Verified October 2026 against PlayStation, Xbox and Microsoft support pages.
You can lend a PlayStation or Xbox console without lending your account: have the other person play on their own account or a separate local user, sign your own profile out or lock it before the console leaves your hands, and require a password or PIN for purchases. The one thing not to hand over is your password, even to a close friend, because whoever holds it holds the account.
Why the console and the account are two different things
A console is hardware. Your PlayStation Network or Microsoft account is where your games, subscription, wallet funds, saved payment methods, friends list and messages live. When you lend the hardware, the only question that matters is which account is signed in while someone else is holding the controller.
That matters for two reasons. First, anything done from your signed-in profile is done in your name: purchases, messages and online behavior. Treat anything done from your profile as done by you, whoever was holding the controller. Second, PlayStation notes that after you sign in once, you stay signed in until you sign out. A console that leaves your house with your profile signed in carries your account with it.
Give the other person their own profile
The cleanest setup is for the borrower to use their own account. On Xbox, Xbox Support suggests creating an Xbox profile for everyone who uses the console, so a friend can sign in with their own Microsoft account. Their progress and purchases then stay on their account, not yours. Be careful with guest options: on Xbox, a guest account is a temporary copy of the host's profile that exists only while the host is signed in and is removed when either of them signs out, and Xbox Support says no purchases can be made with it. It suits playing together, not lending the console away; for that, the borrower needs their own profile.
If you want them to play games you own, use the official feature rather than your password. On a PS5, Console Sharing and Offline Play can be turned on for your account on one PS5 at a time; while it is on, other users on that console can play your games and use some PlayStation Plus benefits under their own profiles. On Xbox, the comparable setting is Home Xbox, which Xbox Support says can be switched up to five times in any one-year period, with no extra switches available from customer support. Xbox Support adds that this home console feature does not let others buy content with the credit card linked to your subscription. Both are console-level choices with limits, so if the console will be away for a long time, weigh whether you want your games attached to it at all.
Sign out or lock your profile before you hand it over
Before the console leaves, sign your own profile out on the console itself, or at least lock it so it cannot be opened without you:
- PS5: a login passcode on your user stops anyone who doesn't know it from logging in to your account on that console. PlayStation recommends it in its security best practices.
- Xbox: if your sign-in and security preferences are set to No barriers, no password or PIN is needed to sign in, change settings or buy things. Lock it down removes the saved password and asks for it for most actions, and Ask for my PIN puts a PIN in front of sign-in, settings changes and purchases. Xbox Support explains how to remove a saved password from a console.
If you forgot to sign out and the console is already gone, you are not stuck. PlayStation lets you sign out on all devices from Account Management online. Microsoft's Sign out everywhere does not cover Xbox consoles, so for Xbox the fallback is changing your password; see what to do about an Xbox console signed in to your account. Our guide to signing out of PSN everywhere and deactivating a console walks through the order, including why remote deactivation should not be wasted: PlayStation allows it only once every six months, and it deactivates all your consoles at once.
Put a lock on purchases
Even with good intentions, a borrowed console can rack up charges on a saved card. Both platforms offer a purchase check:
- On PlayStation, Require Password at Checkout means a borrower who can reach your profile still cannot finish a PlayStation Store purchase without your password. PlayStation notes it is not compatible with accounts that have passkeys set up, so check before relying on it.
- On Xbox, Ask for my PIN or Lock it down in the console's sign-in and security preferences makes buying on that console need your PIN or password; Custom does too if you include purchases among the protected actions. See Xbox Support's page on preventing unauthorized purchases on Xbox consoles.
Where each setting lives, and what it does not cover, is laid out in our PSN and Xbox security checklist.
If the borrower is a child in your household, use family tools instead of your own adult profile. On Xbox, a family group organizer can add funds to a member's account and require approval before the member makes a purchase (Xbox Support). Our explainer on family accounts on PlayStation and Xbox covers how that works and why it is meant for children you manage, with their knowledge.
Why you should not share your password, even with friends
Sharing a password feels like trust, but it changes what the other person can do. With your password, and any code sent to you, they can change your sign-in details and lock you out, whether on purpose or because their own device or email gets compromised later. PlayStation's security advice is never to share your account details with anyone, and it notes that sharing them breaches its Terms of Service. Xbox Support points the same way: setting a home Xbox lets you share subscription benefits without sharing your sign-in or account info.
There is also no clean way to take a shared password back. Once it is out, the only fix is changing it and signing out every device, which is exactly the cleanup you were trying to avoid. Lending the console with your account locked costs nothing.
What to do next
- Before you lend: add a user for the borrower, set a login passcode or profile PIN, and turn on the purchase check.
- If your profile was left signed in: sign out remotely and change your password, using the sign-out guide linked above.
- For a broader review of passwords, 2-step verification and passkeys, work through the same security checklist.
- If you see purchases or changes you did not make, contact PlayStation Support or Xbox Support directly.