How to Set Parental Controls in Windows 8

It used to be a chore to lock your family computer from inappropriate materials or users sitting in front of their computer for too long. In Windows 8, the operating system itself can monitor underage users. Windows 8 can manage these tasks thanks to a feature called Family Safety.

A standalone app originally only available to users who downloaded the Live Essentials app collection, Family Safety can monitor child accounts and report online activity directly to a parent account. It can also be used to automatically organize the time your child is online. For example, parents can tell their Windows 8-equipped tablets, laptops, or all-in-ones not to let their children in for certain hours or for extended periods of time. All this monitoring relies on something very important to Windows: user accounts. Each Windows device allows parents to create user accounts. In Windows 8, Microsoft introduced a new type of Child account that is limited in what it does and automatically reports information back to the device’s administrator account.

Before we begin, it is important to note that you will need the Windows 8.1 update to make the installation process you receive look exactly like the one shown below. Windows 8.1 is a free update that Microsoft has made available in the Windows Store. If you don’t have it yet, download it now. It will take about an hour and also includes new customization features and the ability to hide the Start Screen when your device boots. Go to the Windows Store to see if it’s available on your device. If you see a banner labeled Install Windows 8.1, tap or click on it to start the installation process. If you don’t see the title, you’ve already installed the update.

Setting up Family Safety

Since Family Safety relies on parents and children having separate accounts, this is where the setup process begins. If you haven’t created individual accounts for your entire family on each device, now is the time to do so. We guide Windows 8.1 users by creating any account type. How to Create New Accounts in Windows 8.1.If everyone is using the same account on your Windows 8.1 device, fix this now by creating at least one separate child account (or multiple child accounts if you have more than one child).

If you’ve already created at least one separate child account, here’s what you need to do. Go to by pressing the Windows key on your laptop or desktop computer’s keyboard. Tablet or 2-in-1 users should press the Windows button at the bottom of their device’s screen. Now hover your mouse cursor over your screen to open the Charms Bar. Tablet users should place their fingers on the left edge of the screen and move their fingers to the left. Now tap or click the icon. Tap or click . Tap or click on the left side of your screen. Tap or click the option. Now you will want to tap or click on the name of the account you previously created for your child’s use. In our case it is simply called Test. Make it a Child Account by tapping or clicking the menu and . Then tap or click .

Managing Family Safety

Now go back and turn the charms back on by placing your cursor in the upper right corner of your device’s screen or placing your finger on the right edge of your tablet’s screen and swiping slightly to the left. Tap or click . Type in the Search Box and click or tap on the magnifying glass. Tap or click on it in the menu. Tap or click Family Safety Website. You will be immediately redirected to Microsoft’s website, where you will need to sign in to your Microsoft Account. Now tap or click on the name of the Child Account you created earlier. Welcome to the Family Safety dashboard. From here you can completely manage your child’s entire online experience. Activity Reporting and Web Filtering will probably be the most important features for anyone who wants to protect their little one from searching bad things on the internet. Turning on Web Filtering blocks access to content you think they are not ready to see. This can be customized according to your child’s maturity level. Activity Reporting will automatically share your child’s activities with you via emails sent to your Microsoft Account. If someone is using a child account, certain content and actions must be approved. Parents can manage these approvals from the Requests area.

The great thing about all these features is that these settings sync from device to device. That’s why your child is protected by Family Safety wherever they log in. Windows Phone 8.1 also integrates these features. This way, you can keep an eye on what your kids are doing and playing on Microsoft’s smartphone platform, too.