Why linking a PSN account to a Steam account is safe

[Lovecraft]

I've noticed some people are concerned that linking a PSN account to a Steam account is a security risk, so I'd like to explain how it works.

Every steam user has a 64 bit numeric ID. That's not normally shown in the Steam interface, but it's public and there are sites like http://steamrep.com where you can look up someone's steam ID.

Mine is 76561197999229823.

There are two things you can do with that ID. First, you can look up someone's profile. This is my (private) profile:

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197999229823

Second, that ID is available in game, so the game support can see who's playing.

All linking does is give that Steam ID # to PSN's website, so they can look it up later when you play the game, and connect you to PSN without needing to log in.

They probably use this API:

https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/auth

And it's safe because, well, that number isn't a secret. It's already given to them, in fact, every time you play their game.

Edit: I thought it was pretty clear, but I guess I have to clarify. I'm only talking about linking to Steam, to reassure people who are afraid their Steam account might be hacked. I'm not talking about creating a PSN account at all.

[Tooth]

PSN has been hacked enough times I don't even want to give them an email address. Stop simping for data collection.

[Phits]

Originally posted by Tooth:

PSN has been hacked enough times I don't even want to give them an email address. Stop simping for data collection.

I don't know details so gain of salt. I read in another post that if you link your steam to PSN the way they do it if PSN is hacked they can get enough of your steam data to hack it as well.

[Sammy]

Yeah, I don't agree with the PSN linking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but people saying they are gonna get their Steam hacked because of the linking is pure ignorance.

[Clunt Westwood]

Originally posted by Sammy:

Yeah, I don't agree with the PSN linking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but people saying they are gonna get their Steam hacked because of the linking is pure ignorance.

are you not aware of sony and its history of being hacked and info sold

[Spirit]

here is the funny part dear OP : it isnt
sony got hacked more times then we have fingers on our hands (and those are only the cases we know about)

[Schakar]

It is NOT save!

Any additional link is a very high risk as now the attacks not only have one platform they can attack but two to get even more informations.

Sure, Steam and Sony want you belive ... but they DO NOT tell you about all the real risks!

[Lovecraft]

Originally posted by Staff Sgt. Kermit T Frog:

Originally posted by Sammy:

Yeah, I don't agree with the PSN linking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but people saying they are gonna get their Steam hacked because of the linking is pure ignorance.

are you not aware of sony and its history of being hacked and info sold

But even if they're hacked, the hacker won't gain access to your steam account. Just that Steam ID # which is public anyway.

[Luchs]

they have been hackled more times than they have exclusives lmao

[Sammy]

Originally posted by Staff Sgt. Kermit T Frog:

Originally posted by Sammy:

Yeah, I don't agree with the PSN linking ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, but people saying they are gonna get their Steam hacked because of the linking is pure ignorance.

are you not aware of sony and its history of being hacked and info sold

I'm aware. Did you even read what I wrote? I don't agree with the PSN linking. I'm solely talking about you won't get your Steam hacked if you link it with your PSN account since when you normally link Steam to anything, it is mostly public data that is given to the service. Of course, your PSN data might get leaked, but not your Steam info.

[SASMrSmall]

Bait

[Cipher]

UK users have to submit a photo of their face or personal ID to Sony. Not everybody is equal in this and I won't even entrust Sony with a burner email with their track record.

[Cipher]

Originally posted by Deep Rock Galactic:

Originally posted by Cipher:

UK users have to submit a photo of their face or personal ID to Sony. Not everybody is equal in this and I won't even entrust Sony with a burner email with their track record.

Ok, curious, why did you buy the game then? Since you knew it needed PSN. I wouldnt buy a game that needed my photo

Not a UK resident and the first thing I did before purchasing was ask some friends who had the game about the PSN linkage disclaimer. They said it's optional at the time and nothing I read on the Steam store page or on the in-game warnings indicated it's supposed to be temporary.

[Spoon3r]

April 2011: Hackers Access Personal Data of 77 Million Sony PlayStation Network Users
May 2011: Personal Details on 25 Million Sony Online Entertainment Customers Stolen
June 2011: Sony Pictures Website Hacked, Exposing One Million Accounts
November 2014: Hackers Steal 100 Terabytes of Data from Sony Pictures
August 2017: Hacker Group Accesses Sony Social Media Accounts
September 2023: Sony Investigates Alleged Hack
October 2023: Sony Notifies Employees of Data Breach

[EchoMoose]

Originally posted by Cipher:

UK users have to submit a photo of their face or personal ID to Sony. Not everybody is equal in this and I won't even entrust Sony with a burner email with their track record.

Doing my best to point UK players to the ID skip
Not saying it's a reason to let go of your gripes, just if you are going to make an account make sure it's an account with as little info on it as possible

https://www.reddit.com/r/helldivers2/comments/1cjzdiy/possible_id_skip_for_uk_psn_account_creation/

Originally posted by EchoMoose:
If you don't like the idea of clicking a link posted.
Navigate to Playstation.com, go to create account, delete everything after the "&" in the url and press enter.
Now it won't ask for ID

I'm not happy about the situation either, but if people from the UK are going to make accounts I'd rather sony got at little usable data as possible

[♥ Beepy ♥]

The game doesn't "require" a PSN account. People have been playing it for the last 3 months w/o one. To insinuate that it's some utterly service/performance-critical thing is absolutely disingenuous.

It's also not about keeping anyone "secure". This is all about propping up PSN user numbers for shareholders and control over people outside the PSN.