The internet briefly thought Sony was listening to PS4 party chat, and the memes rolled in

The last 24 hours really has been a busy period for debunking next-gen console gossip: after rumours ran wild claiming the Xbox Series X kicked up a huge amount of heat, today the embargo on impressions finally lifted, and we learned that it's actually a pretty cool device (thanks Windows Central).

But Xbox wasn't the only company to deal with tin-foil-hat theories, as yesterday some PlayStation users briefly thought their consoles were spying on them - and the internet went wild.

The rumours began when PlayStation users spotted a message informing them that their PlayStation could record their party chat and send it on to Sony. In reality, this was actually the introduction of a PS5 feature allowing you to upload a recording of your party chat to report abusive behaviour, but without further context the message was certainly alarming. So much so that "Sony" quickly began to trend on Twitter, and although Sony later clarified the company wasn't recording party chat and the feature would launch on PS5, that wasn't enough to stop the memes.

Many immediately felt sympathy for the moderators at Sony, joking that they were about to overhear some terrible things in the party chat. Oh, and that we're all getting banned. Or worse.

Comparisons were also made to other platforms, with some referencing the rumours surrounding the Xbox Kinect (which everyone was worried could spy on you - and apparently with some reason). Another way around the problem is to simply not offer some very basic online services.

But for some, the possibility of being overheard by Sony promised new opportunities: how about a singing audition from the comfort of your own home?

And, when people finally started to get their heads around the fact it would actually be their friends and fellow players doing the reporting, the mood got tense.

In all seriousness, here's hoping the new feature will help reduce and discourage toxicity over voice chat on PS5. And also book me a recording deal with Sony. (Call me!)