Invites for the PlayStation 4 System Software update 8.50 beta have started going out, providing the first details on the next update.

　　As reported by Mp1st, the 8.50 beta update introduces a few quality of life improvements, such as the option to turn notifications on and off for each group a user is in and removes PlayStation Communities.

　　Main Features in This System Software Beta

　　In messages, you can now turn notifications on/off for each of the groups you’re in. On the group screen, open then options menu and select “Turn Notifications Off”.Other Updates Features

　　On the game session screen, you can now use the “Request to Join” button to ask the session leader to join their game. The session leader can then send you an invite to join the game session.When playing a game you’ve hidden, other players will no longer see you play it.Communities are no longer available.With the beta invites going out, it will probably not take much longer for the final PlayStation 4 System Software update 8.50 to be made available to all. A final release date, however, hasn't been announced at the time.

　　The previous major PlayStation 4 System Software update, update 8.0, introduced updates to Party and Messages, new avatars, updated parent controls, and enhanced 2-step verification.

　　Simplified and more flexible Parental Controls

　　Under Parental Controls, we’re combining the ‘Communicating with Other Players’ and ‘Viewing Content Created by other Players’ into one setting – ‘Communication and User Generated Content’-  to cover both areas of communication and UGC sharing. This offers a simpler setting that’s easier for parents to understand and apply to their children.

　　 In addition, children can send a request to their parents to use communications features in specific games. When a child sends this request, the parent will receive an email notification and can choose to make an exception for that game and allow the child to use its communications and UGC features. This will provide more flexibility to both parents and children.

　　Enhanced 2-Step Verification

　　The 2-Step Verification (2SV) feature on PS4 will be enhanced to support third party authenticator apps as an option during the activation flow and 2SV sign-in across PS4, mobile and web.