Microsoft Family Safety for Windows 11/10: Features, How to set up and use

Microsoft Family Safety is a free parental control and monitoring service developed by Microsoft. The feature, however, is available on Windows 11/10 PCs, but if you had previously set up family features when using Windows 8, and then upgraded to Windows 11/10, you need to adjust a few Settings take to turn on family settings again.

Microsoft Family Safety for Windows 11/10

Family Safety allows parents to monitor what minors are doing on their computers. To enable the feature, you first create your child’s account and then add it to your family account. The Family account is controlled by an adult in the family who manages and controls what minors are allowed to do on the PC. It helps you keep your kids safe online and prevents them from watching inappropriate websites, etc. Furthermore, you can also set time limits for their computer usage and restrict any apps or games you don’t want them to play.

Having seen how to set up Family on Windows 11/10, let us now take a look at the new features Family Safety on Windows 11/10 offers.

How to set up Parental Control on Windows 11/10

The updated Microsoft Family Safety offers many more features, including recent activities, age limits, time limits, website blocking, and more.

1] Screen time extensions

In addition to time limits and age limits, you can now adjust your child’s screen time. Assign them 15 minutes, 1-2 hours, or 8 hours of screen time on their PC. You can also extend the screen time via email if they run out of time.

2] Safer default settings for younger kids

This new feature helps you avoid the hassle of adjusting the settings for your children separately. When you add a child to your family account, you automatically set the preferences for all kids under 8 years old. For the account of kids above 8 years, you have to adjust the settings manually every time.

3] Changes to web browsing

One visible change is the change in web browsing habits. Earlier, family settings worked on browsers of different makes, but beginning this version of Windows, Microsoft Family Safety features are now applicable only to Microsoft’s own web browsers, i.e., Edge and Internet Explorer. You can now set the web browsing limits for your kids only on these two web browsers.

Other brands of browsers frequently make changes that can break the technology Microsoft has in place for them. As such, the company cannot fix those breaks fast enough to keep kids protected; the focus is on making family settings work seamlessly for Microsoft products and services, including web browsers.

To ensure your child does not use other browsers for browsing the web or not supported by family, select Block where you see those browsers in every child’s activity.

4] How to check your Child’s Online Activity on Phone

To check your child’s internet activities on a Phone, you first need to set the phone with the same Microsoft account which is used to join the family. It will automatically apply all family account settings.

You can then check the Recent Activity of your child from both Windows PC as well as mobile devices. Microsoft sends an alert to remind adults of the family to check children’s activity report.

The new web browsing limits automatically block adult content Microsoft Edge. However, you can manually allow or block the websites too.

A new feature named Find Your Child enables adults of the family to find the child’s device on a map. When the feature is turned on, Microsoft sends a reminder that the child’s location is available for adults in the family.

5] Kids Purchase & Spending

The Windows Store settings have also been changed to make them more family-friendly. You can allow the kids to purchase an item of their choice, provided their shopping spree is within the spending limit that you have set.

You can add money to your kid’s account without divulging your credit card details. For this, go to the child’s account > Purchase and Spending > Add money to this account.

The Store will display browse results based on the purchase limit you have configured. To view your child’s recent purchases, check the Purchase and Spending page.

Adults in the family can set the content limits for the money they spend at Windows Store. You can add a set amount of money to your Kid’s account rather than giving your credit card details.

According to the official Microsoft blog, Microsoft will soon add some more interesting and useful features to Family Safety.

Also, some other features like Web browsing limits for younger kids and Kid’s view of recent activity will also be added allowing parents to allow kids to visit only specific websites.

6] Windows adds some more features:

• One Microsoft family: You can see all your family accounts for Windows and Xbox, see the settings for each child in your family, and make changes to their settings.
• Multiple time limits per day: You can set multiple time limits per day for your child’s Windows PCs and give the child more time on that device when it’s not connected to the internet.
• Keep kids safe while browsing: Choose which websites your kids are allowed to visit. If they’re using Microsoft Edge or Internet Explorer, they’ll be blocked from any other websites you haven’t allowed. Since other commonly used browsers don’t have this feature, we will block them on your child’s devices.
• Microsoft Store is more family-friendly.
• Instant notifications of your kid’s requests: Microsoft will notify you immediately if your kid sends you a request.

Set up Microsoft Family Safety

Make your child use a Microsoft Account. Then in the Settings, select your account. Select Sign in with a Microsoft account instead and enter their email address. Then, add their Microsoft account to your family safety account. Head over to account.microsoft.com/family.

Select a child to view or edit their settings and select Add. Enter your child’s email address to sign in to Windows 11/10 and select Send invite. Your child will need to accept the invitation from their email address.

You can now go ahead and set your restrictions.

Read next: How to set up Xbox One for your Child.