A few days ago a rumor popped up, stating that Sony was looking to remove Facebook Integration from the PlayStation. This stemmed from a message from PlayStation Asia Support, as a user stated they were no longer able to sign in to Facebook from their PS4. Well, it turns out that wasn’t a rumor after all and as of today, Sony has pulled the plug on the feature.
According to the official PlayStation website, that feature will be removed as of October 7th, 2019. Which happens to be today.
Starting on October 7th, 2019 Facebook integration will no longer be supported on the PS4 system. This includes Facebook’s share features such as posting gameplay and trophy activity and using the friend finder feature. We apologize for any inconvenience.
This means owners of the PS4 will no longer be able to post images, videos, gameplay broadcasts to Facebook. Nor will they be able to link their Facebook account to the PS4, or use imported images from Facebook.
Strangely enough, Sony hasn’t mentioned the reason behind the removal of the feature. Despite that, you have to wonder if this is due to all the trouble Facebook has been involved with. The company has been the subject of a government investigation in the past, and even to this day, people have been leery on Facebook’s data collection practice. Since then, Facebook has announced a change to its API and in all likelihood is the same API that Sony and other 3rd parties use to pull data. Seeing how Sony has pulled out first, you have to wonder if other companies will follow suit.
In the end, this stinks as posting images and videos from the PS4 to Facebook was a common function we’ve used here at The Outerhaven. This just makes things a bit harder for without a gaming capture device, which not everyone owns despite popular belief.
Still, I applaud Sony for making what can be seen as a tough call. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even want Facebook’s products in my home. If I didn’t need to keep in touch with distant family members and friends, I wouldn’t even use Facebook at all.
