Are you being pestered by friends to play a game you don’t want to? Is your Netflix and chill date night losing its romantic edge thanks to constant message pop-ups? It’s time you learned how to appear offline on your PS4!
Thankfully, the process is super simple. To learn how to appear offline on a PS4, simply follow our instructions down below. And for all other information, see our FAQs at the end of this article.
Table of Contents
How to appear offline on a PS4
- Power on your PS4, and sign into your PS4 profile to access the homescreen
- Now, at any time during your use of your PS4, simply hold down the PS button on your controller to access the quick menu
- From the quick menu, scroll down to ‘Online Status’ and press ‘X’ to access these settings
- Finally, scroll down to and press ‘X’ on ‘Appear Offline’
- Press ‘O’ a couple of times to exit out of the quick menu, and continue on with your session – you will now appear offline to all of your PSN friends, but can continue to access all of the online functions as usual
And that’s it! Yep, it’s really that simple! Appear offline anytime you like, to get a bit of peace and quiet from the hordes of friends messaging you and inviting you to games.
If you still have any unanswered queries, we suggest checking out our FAQ section below.
Frequently asked questions
Why would I want to appear offline on a PS4?
PlayStation Network (or PSN) is the network through which you can not only connect to all of the great online features of PlayStation gameplay but also connect with your friends and followers. Through PSN, you can message your friends, invite them to parties (or join them) so as to chat via mics or invite them to join your games.
Problem is that your friends can do the same to you, and sometimes this can be frustrating. If you’re just hoping to sit back, relax, and binge watch some shows on your favorite TV and Movie streaming service, it can completely ruin the vibe (whether the tension of a horror movie, or the romance of a rom-com) to have game invites and messages popping up on-screen throughout.
Moreover, maybe you just want to hop onto your PS4 and play a little of your favorite single-player game, but you know that as soon as your friends see you’re online, they’re going to start badgering you to join them on some other game instead. And it’s hard to say no to friends, right?
We get it! Thankfully, there’s always the option to appear offline. Doing so just means that no one but you will know that you’re on your PS4, and thus no one but you can see what you’re doing on it, giving you a little privacy, and a lot of peace.
Does appearing offline affect any of the functionality of my PS4?
Nope. You can continue to use your PS4 as you would under any other circumstances, including accessing all of the online features your plan gives you access to. ‘Appearing Offline’ is, in other words, not the same as actually being ‘Offline’.
Unfortunately appearing offline doesn’t mean that your friends can’t still message you, but it does mean they’re less likely too, since to them it will seem as if you’re not on your PS4.
How do I reappear online on my PS4 if I change my mind?
This one’s easy. If you’re satisfied with having achieved a little privacy and alone time by appearing offline and are ready to re-enter the world of online chat and game invites, you need only follow the same steps as before. Repeat what you did to ‘Appear Offline’, but this time when you select your online status, choose ‘Online’ instead.
There’s no limit to how often you can do this, so play around with appearing on- or offline as much as you like, whenever you need to.
