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You might be surprised to find that the PS5 doesn’t have a web browser on its home menu. This seems like a downgrade, since the PlayStation 4 included a web browser from launch.
As it turns out, there’s a hidden web browser in the PS5 you can access through a convoluted method. We’ll show you how to browse the web on your PS5—if you really need to.
How to Access the PS5’s Web Browser
To use the web browser on your PS5, first head to the Settings page from the main menu. Here, select the Users and Accounts section, followed by Linked Services. Then choose the YouTube option and hit Link.
If you already have your YouTube account linked to your PS5, you must unlink it to access the browser.
On the resulting page, choose Use Browser at the bottom. When you see a sign-in page, don’t enter your credentials. Instead, use the left stick to hover the cursor over the Terms link at the bottom-right, then click it with the X button.
Next, use the right stick to scroll all the way down to the bottom of the long Terms of Service page—it will take a moment. Once you reach the bottom, mouse over the Google link at the bottom-left and click it.
Selecting this link will bring you to a stripped-down version of the familiar Google homepage. From here, you have free rein to search for whatever you like and browse the web using your PS5.
Because there’s no usable browser address bar, you’ll need to search Google and click links to go anywhere. It’s clunky, but functional.
Is the PS5 Web Browser Worth Using?
As you might expect given how Sony hid the browser, the PS5 web browser is far from fantastic. Basic sites with only text and images load fine, but anything that requires multimedia isn’t reliable.
You can probably pull up a video site that doesn’t have a dedicated PS5 app to enjoy watching its content, but don’t expect to use complicated web apps or play games. Using the software keyboard is a pain (unless you connect a physical keyboard to your PS5). Plus, using the YouTube login workaround every time is tedious and prevents you from keeping your YouTube account linked with your PSN account.
For most people, there are few reasons to use the browser on your PS5. Chances are you have a smartphone or tablet nearby that’s much easier to use and will work with almost all websites, unlike the clunky PS5 browser experience. The only scenario I can think of where this browser would come in handy is if you want to look something up while using PlayStation VR and don’t want to take the headset off.
This is probably why Hideaki Nishino from Sony said that the company “ha[s] doubts about whether a web browser is necessary.” There’s a chance that the PS5 could get a better browser in the future, but it’s likely not a priority when everyone has better ways to access the web.
Oddly, the PS5 does have an options page under Settings > System titled Web Browser that has settings for deleting cookies and similar. It’s not clear why this exists when the browser isn’t meant for general use.
If the lackluster web browser left you wanting more, you should check out more useful hidden features of your PS5.