Too busy trying to school them 😂. I had to turn off messages from everyone as a few guys thought it would be funny to say what they would like to do to my 9 year old kid. Obvioustly they got reported instantly.

@Kidfunkadelic83 school them then 😂that'll wind them up more lol.

Kids being trolled is never OK. That should be reported, but I just mute people. I know some people have a large digital library, I don't want them to lose access to that, even if they talked to me like ***** 😂 too much money is tied to people's accounts now and I'd feel bad if they lost all that over them acting like a troll.

@tatsumi

content://com.android.chrome.FileProvider/images/screenshot/1602792664460750832887.jpg

This is the image I saw and to which I thought the wording was confusing. The notification you are referring to I did not see unfortunately, but yes - that does spell it out pretty clearly.

Like I said, glad they cleared it up for those of us that didn't get the full scoop.

Edit: Sorry, don't know why there is no hyperlink. It's a system notification in the chat screen that says: "Voice chats may be recorded for moderation. By joining, you agree to be recorded."

@get2sammyb

Didn't think my post came across as outraged. Gotta rethink my verbiage if it did. Just saying I'm glad they clarified.

@naruball

There's two types of annoying comments to me. The first category: people overreacting to this news by swearing off PS5, etc. The second category: people insulting others for being overreactive. They are equally as bad, just two opposite sides of the jerk spectrum aligned in diametric opposition. And each category has its repeat offenders on this site.

It's really become these repeated game of tug of war between those two camps on here lately. Here comes someone fuming about this or that little thing. Then here comes player number 2 hurling condescending remarks towards player 1. It's gross either way.

There is a middle ground, somewhere.

@UnlimitedSevens
You fit in the second category.

Sony are spying on party chat that is wrong and immoral

@Powerpellet

If I'm a jerk for pointing it out, then... doesn't that make you a jerk as well? Are we all jerks?

Stares off into distance introspectively

@UnlimitedSevens
Im not a jerk for any reason. That was YOUR insult that puts you in your own second category. I was just pointing that out.

@Ggmate I don't understand your hostility towards me, I respect your opinion and I have my own... we can agree to disagree without the childish hostility.. :/

@Ggmate I preordered because I knew if I didn't it would be months before everything becomes available again (especially with the pandemic, etc). And at the time of preorder there was significantly less info than there is now, but yet Sony was expecting fans to buy regardless (the UI looks stunning, why didn't they show this before preorder) I'm a paying customer and entitled to feel how I like... the fact that I do criticise Sony should show I'm not blindly loyal, and without negative feedback, companies don't change. It's not hurting you directly so please respect everyone else's opinions rather than just attack those that differ from yours .Let's leave it at that eh?

@Grumblevolcano Did you even read the article?

@Kidfunkadelic83 I know i had something less bad then you some user blackpower he was insulting me the whole time. And in the end he said he would report me me for racism i didnt answer too anything it was with LoL. Threats should be a ban.

@OneManDroid

oh just shut up already.

I find this way to funny that people are freaking out over this. You are being watched on just about most stuff you own. The INTERNET monitors you unless you have a VPN. But people freak out of the PS4, Hate to break it to everyone if you don't know. Xbox does it as well. Why is this so new to people all of the sudden? Here is some advice only have close friends in your Party Chat. No Random People. Problem Solved. People close to you won't record you over stupid stuff you normally always talk about.

That's not what your privacy policy say's sony. Also you shouldn't be able to get in trouble from a private chat.

First off joining one is completely voluntary and leaving one is too. So If someone says something you don't like...leave. Or better yet don't party chat with strangers without setting ground rules if certain words bother you SO MUCH that you feel the need to get someone suspended or banned over them.