Sometimes, Internet browsing by children can unknowingly land them on pages that aren’t kid-friendly or have inappropriate content. As such, their online experience should be monitored or done under some sort of supervision. Browsers that are equipped with Family Safety controls can help parents set the defaults based on age. Kids Mode in Microsoft Edge has such safety guardrails in place.
How to use Kids Mode in Microsoft Edge
Firstly, Internet safety for kids depends on parents being aware of internet safety risks and understanding how to help their children and teens avoid them. Setting clearly defined rules can help kids safely explore the web.
- Launch the Edge browser.
- Click the Profile icon to switch the profile.
- Select Browse in Kids Mode.
- Select the age range for kids.
- Change Background and colors.
- Block or Grant Website Permissions.
- Manage Allowed sites in Kids Mode.
- To exit the Kids mode, click the Exit kids mode window button.
Kids Mode in Microsoft Edge browser supports only kid-friendly content like custom browser themes, browsing based on an allow list, Bing SafeSearch set to strict, and a password requirement to exit.
Launch the Edge browser and click the profile icon visible in the upper-right corner to switch the profile.
Select the Browse in Kids Mode option as shown in the image above. The good thing here is, you don’t need to be signed into the browser. However, signing in will allow the Kids Mode settings to sync across your devices.
A new page will appear, informing you about the feature. You can skip it to proceed further.
When prompted, select an appropriate age band to launch Kids Mode in:
- 5-8 years
- 9 and older
The mode doesn’t require a child account or profile. A new window for Kids Mode will open on the full screen.
Here, you can change colors or modify the background.
Select Choose background and colors, select a theme and hit the Done button. The changes you make to the themes in Kids Mode won’t apply to normal browsing windows.
Proceeding further, you’ll need to grant website permissions in Kids Mode so that when a child visits a website not included in the allow list, he’ll run into a block page. Only the specific website link on the block page will be available in the browsing session.
Note – You can only make changes to the allowed list when you’re outside of the Kids Mode browsing window. For this, you’ll need to go to Settings and more, choose Settings and scroll down to the Family option under the left navigation menu.
The switch to the Right pane and go to Manage allowed sites in the Kids Mode heading. Here, you can view the predefined list of kid-appropriate sites.
The list follows the alphabetical order in naming convention. Add or remove sites, as desired.
Lastly, until you exit Kids Mode, Microsoft Edge will continue to launch in Kids Mode. So, if you would like to browse in the normal mode, you’ll have exited the Kids Mode.’
Select the Kids Mode icon at the top of the browser.
Choose the Exit Kids Mode window.
When prompted enter the device password. It is the same as the one used to unlock your computer.
Once done, you’ll safely exit Kids Mode and can resume normal browsing. Bear in mind, if you close the window through the taskbar or Close button at the top of the browser, Microsoft Edge will ask for your device credentials.
Kids Mode in edge browser is programmed to clear browsing data on exit, automatically. Besides, it also clears things like Cookies and other site data when Kids Mode is disabled.
Related: How to block a website in Microsoft Edge.
