PS5 owner issues warning after realizing ‘scary’ mistake that lets other players spy on you

The PlayStation 5 has now been around for a few years now, wowing gamers with an impressive suite of exclusive and cross-platform games.

When it launched, there were a whole bunch of lovely brand-new features to experiment with, not least the stunning DualSense controller, which packed in amazing new haptics and a snazzy new design.

The controller also has a microphone included, which is great when you need to communicate and don't have a headset handy, even if the microphone quality isn't exactly outstanding.

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That said, it's also been heavily joked about since it's resulted in loads of gamers forgetting that the mic is on by default, and broadcasting their reactions and thoughts during matches.

Well, good news - it turns out the PS5 has a setting to take care of exactly this problem. It lets you switch the microphone off by default, so that you have to turn it on when you want it by pressing the mic button on your controller.

A thread on Reddit from a couple of months ago had a popular comment mentioning the feature, and the replies make it clear just how many people didn't know about it.

One reply said: "Wow, I've had mine for over a year and didn't know you could auto mute the mic. Thanks for mentioning this."

Another commented, almost sounding disbelieving: "Wait you can auto mute your mic on startup?"

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If you don't do this, you risk accidentally getting overheard by someone online, so if you want to change it just follow these steps.

How to auto-mute your PS5 microphone

With your PS5 on and looking at the home screen, here's what to do.

1. Open the Settings menu.
2. Go to Sound.
3. Go into the Microphone sub-menu and find the 'Microphone status when logged in' setting.
4. Toggle this setting to 'Off'.

That's it - your microphone should now be muted whenever you log into your account on your PS5, saving you from potential embarrassment.

We just went through these steps for ourselves - no more accidental outbursts when we get defeated in a game of Rocket League for us.

There are plenty more interesting secrets that the PS5 holds, too, many of which are used by very few players. Take activity cards - these can change how you move through a game if you embrace them, but they can take a little while to get used to.