How to Set Up Parental Controls on Windows 11

Setting up parental controls on Windows 11 allows you to manage screen time, block inappropriate web content, and monitor your child’s digital activity through Microsoft Family Safety. This guide provides a direct, step-by-step walkthrough to create a child account, enforce web filtering, restrict apps, and establish daily screen limits on your Windows 11 device.

Step 1: Create a Child Account

Windows 11 parental controls require a dedicated standard account for your child linked to your Microsoft Family group.

  1. Open Settings on your Windows 11 PC (press Win + I).
  2. Click on Accounts in the left sidebar, then select Family.
  3. Click Add someone next to Add a family member.
  4. Select Create one for a child and follow the on-screen prompts to create a new Microsoft account for them, or enter their existing Microsoft email address.
  5. Finish the setup. Have your child sign in to the PC with their new credentials to create their local profile.

Step 2: Access Microsoft Family Safety

All web filtering and parental controls are managed through the Microsoft Family Safety dashboard.

  1. Open your web browser and navigate to account.microsoft.com/family.
  2. Sign in with your parent Microsoft account.
  3. Locate your child’s profile tile on the dashboard to access their specific settings.

Step 3: Enable Web and Search Filtering

Web content filtering blocks mature content and enforces safe search on Microsoft Edge.

  1. On your child’s dashboard, click on Content filters in the left menu.
  2. Under the Web and search tab, toggle on Filter inappropriate websites and searches.
  3. Under Always allowed sites, enter URLs of websites you want to explicitly permit.
  4. Under Always blocked sites, enter specific URLs you want to restrict completely.
  5. Enable Only allow websites on the allowed list if you want a strictly curated browsing experience.

Note: Content filtering natively applies to Microsoft Edge. To prevent kids from bypassing these filters, Windows automatically blocks unsupported browsers.

Step 4: Set App and Game Age Restrictions

  1. In the Content filters section, select the Apps and games tab.
  2. Under Apps and games rated up to, use the drop-down menu to set an age limit (e.g., Age 10).
  3. Any apps or games from the Microsoft Store rated above this age limit will require parental approval to download or launch.

Step 5: Configure Screen Time Limits

  1. Click on Screen time from the left-hand menu.
  2. Under Devices, turn on the toggle for Windows 11.
  3. Set a schedule by selecting individual days of the week:
    • Define the total time allowed per day (e.g., 2 hours).
    • Specify permitted time windows (e.g., between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM).
  4. Click Done and Save to apply the schedule immediately.