The reliable way to block mature games and prevent surprise purchases is to use a separate child account in the console’s family system. Set the child’s permitted game and app age below the mature rating, then configure spending independently—zero spending, a defined limit, or approval requests where available. Save the changes, sign in as the child, and test both a mature game and a purchase flow.
Do not rely on a console-wide lock while a child can use an adult account. Account-based controls are the settings that follow the child and are hardest to bypass accidentally.
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What these controls can—and cannot—do
Game-age restrictions and purchase controls solve different problems. An age filter determines which games or apps a child may access. A spending setting determines whether that account can buy games, downloadable content, virtual currency, subscriptions, or other items. A child can be allowed to play an age-appropriate game that contains optional purchases, or be blocked from purchases while still playing it.
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Use a child account, not an adult profile
Create or add the child as a child account in the platform’s family group. Restrictions attached only to an adult account, or to the whole console, can be defeated simply by switching profiles. Keep the family-manager or parent passcode private, and make sure the child does not know the credentials for an unrestricted account.
Check the rating system for your region
In the Americas, PlayStation parental controls map game-age levels to ESRB ratings. The documented scale includes M (Mature) at level 9. Other regions use their own rating systems and age bands, so the label shown on your console may not be “M.” Xbox presents an age-appropriate apps-and-games setting rather than requiring parents to choose an ESRB letter. The same principle applies: choose an age below the content you want to block.
Restrict mature games on PlayStation
PlayStation family controls can limit game age, online features, communication, and user-generated content. You can manage them on the console and through web or app-based family-management tools. Menu wording changes by PS4 or PS5 firmware and by region; if a label differs, look for the child’s family-management page and the game-age setting.
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1. Add or select the child in Family Management
- Sign in with the adult account designated as the family manager.
- Open Family Management on the PlayStation console or in the PlayStation account-management website. The PlayStation App and PlayStation Family app can also expose family controls, although the exact options vary by region and app version.
- Select the child’s account. Confirm that the child is not using an adult account with a different date of birth.
A PlayStation family can contain up to seven accounts including the family manager. Each child account can have its own permissions, so set the age level for every child rather than assuming one setting applies to all profiles.
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2. Set Age Level for Games below the mature level
- With the child selected, open the game or content restrictions.
- Choose Age Level for Games.
- Select the age band that excludes the mature content you want to block. In the Americas, an M-rated title corresponds to level 9; choose a lower level to prevent access to M-rated games.
- Save the setting and repeat the process for any separate child account.
PlayStation describes these controls as hiding PlayStation Store games and content and restricting online game features according to a child’s age. The exact effect can depend on the account, console state, and regional rating mapping. Test the child account after saving rather than assuming an installed game will behave exactly like a new Store purchase.
3. Restrict communication and user-generated content separately
Age level is only one part of the PlayStation family page. Set the communication, messaging, multiplayer, and user-generated-content options appropriate for the child. These controls address contact with other players and material created by users; they are not substitutes for the game-age limit.
4. Confirm the block from the child profile
- Sign out of the family-manager account and sign in as the child.
- Try to launch an installed game above the permitted age.
- Open the PlayStation Store and search for a title above the limit.
- Check that the child sees a restriction or permission request instead of unrestricted access.
If the mature title still launches, verify that you changed the child’s account—not the adult account—and that the child is actually signed in. Recheck the family-management page after a firmware update, because labels and available options can change.
Prevent or approve purchases on PlayStation
PlayStation provides a child Monthly Spending Limit. The PlayStation Family app can be used to add funds, view balances, set the monthly limit, and respond to requests for access to restricted games. A spending limit is separate from the age level: set both.
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Choose the spending policy
- No discretionary spending: Set the child’s monthly limit to zero where the account interface permits it. This is the simplest choice if every purchase must be made by an adult account.
- Fixed allowance: Set a small monthly amount. Sony describes the limit as a monthly control, so treat it as a recurring allowance rather than a one-time authorization.
- Approval-based access: Keep spending tightly controlled and respond to the child’s requests for restricted games or access through the family-management workflow. Availability and notification behavior can vary by region and account.
Set the Monthly Spending Limit
- Sign in as the family manager and open Family Management.
- Select the child’s account.
- Open the spending or purchase settings and locate Monthly Spending Limit.
- Enter the amount you are willing to allow for that child for the monthly period, or set it to zero if you do not want the child to spend.
- Save the change. If you use the PlayStation Family app, verify the child’s balance and the limit shown after saving.
A spending limit does not change the game-age setting. A child could remain blocked from an M-rated game while being allowed to spend on an age-appropriate game, or could be allowed to play a suitable game with all purchases stopped. Review both settings whenever you change the family policy.
Handle a request without giving away the parent account
When a child requests access to restricted content, review the request from the family-management tool rather than signing the child into the adult account. PlayStation Family app product copy describes real-time notifications and gives the family manager the final say. Approve only the specific request you are comfortable with, then confirm that the child account still has the intended spending and communication limits.
Restrict mature games on Xbox
Xbox combines Microsoft family-group settings with console privacy and online-safety menus. The Xbox Family Settings app provides family controls and spending workflows; the console path for broader safety controls is Settings > Privacy and online safety. Labels can differ by console generation, account region, and software update.
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- Sign in with the adult Microsoft account that will manage the family.
- Add the child’s Microsoft account to the family group. If the child does not have an account, create one as a child account rather than using the adult’s profile.
- Open the Xbox Family Settings app or the Microsoft family-management page and select the child.
Keep the adult account’s password and any console passcode private. A child who can switch to an unrestricted adult profile can avoid account-based limits.
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2. Set the child’s content age
- In the Xbox Family Settings app, select the child’s profile and open the content or apps-and-games controls.
- Choose the age-appropriate level for apps and games. Select an age below the mature content you want to block.
- Save the setting.
ESRB’s Xbox guidance describes this as the age setting for which apps and games a child may access. Depending on the account and platform state, an age filter may affect both launching an installed game and acquiring new content. Test both behaviors on your console; do not assume that an already installed title will be handled identically to a new Store download.
3. Review console privacy and online-safety settings
- On the Xbox console, open Settings > Privacy and online safety.
- Select the child’s account and review multiplayer, communication, privacy, and user-generated-content permissions.
- Use the Xbox Family Settings app to keep the same policy visible on your phone and to receive or process approval requests where the feature is available.
Xbox Support maintains separate guidance for blocking inappropriate content, restricting access when nobody is signed in, child-account safety, and managing privacy and online-safety settings. Because those pages and labels are regional and JavaScript-driven, use the wording displayed on your local console or support site as the authority after an update.
Stop in-game purchases on Xbox
Xbox purchase protection is configured through the child’s family settings, not through the game’s own menu. In the Xbox Family Settings app, review the child’s spending and purchase permissions and choose the strictest option that fits your household.
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Set purchase permissions
- Open the Xbox Family Settings app and select the child.
- Open spending, purchase, or purchase-approval settings.
- Disable independent purchases if you want every transaction blocked.
- If your account offers approval requests, enable them so a purchase must be reviewed by the family manager.
- If you permit an allowance, set only the amount and frequency you intend to make available.
- Save the settings and verify that the child’s profile is selected, not the adult manager’s profile.
Purchase controls should cover games, downloadable content, virtual currency such as V-Bucks, add-ons, and subscriptions where the platform exposes them through the child account. A game may be age-appropriate while its optional items are not part of the age decision, so check spending permissions independently.
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Test a purchase without completing it
- Sign in as the child and open an age-appropriate game with an in-game item or the Xbox Store.
- Proceed only until the purchase prompt appears; do not confirm the transaction.
- Confirm that the console asks for family-manager approval, blocks the purchase, or enforces the allowance you set.
- Cancel the prompt and review the family settings again if the child can buy without the expected control.
If the purchase goes through, check whether the child is using a different Microsoft account, whether the payment method is attached to an adult profile, and whether the app saved the change. Also review the console’s sign-in and guest-access settings so an adult account cannot be used as a shortcut.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.PlayStation and Xbox compared
| Control area | PlayStation | Xbox |
|---|---|---|
| Age-rating method | Family Management includes Age Level for Games. In the Americas, PlayStation maps levels to ESRB ratings; M (Mature) is level 9. | Microsoft family settings provide an age-appropriate apps-and-games setting. |
| Purchase control | Child Monthly Spending Limit, with family-management workflows for requests and access approvals where available. | Xbox Family Settings spending controls and purchase permissions, including approval workflows where available. |
| Primary settings locations | Console Family Management, web account management, PlayStation App, and PlayStation Family app; available functions vary by region and version. | Xbox Family Settings app, Microsoft family group, and console Settings > Privacy and online safety. |
| Requests and notifications | PlayStation Family app supports requests for restricted games and real-time notifications described by Sony. | Use the Family Settings app for approval workflows when the feature is available for the account and region. |
| Family size documented in platform guidance | Up to seven accounts including the family manager. | Not stated in the guidance used here. |
A reliable setup sequence for either console
Use this order so an age exception does not accidentally become a spending exception.
- Identify every profile: list the child accounts, adult accounts, guest access, and any account that has a saved payment method.
- Move the child to a child account: add the account to the platform family group and keep the manager credentials private.
- Set the age limit: choose a level below the mature content you want to block.
- Configure spending: choose zero, a defined allowance, or approval-only behavior according to the options shown for your region.
- Restrict social features: review multiplayer, messages, voice chat, and user-generated content separately.
- Save and sign out: leave the adult manager account before testing.
- Test both directions: try a mature game and a purchase prompt from the child profile. Also verify that an age-appropriate game still works if that is your intention.
- Recheck after changes: repeat the test after firmware, app, account-region, or family-group changes.
Troubleshooting when a restriction appears not to work
The child can still launch the mature game
- Confirm the console is signed in to the child account, not an adult account.
- Check that the age level was saved on the correct child profile.
- Verify that the console is online and has synchronized the family settings.
- Review whether the game is being launched through an adult account, a guest profile, or a different console user.
- Test again after restarting the console and signing in fresh.
The child can still see or acquire mature content
- Recheck the Store/content-age setting and the account’s date of birth.
- Remember that regional rating systems use different labels and age bands.
- On Xbox, confirm the apps-and-games age setting in the Family Settings app and then test acquisition separately from launching.
- On PlayStation, confirm Age Level for Games in Family Management and check the relevant Store behavior from the child account.
An in-game purchase succeeds without approval
- Verify that spending permissions were changed for the child account, not the adult account.
- Check for another signed-in profile with a payment method.
- Confirm that the Family Settings or PlayStation Family app shows the new limit or approval state after saving.
- Review subscriptions and recurring purchases separately if the account interface lists them as distinct permissions.
- Remove stored payment details from accounts the child can access, and require the adult account password for purchases.
The menu labels do not match these instructions
Firmware, console generation, account region, and app version can change labels and feature availability. Follow the same concepts—child profile, content age, spending or purchase permission, and privacy/online safety—but use the current wording displayed on your console. PlayStation and Xbox both update family controls, so recheck the settings after major software updates.
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What parents should remember
- Account-based family controls are stronger than console-wide restrictions when several people use the device.
- Set the game or app age limit and the purchase limit as separate decisions.
- An M rating or another mature classification does not by itself describe every in-game purchase or communication risk.
- PlayStation offers a child monthly spending limit and family requests; Xbox uses Microsoft family settings, Xbox privacy and online-safety menus, and the Family Settings app.
- Approval and notification features can depend on region, firmware, account type, and app availability.
- Always test from the child profile after saving, and repeat the check after updates.
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