The new option to record party voice chats, introduced by Sony in its latest update to PlayStation 4, has rubbed some players the wrong way. It appears that many found themselves quite uncomfortable upon realizing that their words can be recorded and reported. Although Sony has no way to listen in directly, the possibility of being snitched on by other party members and potentially punished for things said in voice chat was enough to make players voice their protest.

On October 14th, 2020, Sony rolled out the update 8.00 for PlayStation 4 which added an option for players in a party to record the voice chat and submit it for moderation. The same option will be available to PlayStation 5 players on launch.

Following the rollout, many players misinterpreted the new change, as the notification upon joining the voice chat did not clarify who could record the message: it appeared as if Sony gave itself permission to listen in. The miscommunication did not take long to result in memes as players became concerned that things said by them in party voice chats might not something for gentler ears.

Me On My Way To Court After The PS4 Party Chat Gets Reported #PS4UPDATE pic.twitter.com/AVNRfOtR3q

— Jack Cohen (@Jack_Cohen17) October 14, 2020

Me leaving court after I had my mic on mute in a reported PS4 party #ps4update pic.twitter.com/kNhlu7oGWt

— connor (@brittonc97) October 14, 2020

Within few hours, Sony rushed to clarify that it was other users in voice chat, not Sony, who gained the ability to record and report conversations.

Hello! The notification advises you that other users may be recording your voice conversation. We do no record party chats. ^PS

— Ask PlayStation UK (@AskPS_UK) October 14, 2020

But even this did not stop Twitter from joking about getting in big trouble in the scenario things they say in party chat become public knowledge.

When you catch the guy that reported the PlayStation party #PS4UPDATE pic.twitter.com/36acRVcOQF

— ib (@ilyas_Ib) October 14, 2020

#PS4UPDATE how we’re all gonna speak for now on pic.twitter.com/GpxNQGjHuM

— OG Saturn 🪐 (@drippy0110) October 14, 2020

Later, as #PS4UPDATE hashtag blew up on Twitter, KEEMSTAR weighed in on the issue.

NOT COOL! WOAHHHHHHHH! #PS4UPDATE pic.twitter.com/8krO2NmBMI

— KEEM 🍿 (@KEEMSTAR) October 14, 2020

Users on TikTok and Instagram also joined in on lamenting the times when things said in the voice chats were for the boys' ears only.

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/6883473838223412482