Xbox parental controls and Family Settings, set up properly

What the risk actually is on Xbox

Xbox is where kids play online with friends and strangers, buy games and add-ons, chat by voice and text, and watch other players. The risks are who can contact them, what they can buy, what rating of game they can open and how long they play.

The age rating, and who kids actually meet

Xbox's family page uses ESRB ratings for age limits. Microsoft describes a child account as a Microsoft account affiliated with an adult account when the child is under the age of majority for their country or region. Microsoft says the console uses Child (8 to 12) and Teen (13 to 17) bands in the US when managing a member's privacy and online safety, with defaults from the birthdate. Those bands are not game ratings, and the pages we read give no band for under 8. We could not find a stated minimum age for holding an account on the pages we read.

Microsoft says that, where laws require permission to create an account, you may be prompted to request or give parental consent.

The setup, step by step

Settings as of November 2026. Microsoft changes these pages often, so check them if a label differs.

1. Create or join the family group. On the console, press the Xbox button, then go to Profile & system, Settings, Account, Family settings, Manage family members, Add to family, Add new. Enter the member's details, accept Microsoft's terms, and an organizer verifies the addition. Online, sign in at account.microsoft.com/family and choose Add a family member, then Member for a child.

2. Install the Xbox Family Settings app. Microsoft says it is for parents on iOS and Android, and that there is no child version. It lists child account set-up, screen time, content, communication, ask-to-buy notifications, multiplayer, clubs and cross-network play. It says the app is only available in certain regions.

3. Set screen time. In the app, open your child's tile and the screen time settings, or go to account.microsoft.com/family, pick the member, choose the Screen time tile and the device, turn limits on, and set days and times. Microsoft says time counts down while a member is signed in. Microsoft says you can add time from the app, the console or the web. Separately, Microsoft says per-app and game limits do not apply to websites, and tells you to block the related sites instead.

4. Set the age limit. On the console: Profile & system, Settings, Account, Family settings, Manage family members, pick the member, and under Access to content choose the age level. In the app: Settings, Content restrictions, Apply age filters. A child can ask for an exception and you choose Always or Just this once. Microsoft says Always is permanent and cannot be revoked.

5. Require approval for purchases. On the console, open the member's Privacy & online safety, Xbox privacy, View details & customize, then choose Buy and download and set Ask a parent to On. Microsoft's Family Safety page also describes requiring approval for every purchase and notes that money must be in the child's account to set spending limits.

6. Choose privacy and communication settings. On the console, open Privacy & online safety, Xbox privacy for the member and pick the Child, Teen or Adult defaults, or View details & customize. In the app, the Social, Multiplayer, Cross-network play and Clubs tiles control communication level, multiplayer and clubs. Microsoft says requests from your child for multiplayer appear in the app for you to approve or deny.

7. Know the message filters. Microsoft lists message safety settings for text (Friendly, Medium, Mature, Unfiltered), media (Block all, Medium, Mature, Unfiltered) and web links (Block all, Mature, Unfiltered). Microsoft says they apply only to messages and message requests from people who are not on the friends list, so they do nothing about messages from existing friends, and it says it cannot promise to catch everything. The only path on its page is for the signed-in account (Profile & system, Settings, Account, Privacy & online safety, Message safety). We could not confirm you can set it from the organizer account, so check on your child's profile.

8. Turn on web filtering. On the console choose Web filtering for the member, with options including Allow list only, Basic communication (which Microsoft says allows social networking, web chat and webmail, and blocks adult sites) or Turned off. Online, Family Safety's Filter inappropriate websites and searches turns on Bing SafeSearch and, Microsoft says, blocks browsers other than Edge. Microsoft says you can unblock other browsers under the Apps and games tab.

9. Check activity. The app's screen time tile shows today or the past week. Microsoft's Family Safety activity reporting is opt-in per platform.

10. Protect the settings. Microsoft says a PIN on the organizer profile is also handy to prevent family members from changing family settings.

What the controls do not cover

• Screen time on the console itself. It cannot be set there.
• Free and trial games. Microsoft says some games, such as free or trial versions, do not need a signed-in account, so a child could play them past a screen-time limit. Its fix is an access PIN plus offline content limits.
• A child who can approve their own time. Microsoft says a child who knows the organizer's Microsoft password, or can reach the phone that receives requests, can approve extra time themselves.
• Mobile games. Not covered by the Xbox Family Settings app, according to Microsoft.
• Other chat apps. We found nothing on Microsoft's pages about Discord or similar. See Discord Family Center.
• Cross-network chat. Microsoft says some games allow communication with players outside the Xbox service, which is why there is a separate cross-network tile.
• Third-party game controls. Roblox, Fortnite and Minecraft have their own settings: Roblox, Fortnite, Minecraft.
• Browsers. Web filtering works through Microsoft Edge, and activity reports only include web activity in supported browsers.
• A shared console. When an adult and child are both signed in, Microsoft says the console applies the limits set for the youngest member.
• Location. We found no location feature on the pages we read.

What to say to your child

• "Screen time is set in an app on my phone, so we'll agree it together first."
• "If a stranger messages you or asks you to add them or move to another app, show me. You are not in trouble."
• "When you want a game that's rated higher, you can ask. I'll say 'just this once' or 'not yet'."
• "Sign out when you're done, or the clock keeps running."

Sources

Read on Xbox and Microsoft support pages on November 12, 2026. Microsoft does not show revision dates on these articles, so the dated change is Xbox Wire's December 2025 post. See the citations.