How to Set Up Parental Controls in Windows 11

How to Set Up Parental Controls in Windows 11

Windows 11 parental controls come from Microsoft Family Safety. Once your child has their own Microsoft account in your family group, you can set screen time limits, filter websites, block apps and games, approve purchases and see activity reports - from the PC or from the Family Safety app on your phone.

Names of some settings change between Windows versions and Family Safety updates, but the steps below show where each control lives.

What You Need

• Your own Microsoft account - you'll be the family organizer, who manages the family group, limits and permissions.
• A Microsoft account for your child. You can create one during setup.
• Your child signing in to the PC with their own account - controls apply to that account, not to the PC as a whole.

Protect your own account with 2-step verification so a child (or anyone else) can't change the settings by guessing your password - see how to turn on two factor authentication for Google Microsoft and Apple.

Step 1: Create Your Family Group and Add Your Child

1. Sign in to Windows with your account.
2. Open Settings > Accounts > Family.
3. Select Add someone and enter your child's email address, or choose to create an account for them.
4. Follow the prompts. If you're inviting an existing account, the child accepts the invitation from their email.

You can also do this at account.microsoft.com/family or in the Microsoft Family Safety app.

Step 2: Let Your Child Sign In to the PC

On the family page in Settings > Accounts > Family, your child's account appears once they're in your group. Select Allow (or make sure sign-in is allowed) so they can use the PC, then have them sign in with their own account once while connected to the internet.

Keep your child on a standard user account, not an administrator. That way they can't install software or change system settings without your password.

Step 3: Set Screen Time Limits

1. Open family.microsoft.com (or the Family Safety app) and select your child.
2. Go to Screen time.
3. Turn on limits for Windows devices and set:
4. daily time allowed for each day of the week,
5. the time range when the PC can be used (for example, not after 9 pm).

When time runs out, Windows locks the child's session. They can send you a request for more time, which you can approve from your phone.

App and game limits

Under Screen time, the Apps and games section lets you set limits for individual apps - useful for one game that takes over the day while homework apps stay available.

Step 4: Filter Websites and Searches

1. In Family Safety, select your child, then Content filters > Web and search.
2. Turn on Filter inappropriate websites and searches. This also turns on SafeSearch in Bing.
3. Add sites to Blocked sites - or turn on Only use allowed websites for young children and list the sites they may visit.

Important: web filtering works in Microsoft Edge. When it's on, Family Safety blocks other common browsers on Windows so the filter can't be bypassed. If you allow another browser under Apps and games, its sites won't be filtered.

Step 5: Block Apps and Games by Age

In Content filters > Apps and games, choose an age rating. Apps and games from the Microsoft Store above that age need your approval. You can also block specific apps that appear in the child's activity.

Step 6: Control Purchases

Turn on Ask to buy (under Spending or the purchase settings in Family Safety). Your child then needs your approval for purchases in the Microsoft Store. You can also add a set amount of money to their account instead of linking your card.

Step 7: Check Activity Reports

Turn on activity reporting to see which apps, games and websites your child used and for how long. You can get weekly email summaries. Talk about the report with your child - it works best as a conversation, not surveillance.

Other Useful Settings

• Set up pop-up and notification blocking in the browser so kids aren't tricked by scary warnings - see how to stop pop ups and notifications in Chrome and fake virus warning pop up in browser.
• Phones and tablets: Family Safety also works on Android and iPhone, and games consoles have their own family settings. Controls on the PC don't cover other devices automatically.
• Edge problems: because filtering relies on Edge, keep it working - see Microsoft Edge not opening or crashing.

Troubleshooting

• Limits don't apply: make sure the child signs in with their own account (not yours, not a local account), and that the PC is connected to the internet so settings can sync.
• Child's account missing from Settings > Accounts > Family: check the invitation was accepted at family.microsoft.com.
• Settings seem to reset: check that no one else has organizer rights in the family group.

No parental control is perfect. Combine the settings above with a few house rules - like keeping the PC in a shared room for younger children - and review the settings as your child grows.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

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See Also:windows 11 parental controls family