Microsoft Family
Keeping your kids safe online can be complicated, but Microsoft Family helps make it easier for you. Microsoft Family provides a website and a free program that is built-in to Windows 10 PCs your kids use, so you can give them some independence but still keep tabs on their activities. Microsoft Family can also help keep your kids off websites you don’t want them looking at.
How Microsoft Family works
Microsoft Family Benefits
Safer web browsing: Turning this on will block inappropriate websites and enables safe search, which will filter out adult content on Bing, and other search engines. This also provides you with the ability to add specific websites to either an Allow or Block list. If a child needs access to a specific website, they can request permission from one of the adults within Microsoft Family. An adult can accept or deny the request from a Windows 10 PC or from the Microsoft Family website.
Games, Apps, and Media: Making sure a child in your Family can only see age appropriate content is easy with Microsoft Family. Just set the child’s age and Microsoft Family does the rest. When a child in your family visits the Windows or Xbox store, they will only see age appropriate content.
Purchase & spending: Let the child in your family spend without any unexpected surprises on your credit card! Add money into the child’s account instead of linking a credit card. You can easily add money to their account anytime. A child can then spend their allowance without overspending. You’ll be able to see the child’s recent purchases. If you prefer, you can also limit downloads to free downloads, or disable downloads all together from the Windows or Xbox One stores.
Screen time limits: Do you want to make sure a child in your family isn’t on their computer at 4am? Specify the time intervals a child is allowed on the PC. In addition, you can give a child a time allowance for their computer. If you want a child to only use their computer for 2 hours each day, Microsoft Family makes this simple. If you have an Xbox One console, you get separate controls to assign screen time on Xbox.
Activity reporting: On the Microsoft Family dashboard on https://account.microsoft.com/family, you have the option to enable activity reporting. This gives you an easy way to see what a child in your family is up to. You can see website visits, apps & games that were used, and a breakdown of how long the child spent on a device. You have the option to receive this activity report as a weekly email.
As the child gets older, you can adjust the Microsoft Family settings accordingly. Each feature can be independently turned on or off.
How to setup
If you already have a Microsoft Account, you are ready to setup Microsoft Family. If you don’t have a Microsoft Account, it’s easy to sign up. It will only take a few minutes to create an account, and it unlocks many benefits in addition to Microsoft Family. If you have a Windows 10 device or Xbox you are ready to setup Microsoft Family.
Microsoft Family account dashboard: The easiest way to setup Microsoft Family is by logging into your Microsoft Account at the Microsoft Family website. On this page, you can click on Add a family member, which will ask if you want to add an Adult or Child to your Microsoft Family. Just enter their Microsoft Account email address and press Send invite, or if they don’t currently have a Microsoft Account press create one for them and go through a few quick steps to set one up. Once the account is setup the adult or child is now ready to start using the devices in the home with their Microsoft Account.
Windows 10 PC: You can start the setup process from your PC, but keep in mind that managing the child account is done from the Microsoft Family website. If you are an adult that has already signed into your Windows 10 PC using your Microsoft Account, you can go to Settings -> Accounts -> Family & other users. If you’ve already added a child or adult in your family through the website or Xbox, you’ll see them on this same page. It’s easy to allow your other family members to login to this computer. Just make sure it says, Can sign in next to their name. All they will have to do is select their profile at login and enter their password. If you want to add someone new, select Add a family member. This will ask if it’s a Child or Adult account, and then ask for their Microsoft Account if they have one, or help you create one.
Creating an account for a child under the age of 13
You can create an account for children of any age but if the child is younger than 13, certain rules apply. Microsoft complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regarding online account creation for children under the age of 13. To verify that an adult is giving a child permission to create a new Microsoft Account, COPPA requires that a small amount be charged to the adult's credit card. We charge 50 cents for this verification. Microsoft donates this fee to The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. More information on Parental consent and Microsoft child accounts. Microsoft Family is an amazing option for families. It has made it easier for me as an older brother to keep an eye on my brother and sister. It can certainly help your family too.