Xbox family settings: screen time, content filters and spending controls

Create a family group

1. Make sure the child has their own Microsoft account. If they are under the age of consent in your country, creating it requires an adult's permission.
2. Add the child to your family group, either from the console, the family section of your Microsoft account online, or the Xbox Family Settings app on your phone.
3. Make sure at least one adult is an organiser. Organisers can change settings and approve requests.

Where to manage settings

• Xbox Family Settings app: the quickest place for Xbox-specific controls such as screen time, content filters, who the child can play and talk with, and requests.
• Microsoft account family pages online: the place for spending and purchase controls, and for settings that cover Windows too.
• The console itself: under the family settings in the account section, useful when you are in front of the TV.

Screen time

• Set a daily allowance for each day of the week, so weekdays and weekends can differ.
• Choose a schedule window for when play is allowed at all.
• Newer versions of the controls let you set limits for individual games and apps, not just the console as a whole.
• When time runs out, the child can ask for more. You get a notification and can approve or decline from your phone.

Content filters

• Choose an age, and the console blocks games, apps and media rated above it.
• Allow or block specific titles regardless of rating, if you know a game well.
• When a child tries to open something blocked, they can send a request instead of being stuck.
• Set web filtering for the console's browser if your child uses it.

Online play and communication

• Decide whether the child can play online at all, and whether they can join multiplayer with anyone or with friends only.
• Limit who can send messages and voice chat. For younger children, friends only or no one is common.
• Control whether others can see the child's profile and activity.
• Consider whether cross-network play with other platforms is appropriate.

Spending

• Require approval for purchases, so a request is sent to an organiser before anything is bought.
• Add a set amount to the child's account as an allowance. Spending is then limited to that balance, and a request is sent when they want something that costs more.
• Remember that gift cards a child redeems add to their balance, and in-game currency purchases count as purchases.
• Check payment methods on the adult accounts, and remove any that the console should not use.

Keep it working

• Review settings every few months as your child grows.
• Read the activity reports together; they open useful conversations about what the child enjoys.
• Protect the organiser accounts with two-step verification, so the controls cannot be changed from them.
• If the child shares a console with siblings, give each their own account rather than a shared one.