How to Delete a PlayStation Network Account | Cake Blog - EU-Vietnam Business Network (EVBN)

These days, people are increasingly cautious about their digital footprints and the accounts they signed up for, including their PlayStation Network account. Here’s a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to delete one whether it belongs to you or your deceased loved one.

Jump ahead to these sections:

How to Delete Your Own PlayStation Network Account

To make these steps easier, we’ve included a few screenshots from PSN’s Help & Support center.

» MORE: Honor a loved one with an online memorial. Create one for free with Cake.

Honor a loved one with an online memorial.

Log on to playstation.com

Located in the navigation bar at the top of the PlayStation Network website, you’ll see a few options from which to choose. Click on “Help” and from the drop-down menu that follows, click on “Help & Support.”

Type your request in the “Search Support” line

Now that you’ve found the support page, you can type in the request to close your account. You can type in something like, “close my account,” and that will be sufficient to get you to the right place.

Choose the search result that fits your request

Click on, “How to close your account for PlayStation Network” to go to the next page. There, you’ll discover that you need to contact customer service.

Have your Sign-in ID and your Online ID available when you contact them. Then, click on the blue “contact us” option like you see here.

Access your account’s security features

The very next page offers a few icons in little blue boxes from which to choose. Click on the one labeled, “Account & Security.”

What’s next?

When the next page loads, scroll down part-way to the section that offers you a live chat session with customer service, then click the blue “Live chat now” button.

Request a chat

Next, you’ll be asked to provide your first name, your PlayStation Network sign-in ID, which is your email, and your PlayStation Network online ID. After you let them know that you’re not a robot, click on “Request Chat” located in the rectangular blue bar.

Hurry up and wait

After you’ve requested a chat, you’ll be directed to speak with a customer service representative who’ll finalize your request to delete your account.

Pro-tip: anyone who’s worked in customer service knows that is a tough, often thankless job. Since there’s a lot of chatter online about poor PlayStation Network or Sony customer service, I recommend starting the conversation by asking the person helping you how their day is going.

You might be surprised how painlessly you’ll get through the phone call.

How to Delete a Deceased Loved One’s PlayStation Network Account

If your loved one created a password manager, then deleting their PSN account will be a snap. In fact, you can just follow the above-mentioned steps and that should bring you to the right place.

Otherwise, your executor duties are going to be a bit more complicated. Here’s how to proceed:

Call

1-800-345-7669.

To talk with someone at PSN support, you’ll need to dial the number listed above during business hours: 9:00 am to 6:00 pm PST, M-F.

Press #5 and wait.

When someone from customer service answers, you can talk with them about closing your loved one’s account. You’ll likely be asked to send a copy of their death certificate via mail to their location which we’ve listed below.

Send a written request.

You can also send a written request via paper mail to:

2207 Bridgepointe Pkwy
San Mateo, CA 94404

Include a short note stating that you’d like to have your loved one’s account deleted. Include a copy of the death certificate.

It’s not likely that you’ll need a certified copy as this isn’t a financial institution, so make a copy of one that you have and that should suffice for them.

If you do not have one and aren’t sure how to get a death certificate, you can contact the funeral director that helped your family or log on to your local Vital Records office.

Frequently Asked Questions: Deleting a PlayStation Network Account

Here are a few quick FAQs to let you know what happens to all that data after you’ve deleted an account with PlayStation Network.

What happens when you delete a PSN account?

When you delete your PSN account, the following will happen:

You’ll lose access to purchased content. Content is not transferable as per the Cancellation Policy.
You’ll lose access to subscriptions and privileges.
You’ll lose what’s in your PlayStation Network wallet as per the Terms of Service.
You’ll need to create a new ID and account to sign up again.

Does PSN delete inactive accounts?

Yes, PSN can delete inactive accounts, but they use a different term for inactive accounts, making it more difficult to find in a regular search engine query.

Scroll to Section 13 of your PSN Terms of Service that reads: “Maintenance and Upgrades.” There it reads, “In addition, we reserve the right to delete player account data that we determine to have been dormant.”

If that happens, you’ll lose access to your purchased content, subscriptions, ID, and any value that may have been left in your wallet.

Cleaning Up Your Digital Afterlife

When we die, we leave many things behind, including our online profiles and accounts. Part of managing our digital afterlife is having a loved one close these accounts once we’re gone. If you’re in the position of closing out a loved one’s Playstation Network account, we hope this article has helped.

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