TermsRating
Companies / Sony / PlayStation Plus / Terms of Service

Sony PlayStation Plus Terms of Service

7 serious, 2 to watch. Found 11 of 23 practices.
Applies to: everyday users.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service (4 Oct 2026)
F

Do they get wide rights to what you post or upload?Yes

By utilizing such functionality, you grant SIE a royalty-free, perpetual, global license to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your UGC for any reason, without further notice or payment to you or any third parties. You further authorize SIE to sublicense its rights to any third party, including its affiliates.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 70–70
In plain wordsBy using these features, you give the company permanent, worldwide permission to use, change, and share anything you post however they want without paying you. They can also let other companies use your content without your further permission.

Do they sell or share your data?Yes

By utilizing such functionality, you grant SIE a royalty-free, perpetual, global license to use, distribute, copy, modify, display, and publish your UGC for any reason, without further notice or payment to you or any third parties. You further authorize SIE to sublicense its rights to any third party, including its affiliates.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 70–70
In plain wordsBy using these features, you give the company permission to use, change, and share your content with other companies for any reason. They can also give other people or businesses the right to use your content without paying you or asking for further permission.

Do you give up the right to sue?Yes

If you have a Dispute with any Sony Entity or any of a Sony Entity’s officers, directors, employees and agents that cannot be resolved through negotiation within the time frame described in the "Notice of Dispute" clause below, you and the Sony Entity that you have a Dispute with agree to seek resolution of the Dispute only through arbitration of that Dispute in accordance with the terms of this section, and not litigate any Dispute in court, except for those matters listed in the Exclusions from Arbitration clause. Arbitration means that the Dispute will be resolved by a neutral arbitrator instead of in a court by a judge or jury. 14.2. Exclusions from Arbitration.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 175–176
In plain wordsYou are agreeing to resolve legal disagreements through a private arbitrator instead of a judge or jury. This means you cannot file a lawsuit in court or participate in a class action lawsuit for most disputes.

Do they refuse responsibility when things break?Yes

We may change, add or remove functionalities or features in our PlayStationServices, and we may suspend or stop our services altogether. We do not warrant that the service and content will be uninterrupted, error-free or without delays. In addition to the limitations of liability of this Agreement, we expressly disclaim any implied warranty of merchantability, warranty of fitness for a particular purpose and warranty of non-infringement. We assume no liability for any inability to purchase, access, download or use any content, data or service.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 215–215
In plain wordsThe company can stop providing services at any time and does not promise that the service will always work correctly. They also refuse to be held responsible if you are unable to access or use your content and services.

Can they cut you off any time?Yes

Any game ranking, scores, trophies, Virtual Items, including virtual currency balances (whether earned or purchased), subscriptions, or other information saved on, or requiring connection to our Services will not be retained or accessible. Account termination is irreversible. UPON TERMINATION OF YOUR ACCOUNT (OR ANY ASSOCIATED CHILD ACCOUNT) FOR ANY REASON, YOU WILL NOT RECEIVE A REFUND FOR ITEMS (INCLUDING SUBSCRIPTIONS, VIRTUAL ITEMS, AND PRE-PAID PRODUCTS OR SERVICES), VALUE ACCUMULATED ON IN-GAME ITEMS OR ANY UNUSED BALANCE IN YOUR WALLET, EXCEPT AS REQUIRED BY LAW OR AS EXPRESSLY PROVIDED IN THIS AGREEMENT. 12.4. Effect of Account Termination on Child Accounts.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 162–164
In plain wordsThis clause means the company can permanently delete your account and all your progress, items, and money without giving you a refund. Once your account is closed, you lose everything and cannot get it back.

Can they change the deal without asking?Yes

We may modify the terms of this Agreement at any time, including imposing a fee for creating Accounts or for any of our Services. A printable copy of this Agreement is available at www.playstation.com/legal. If material changes to this Agreement are made, you will be notified by e-mail or other communication when you sign in to theServices. Your continued use of theServices, including use by your children on the associated Accounts, will signify your acceptance of those changes.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 208–209
In plain wordsThe company can change these rules whenever they want, and if you keep using their services, you are automatically agreeing to the new terms. If you don't like a major change, your only option is to stop using the services and close your account.

Must disputes be settled in their chosen court?Yes

Any dispute not subject to arbitration and not initiated in small claims court may be brought by either party in a court of competent jurisdiction in either the Superior Courts for the State of California in and for the County of San Mateo or in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. Each party submits itself to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of those courts, and waives all jurisdictional, venue and inconvenient forum objections to those courts. In any litigation to enforce any part of this Agreement, all costs and fees, including attorney’s fees, will be paid by the non-prevailing party. 16. GENERAL LEGAL 16.1. Modifications.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 205–207
In plain wordsIf you want to sue Sony, you are forced to file your case only in specific courts in San Mateo County or the Northern District of California. You are giving up your right to use a court closer to your home.

Can they read your private messages?Partly

We are not responsible for monitoring or recording any activity or communications on PlayStation our services, although we may do so in order to investigate violations of or enforce this Agreement, or to protect the rights and property of SIE, its partners, and customers. We are not liable for any violation of this Agreement by you or by any other PlayStation user. Violations of our Code of Conduct may result in moderation action taken against your Account and PlayStation Devices (see Section 12 for more information).
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 63–63
In plain wordsThe company may monitor or record your communications to investigate rule violations or protect their interests. This means your private messages are not private from them if they need to check them for security or legal reasons.

Does your subscription renew by itself?Partly

We may offer you the opportunity to purchase subscriptions (which may also be referred to as "memberships" or "services") that provide access to certain content, products, or services for a specified period of time. If your subscription is ongoing and renews automatically, you will be charged the applicable subscription fee automatically at the frequency you chose at purchase until you cancel If your wallet doesn’t have enough funds when an automatic recurring subscription payment is due, the balance will be automatically funded from your default Approved Payment Method on file to cover the subscription fee.
playstation.com/en-us/legal/terms-of-service, lines 101–101
In plain wordsIf you choose a subscription that renews automatically, you will be charged again at your chosen interval unless you cancel it. If your primary payment method lacks funds, the system will automatically use your default backup method to cover the cost.

Checked, nothing hostile

  • Does not deny responsibility for leaks of your data.
  • Does not lock you into a year-long or longer commitment or charge you to leave early.

Not covered by these documents

The documents we read do not mention these practices, which usually live in a document we haven’t read yet:

  • Do they refuse to let you delete your account?
  • Do they use what you post to train AI?
  • Do they track you across sites, apps or places?
  • Do they keep your data after you leave?
  • Do they use your data to target ads?
  • Do they keep rights to your content after you leave?
  • Can your name or photo appear in ads?
  • Do they combine your data across products?
  • Can they hand your data to authorities without telling you?
  • Can your data go to a buyer if the company is sold?
  • Do you pay their legal bills?
  • Do they own your ideas and feedback?