The parental control tool, which Tens users lost sight of, has in fact not disappeared anywhere. It only slightly changed the format and received a new name - “Family Safety”, but its task remained the same - to protect children from unwanted content and provide parents with the opportunity control their actions on the computer. Today we'll talk how to use new interface parental controls in Windows 10 and what features they have.
- Limiting the time a child sits at a PC and arbitrarily extending it via email.
- Monitoring the type and duration of operations (how much time the child played, how much he spent on the Internet, what sites he visited, etc.).
- Blocking applications and Internet resources based on age limit.
- Content filtering. Works only in EDGE browsers and Internet Explorer.
- Restricting access to Windows Store and Xbox Store content based on age.
- Opening an individual child account for purchases in the Windows and Xbox Store, which is topped up by the parent. This eliminates the need to provide children with bank card details.
- View your child's purchases from the Windows and Xbox Store.
- Determining the location of the device (the function only works on smartphones).
- Checking the availability of updates, monitoring the level of system security.
- Manage parental control functions from any device through a single web interface.
Content access restrictions are set automatically based on the child's age specified by the parent. But the parent himself can make certain changes to them, for example, creating lists of prohibited and allowed sites.
How to install and enable parental controls
Family Safety is a built-in component of the operating system, so it does not require separate installation. To start using it, the parent and child must have their own Microsoft accounts. In addition, the parent's account must have administrator rights for the computer (or other device under Windows control 10, for example, game console Xbox and phone, which also have this function), and the computer must be connected to the Internet.
Enabling the component to work begins with adding the child’s account to the system as a family member. To do this, launch the “Settings” application, go to the accounts section, click “Family and other people” in the left panel. In the right half of the window, click the “Add Family Member” button.
In the new window, check the “Add a child’s account” checkbox and enter his email address linked to his Microsoft account in the field below. If you did not manage to create an email account for your child in advance, click “User does not have an email address” and follow the system prompts.
After confirmation, the system will send an invitation to join your family as a child to the email address you entered.
It should be accepted.
When the invitation is accepted, the following notification will appear on the screen.
To go to the parental control settings, click “Family management” in it. After this the browser will open Microsoft Edge, and you will be taken to the Manage Family Accounts page.
While here, you can top up your child’s personal account with your bank card, view actions performed under his account, configure and change control parameters. We will return to this page several times throughout the review.
In the future, you will be able to access family safety management through the “Settings” application, section “Accounts” - “Family and other people” by clicking the “Manage” button family settings via the Internet." 
How to set up parental controls
Topping up a child's personal account
If you are going to allow your son or daughter to make purchases in the Windows and Xbox stores, transfer some money to his account from your bank card or Qiwi wallet. To do this, on the “Family Management” page, click the “Add Money” button.
Select a source of replenishment:
Enter your card details and confirm payment:
After replenishing the account, the child will be able to spend funds only on permitted purchases. He will not be able to cash out money, transfer it to another account or spend it on third-party sites.
Restriction on access to content
To set restrictions on your child's access to content hard drives computer and Internet resources, return to the “Family Management” page, click “Advanced options” and “Content restrictions”.
The following settings are collected here:
- Allow and control your child's purchases in the Windows Store. Setting options: Ask/don't ask for parental consent for every purchase. Report/don't report your child's purchases by email.
- Use of programs, games, multimedia content. The setting option is to block / not block content according to the age limit.
- Always allow (list of applications, games, content).
- Always prohibit (list of applications, games, content). By default, the main third-party web browsers are listed here: Google Chrome,Opera, Mozilla Firefox, Sogue High-speed Browser, 360 Safe Browser and 360 Browser. This is done to prevent the child from visiting unwanted web resources, bypassing parental controls.
- Browsing the web. Setting options - block / not block. When blocked, adult content is excluded from viewing and SafeSearch is enabled ( safe search).
- Always allowed sites (the list is created by the parent).
- Always prohibited sites (the list is created by the parent).
Limiting time spent on the computer
To set your computer usage time, go back to Family Management, open Advanced Settings, and select Device Usage Time.
- Xbox Time Limit. The choices are limit/not limit.
- PC time limit. Options: limit/not limit.
When you enable the “Limit” option, a weekly schedule of allowed and prohibited hours for using a computer or game console opens. The countdown is based on the device's screen time.
To change the schedule, click on the hour scale of the selected day of the week and enter new values in the window that opens. If you wish, you can set several blocking periods throughout the day.
View your child's activities on the computer and receive reports
Open Family Management again and click the Action button. There are 2 settings on the “Recent Activities” tab:
- Generate reports on your child’s activities on the device.
- Send weekly reports to the parent via email.
Below on the tab is a summary of recently performed actions that the system recorded. This:
- Search queries.
- Web pages viewed.
- Applications and games that the child launched.
- At what time did the child use the device?
View your child's account status and purchases in the Windows and Xbox Store
Return to the Family Safety home page, open More Options, and select Expenses. When you go to the expense control section, you will see the amount of your account balance and a shopping list.
By the way, if a child tries to purchase unauthorized content, the system will block payment.
Device location
If parental controls are used on mobile phone With geolocation enabled, you can track your child's location on the map. This feature does not work on desktop computers or Xbox.
To enable the feature, on the Family Safety page, open the “Advanced options” list and select “Find user on map.” If your device supports the feature, the enable button you'll see next will be active. Below you will see a map of the area and the point where the child’s phone is located.
How to disable parental controls
Any family member with computer administrator rights can disable parental controls for an individual child account. Disabling is done in two ways:
- Raising the rights of the child's account to the level of PC administrator.
- By removing his account from among family members (figuratively).
To change the account type to “Administrator”, launch the “Settings” utility, open account management and go to the “Family and other people” section. Click on the child’s account and click the “Change Type” button that appears.
To turn off parental controls the second way, go to the Family Safety management web page, open the child's account advanced settings, and click Remove from Family.
This will remove the child's Microsoft account from the computer, but the child's local account information will remain in place.
If you have a child who actively uses the computer, then it will be useful for you to learn how to enable parental controls on Windows 10. This tool allows you to set the working time on the computer, prohibit visiting certain sites and launching certain applications.
Limiting the time spent on the computer and protecting the child from threats on the Internet is the main task of parental control. If you use Windows 7, then you will find it helpful to set up parental controls, but if you use Windows 10, then continue reading this article.
Create a new profile
To control your child’s behavior, you need to create a separate account for him:
- Press - Win + I or open Settings through the Start menu.
- Go to "Accounts". You need the "Family and Other Users" tab.
- Click "Add...".
To work with a child's profile, an Internet connection is required - this is perhaps the only drawback of the control tool in Windows 10; in earlier versions of Windows, all actions were performed offline.
Setting up control
Once you log in to the Microsoft website, you will see a list of your family’s profiles. Go to manage your child's account. Parental controls are configured in the sections located in the menu on the left.
Let's look at the tabs in order:
- Browsing the web. Unwanted sites are blocked by default, but if necessary, you can add links to other resources to the ban list, access to which you want to block. The blocking only applies to Edge and Internet Explorer, so to prevent your child from accessing sites through other browsers, they need to be blocked in the next tab.
- Applications and games. This contains information about the programs running on the child's account. You can add applications to the block list that your child should not open - browsers (except Edge and IE), games. For an application to appear in the list, you need to launch it once in your child’s profile.
- Operation timer. This section sets the operating duration. You set the time when your child can use the computer and when the account becomes unavailable for login.
You are unlikely to need the “Shopping” and “Searching for a Child” sections, but they are worth getting to know. In the first section, you can track your child's spending in the Windows Store. There is also the opportunity to put money on the balance so that the young user can spend it at his own discretion.
The "Child Finder" function is used on portable devices, running on Windows 10 (smartphones, tablets), to detect the location of a young user.
Checking the function
If the site the teenager is trying to go to is on the list of prohibited sites, the browser will deny access to this resource (read also:). A button to send your permission request via email will appear in your browser window. If the parent sees that there is nothing on the site that could harm the child, then he can manually grant him access.
As mentioned above, it only works in built-in Windows browsers– Edge and Internet Explorer. Therefore, do not forget to block other browsers in the “Applications and Games” tab.
Another feature of the control function on Windows 10 is that reports on enabled applications and computer usage time come with a slight delay. Additionally, the purchase information does not show installation information free applications, although formally this is also a purchase. But in general, the parental control function performs its main task, allowing you to monitor how your child spends time on the computer.
Image: Microsoft
Children are the most important people in your life, but the Internet is a scary place that requires constant vigilance. Luckily, in Windows 10, you can set up parental controls for your child, making things a lot easier.
To protect children, Microsoft suggests using a standard account, which will be managed using the Family Safety(Microsoft Family Safety). It's a very simple approach - you can easily create accounts for your children, and then protect and monitor their activity in a very simple way.
In this guide, we'll show you how to set up children's accounts in Windows 10 and activate Microsoft Family Safety protection.
To add a child's account, go to the application Options > Accounts > Family and other people and click the “Add Family Member” button.
On the next screen, select the “Add Child Account” option. It's a great idea for each family member to have their own account.
Then you need to fill out all necessary information. If your child doesn't have an email address, you can create an outlook.com account.
To improve the security of your child's account, you need to provide a phone number. In this case, if you cannot access your account, have forgotten your passwords, or a hacker is attempting to hack your account, a message with an access code will be sent to your phone.
On the next screen you need to disable the following options. They are not at all required for a child's account.
Now everything is ready - you can sign in to the account you created, and also complete the setup using the Microsoft Family Safety tools.
If you have previously created an account for your child and just want to add it to your current Windows system, you must verify your account before setting up parental controls.
Until you do this, your child's account will not be active. If he is able to use the computer, the established protection rules will not apply, so be sure to confirm your account using a valid email address.
After adding your child's account, you can go to the Family Safety website. Select the option to open the browser and go to the appropriate page.
In Windows 10 Creators Update, you can also manage your parental control settings using Windows Defender Security Center. In the section, follow the link View family settings.
Once you've added your child's account, you can manage your family's safety settings on the Family Safety website. The recent activity collection feature (Recent Activities) will monitor the child's activity and send reports to the parent. This feature can be disabled.
The first section that will be of interest to you is called. You can block inappropriate sites or allow access to sites only from whitelist.
On this screen you can allow and block sites. If you selected the “Access to sites from a white list” option, then you need to add resources to the “Always Allow” list.
You can also allow or block individual games and apps, just like you can with websites.
Finally, the category. You can choose the time you use your computer: set a daily limit or specify the allowed start and end time for using your PC. In the first case, even if the child can use the computer all day, the total number of hours spent on it will be limited.
Microsoft has made it much easier to apply controls to children's accounts. Having these features provides peace of mind for parents, and children can safely use the computer without undue supervision from adults.
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The parental controls feature in Windows 10 is designed to allow parents to monitor the actions their child performs on the computer, limit the child from visiting unwanted resources, and set the length of time spent on the computer.
Also, this feature will eliminate the possibility of breaking anything in the system by deleting system files or changing critical settings for it. You will learn more about all this from the proposed article, which also contains detailed instructions on creating an account and rules for using a computer for a small user.
In Windows 10, parental controls have become less free - there are restrictions on the use of this function. They consist in the fact that in order to use family security, it is necessary to work under a Microsoft account (the software giant wants to know about everything, even about the restrictions that parents impose on their children’s time spent in the virtual world) and be connected to global network. The function does not work without the Internet. Such solutions will not bring any benefit to users.
We create an account for the child with the settings suggested by Microsoft
The first step in configuring parental controls is to create an account for the little user. The easiest way to solve the problem is through the new “Options” menu.
- Call it by holding Win+I.
- Go to the “Accounts” section.
- Activate the “Family/Other Users” tab.
- Click on the icon with the plus sign “Add family member”.
We stop at the first option “Add a child’s account”, after which we set the personal email address; if it is missing or you do not want to enter this data, select the “No mailbox address” option. Although when performing the next iteration you will have to enter it or accept the offer to create email.
The next iteration is to indicate personal data (first and last name), as well as email, if this was not done in the previous step. Next, you will have to enter the child’s date of birth (Microsoft wants to know everything, so you can be deceitful here, as in the case of the name), city of residence and set a password for the account you are creating. If you indicate that the child is under 8 years old, Windows 10 will automatically activate increased security measures for the new account, and if the child is over 8 years old, all settings can be changed manually.
The developer then goes one step further and asks you to specify personal number phone number and another postal address, suddenly you will have to restore your account. Phone number You’ll have to confirm it, so you can’t cheat here.
At the final stage it will be proposed to use Microsoft service Advertising, what not to do. This service collects data about users and uses it to display advertising messages based on their interests.
We close the window and can log in to the new account. For this, as mentioned, you need an Internet connection. After logging into your new account, you need to complete it additional settings, and a message with data that parents can monitor the child’s activities pops up only when logging into the account for the first time.
Setting up restrictions for an account is carried out using the link account.microsoft.com/family after authorization on the Microsoft resource under the account of the parent who created the limited account. This page can also be accessed through “Options”. In the “Family/other users” tab, click on the “Manage settings via the Internet” button.
Setting up a limited account
The following options will become available in the main window:
- Reports on completed actions - activated by default with an email notification function;
- InPrivate Browsing is a function of anonymously visiting web resources without storing navigation history (for children under eight years old, disabled by default).
Below is a list of other parameters and settings.
1. Browse web pages. By default, harmful and undesirable resources for children to visit are blocked, and search engine Safe search is enabled. If necessary, you can adjust the list of prohibited sites.
Settings (site filter, safe search, and web browsing data collection) are only applicable to integrated Internet browsers (IE and Edge). If you need a full report on the user's behavior on the computer, other browsers should be blocked.
2. Applications and games. The window displays a list of programs installed on the computer, including those integrated into operating system, user installed. These include: portable applications, as well as all detected games. This contains data about the startup and shutdown times of the software.
The menu allows you to block applications that appear in the list (this will only happen after the first launch of a program/game from a limited account), regardless of whether the game/program is installed or portable. You can age-restrict content from the Windows Store.
3. PC work timers. The window displays information about the duration, start and end times of the session. Here you can specify the duration of work sessions and indicate the time when your child can log into the account.
4. Shopping/spending. If a small user has money in his account, you can track the consumption of his personal funds spent on purchasing digital content in the Windows Store or making purchases through functions built into games. Here you can top up an empty account without providing access to the attached bank card.
5. Search for a child - a function necessary for parents whose child takes with them portable device, for example, to study. It will help track the user’s location while using the device (laptop, tablet).
In principle, there is nothing complicated or incomprehensible with the work of parental control in the “top ten”, apart from a couple of disappointments:
- Internet access is required;
- entering confidential information about yourself and other family members;
- impossibility of blocking applications before they are launched for the first time from a limited account;
- updating the child account configuration with a significant delay (it’s worth dwelling on this a little).
How parental controls work
After configuring a child's account, you have to wait a while for the settings to take effect. The following features of this function should be noted.
2. Information about running applications and the operating time of the PC appears with a significant delay (up to several hours). In this case, it automatically becomes impossible to prohibit the child from working longer than the specified time (seeing that the clock is close to midnight, it is impossible to complete the work session).
3. Information about visited web resources is not always displayed, even for Edge and IE.
4. Information about purchases is also displayed with a delay or is not displayed at all, but information about running games and software are presented in the best possible way.
Another unpleasant point for parents is that the child, having mastered some knowledge and skills of working on a computer, can easily remove all established restrictions. To do this, you do not need to have access to parental mail or Microsoft accounts. But you won’t be able to do this without leaving a trace - the corresponding notifications will immediately arrive at the specified address. mailbox. We will not dwell on this mechanism.
Microsoft takes security and parental controls very seriously. That's why Windows Phone and Xbox support the My Family service, which will allow parents to monitor how their child uses their device. First of all, the My Family feature is only available on Windows Phone 8 and can be set up on windowsphone.com. Previous Windows version Phone does not support this service. You don't have to have a Windows Phone 8 smartphone to limit your child's ability to download apps from Windows Store Phone. All you need is two accounts - one of yours, the other of your child, which is installed by default on his smartphone.
This function can also be used for another purpose. For example, if you, our young reader, are under 18 years old, and when activating your smartphone you did not know that persons under 18 years of age cannot download applications from the store, you can set up the “My Family” section to successfully remove the restriction on your account records.
1. Go to the section " My family" at windowsphone.com;
2. Sign in using your parent account information. If parents don't have a smartphone, they can still set up My Family on Windows Phone. To do this, they need to register an account Microsoft entry;
4. Now you need to enter the details of the child’s account, which is used on his Windows Phone. Enter your email and password. After this, the child will be successfully added to the “My Family” section;
5. To select which applications or games your child can download to the device, go to the " Family Safety Settings"on home page section "My Family";
6. Select the child's account and on the " tab Review"You can set which applications your child can download;
7. If you want to set restrictions on the age category of the game, go to the " tab Game restrictions" - "Game lists". Turn on this function and select ratings under which games will be unavailable for your child.
For parents, you can activate a function through which they will receive weekly reports about what their child is doing with a smartphone - what websites he visits, what applications he downloads and how much time he spends near his device. To do this, on the Overview tab of your parent account, enable the Activity Report Frequency and Query Frequency fields.
