How to Set Up and Use Parental Controls to Limit Your Child's Computer Use in Windows 10/ 11 1

How to Set Up and Use Parental Controls to Limit Your Child’s Computer Use in Windows 10/ 11

In 2020, Microsoft released the Family Safety app on Android and iOS to track your child’s computer usage. Since then, Microsoft has only improved the tool and it now supports app blocking, content filtering, live location and much more. The Redmond giant seems to be following in Apple’s footsteps when it comes to digital wellbeing. iPad has excellent parental controls, and so do macOS Catalina and later versions of macOS. Now, if you want to use a similar tool on your computer, here is the guide for setting and using parental controls to limit your child’s use on Windows 10/11.

Set Up and Use Parental Controls in Windows 10/ 11 (2021)

We’ve included instructions on how to set up and use parental controls on Windows 10 and 11 computers in this article. We’ve also included a brief explanation of what Microsoft Family Safety is. You can expand the table below and navigate to any relevant section.

What is Microsoft Family Safety?

Microsoft Family Safety is a digital wellbeing tool developed specifically for children under the age of 18. It allows parents to keep track of their children’s digital habits. screen time, game time, web searches, and more on Windows 10/11 computers. Basically, you can monitor every aspect of your kids with a simple Microsoft account. And when your kids turn 18, they can choose whether they want to share all the activities with you.

I’ve used parental controls on my Chromebook before and it was a really complicated setup process. However, the Microsoft Family Safety tool is easy to use and I absolutely love it. If you want to use parental controls to limit your child’s computer usage on Windows 10/ 11, I highly recommend using the Microsoft Family Safety tool.

Setting Parental Controls in Windows 10/ 11

1. First, open Settings using the Windows 11 keyboard shortcut “Windows + I”. Here, go to: Accounts -> Family and other users. Windows 10 users also need to follow the same path after opening the Settings application.

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10/11

2. Here, “add accountTo add a separate user account for your child. Windows 10 users need to select the “Add family member” option.

In relation :  How to Use PS4 Controller for iPad Gaming
How to Set Up and Use Parental Controls to Limit Your Child's Computer Use in Windows 10/ 11

3. Remember that you need: create an online Microsoft account so that your child can benefit from Microsoft Family Safety. Then you need to log into your child’s account on your Windows 10/11 PC to set parental controls successfully.

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10/11

How to Use Parental Controls in Windows 10/ 11 to Monitor Your Kids’ Activity

1. After you have finished creating a Microsoft account for your child, sign in to the PC with your child’s account. I suggest you use Microsoft Edge For activity tracking across the web and PC. Open Microsoft Edge and sign in with your child’s account.

ms edge

2. Next, navigate to: family.microsoft.com and login with your account (parent account). Here you will see that your child’s account is automatically added under the “Your Family” section. click child’s profile to open the activity history

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10/11

3. After that, “Turn on event reporting” button and that’s it. You will now start seeing your child’s activity on your Microsoft Family dashboard.

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10/11

Web and Search Filtering

1. Under the Web & search section, the dashboard shows you which websites your child has visited. If you find something inappropriate,to obstructIf you press the ” button, the website will become inaccessible on your child’s computer.

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10/11

2. Also “Content filters” and “Filter inappropriate websites and searches”. It will enable SafeSearch with Bing in Microsoft Edge and protect your child from immature content on the web.

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10/11

3. If you want, you can also add allowed and blocked sites under the Content filters section of Microsoft’s parental control tool in Windows 10 and 11. Microsoft Edge.

Web and Search Filtering

Screen Time Customization

1. Screen Time comes after content filtering. You can monitor and limit the time your child spends in front of the screen. Go to the “Screen time” tab from the left sidebar and Enable the “Use one program on all devices” toggle Under “Devices”.

screen TIME

2. Now you can set time limit based on weekdays and weekends. Or you can create completely different schedules depending on the day. Screen time limits are fully customizable.

Screen TIME

3. My favorite thing about Microsoft Family Safety is that it lets you set a time limit for different apps and games. Go to the “Apps and games” tab under “Screen time” and Enable the “App & game limits” toggle.

In relation :  How to Use Safari on iPhone
application limit

4. Here you can review all the apps and customize how much time your child can spend in a home. app or game.

Screen TIME

5. On top of that, parental control allows you to click the 3-dot menu next to each app and block an app on your child’s Windows 10/ 11 computer as well.

block the app

Xbox Online Gaming

And if you have an Xbox console and your child is using it, you can also customize the use of the console from the web dashboard. You can choose Who your child can communicate and play with, set age rating for games and more. Just click on the “Review Xbox settings” option.

note: If your child regularly uses Xbox console or plays games on Windows 10/ 11 PC, you can also get the Xbox Family Settings app (Free, Android and iOS) for focused parental controls.

xbox

Set up Microsoft Family Safety on Your iOS or Android Phone

If you want to track your child’s smartphone usage, you can do so easily. Microsoft has developed a compatible app for both Android and iOS. You can use all the controls described above to view and adjust them seamlessly. Here’s how you can go about it:

1. Go ahead and Microsoft Family Safety app (Free, Android and iOS) on your smartphone. After that, sign in with your Microsoft account (parent account). If your child has a smartphone, install the same app and sign in with their account. will let you View your child’s real-time location additionally.

2. Next, tap on your kid’s profile and you can view all the details. You can even set screen time limits, block apps or set content filters directly from the app. In this way, you can track your child’s location and easily track their digital habits.

Set up Microsoft Family Safety on Your Smartphone

Set Parental Controls in Windows 10 and 11

So you can easily set parental controls and use Microsoft Family Safety app to restrict your child’s use on Windows 10 and 11 computers. Microsoft has built a solid layer of digital wellbeing within Windows 10/ 11 and I think most parents should benefit from it. In my test on a child’s account, Windows 11 was prompting for how much time is left for a particular app and giving suggestions on how to navigate certain websites. I think it’s a great solution for parents who want to limit their kids’ screen time. Anyway, that’s it for us. If you want to learn how to use Kids Mode in Microsoft Edge, follow our linked tutorial. And if you have any questions, let us know in the comment section below.

Moyens I/O Staff has motivated you, giving you tips on technology, personal development, lifestyle and strategies that will help you.