Brilliant independent PlayStation playtime website PS-Timetracker has encountered turbulence, as Sony has banned all of its associated accounts. Members could voluntarily send a friend request to a PSN user in order to have their gameplay sessions logged by the website, but Sony nuked all of the associated usernames earlier this week.
It’s unclear whether this was a coordinated effort to try and impede the page’s activities, but that’s certainly how it looks from the outside. The website’s independent owner is currently scrambling for a solution, and has created a series of new accounts to try and remain operational. Of course, it’s perfectly plausible they will be banned, too.
While the website does pre-date the PS5 – where Sony made it possible to see your playtime data – it’s arguably more accurate, and it includes overall data on which games are currently proving popular among PlayStation players. It’d be nice if the Japanese giant took some of the ideas and incorporated them into their own website, but we reckon there’s more chance of pigs flying than that.
[source ps-timetracker.com]
Comments 37
But…why? What possible way could this hurt Sony?
Maybe Sony are worried about any confidential information being leaked from sites having info on users accounts.
a bit off-topic but i can't access my ps4 cloud saves through ps5..anyone has the same problem?
@zebric21 I just downloaded my Tsushima PS4 save no problem. Didn’t even have the game installed at the time.
Ah no, that's a shame . Definitely more accurate than Sony's own stats as well.
@Voltan i keep getting an error no matter what
@nessisonett the only reason that would make sense is that they’re going to introduce their own version
"This one guy is doing things better than an entire team of ours. Should we take a page out of his book...? Nay, he must be eradicated!"
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
Removed - trolling/baiting; user is banned
I have been user of the service for almost a year now and it's been a great app. Didn't even realise it was shut down. Scummy move by Sony.
@TheNglishAreCloseted Well, if you get a ps5 it will be tracked. Annoying they didn't add it to ps4, though.
@get2sammyb What's next? Will Sony ban me for having an account on PSN Profiles' website? 🤦
Imagine if they do this to accounts linked to any third party website? They'd ban half of all PlayStation owners and lock them out of all of their digital purchases. That would be...nevermind the words I want to say are ban-worthy lol. 🙄
Love the PS5 but Sony is really disappointing me with all these weirdly aggressive decisions. They could have at least been bothered to issue a cease and desist, seems they want to just bother the guy that runs it.
Sony being anti-consumer... and also the sky is blue today.
I think they have been on edge ever since the psn attacks 10 years ago. I applaud Sony for trying its best not to have data breached. That site could have been a wolf dressed like a sheep
I’m gonna take a wild stab in the dark and assume that data sharing with a third party is in breach of the terms of agreement. This is understandable.
My 3DS had a detailed activity log in 2011.
Why modern consoles (including Nintendo's own Switch) don't include something like this just boggles the mind.
Seems incredibly petty but whatever.
This definitely isn't due to perceived competition as many seem to think. It's almost certainly a privacy concern or violation of Terms of Service.
It's gotta be a privacy or security issue. The question is why do you need to friend these accounts to have your time tracked? Why can't you just enter your name like trophy trackers. Exophase gets the time played without you friending anything (although not for every game).
People are being a little naive here, this guy was actually tracking use data of a 30,000+ sample. In the age of big tech people should realise how important this kind of data is, and the value it has to companies.
A 30k sample size is also huge, polls used to predict elections typically use samples of ~1000 for some comparison.
Among other things you could actually use this data to create sales figures for all psn games to within 90%+ accuracy.
@ChrisDeku I doubt the volume is more than what trophy trackers hit Sony's servers with though.
This was such an unnecessary move unless a security risk was confirmed?
@TowaHerschel7 I wonder if Sony knows about PSNProfiles
@Jimmer-jammer Well every single person on PSNProfiles is screwed then....
Removed - inappropriate
@Snake_V5 On second thought maybe not since PSN Profile's API grabs trophy information of all PSN accounts whether they are members or not. Sony would have to ban every PSN account in that case and I can't imagine the company could survive the backlash they'd get for doing so.
I think sony does these things occasionally. Banning things that might affect them even if it comes at the expense of the customer. I think when EA play launched, xbox accepted it but sony didn't, saying they didn't see the value or point in it (probably saw it as competition to their-then failing PS now). Same with the cross-play controversy.
It's being overly protective, something Nintendo has always specialised in. Sony's like the Japanese company right behind Nintendo in that regard. Same as Disney in movies. These 'forced' family-friendly companies generally pull these moves (though Sony just copies them in one aspect). Remember Nintendo's seal of approval to exclude adult games in the earlier decades of gaming? Or Disney not letting directors make even PG-13 movies until Pirates of the Carribean? And now only Deadpool for R-rating? Or an obsessive control over their IP superheros (with Disney Marvel, with Sony it used to be Spiderman). Kind of like how Rami Malek typish actors, or states like China or even some Islamic states have this desire to control public image, the way they're seen internationally. Anyways, going off-topic, I digress.
@Snake_V5 if they are in breach and if Sony really wanted to go after them, then yes. My “stab in the dark” comment wasn’t sarcastic - I really have no idea. It would be grounds for Sony to act though.
@nomither6 you need to calm down
@naruball 5 hours later and im still fuming . thanks for reminding me about it.
@Jimmer-jammer See my post above. PSN Profile's website grabs trophy information of all PSN accounts whether they are members of the site or not. Sony would literally have to ban every PSN account to rectify this which would be business sepuku and possible lawsuits and prison time for the Sony execs.
@nomither6 that's definitely one way to live your life.
PS5 data for me shows my brother's profile time for games he played on his profile, so stupid. (from the PS4 import).
Shame they got nuked, but most likely was a breach of ToS or privacy.
Never cared about gameplay stats personally but this is clearly annoying for those that do.
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