How to Set up Parental Controls in Windows 11

This article explains how to set up parental controls in Windows 11, including how to restrict your child’s access to websites, limit screen time, and more.

How to Set up Parental Controls in Windows 11

To set up parental controls in Windows 11, you and your child will both need to have Microsoft accounts. Yours will be a parent account, and theirs will be a child account that’s tied to yours. As the parent account holder, you can turn on parental controls and view reports related to your child’s activity.

Here’s how to set up parental controls in Windows 11:

1. Right click the Windows icon on the taskbar.

2. Click Settings.

3. Click Accounts.

4. Click Family & other users.

5. Click Add account.

6. Click Create one for a child.

7. Enter an email address for your child, and click Next.

   If you aren't already logged into your own Microsoft account, you will have to do so first. Parental controls are not available if you don't have a Microsoft account.

8. Enter a password, and click Next.

9. Enter a name, and click Next.

10. Enter a birthday, and click Next.

    Windows 11 will use the birthday you enter to generate automatic restrictions based on age.

11. The child account will now be associated with your Microsoft account, and a pop-up will appear to show that the process has finished.

How to Use Parental Controls in Windows 11 to Block Websites and More

Once you have set up at least one child account, you can limit their access to websites and apps, limit screen time, and receive weekly reports about their activities.

Here’s how to use the parental controls in Windows 11:

1. Navigate to Settings > Accounts > Family & other users, like you did in the previous section.

2. Click Manage family settings online or remove an account.

3. In the Your Family section, click your child's account icon.

   Your child's account icon will be located to the right of yours.

4. This is the Windows 11 parental control settings page, where you can view an overview of your settings. Click Screen time to set screen time limits for your child.

5. This is the Windows 11 screen time management page. Click Turn limits on for a specific device, or click the Use one schedule on all devices toggle to set universal screen time limits.

6. Click a day to set screen time limits.

7. Set the desired screen time limits and the hours your child should be able to use the computer, and click Done.

8. Click Content filters to limit your child's access to websites and apps.

9. This is the content filters management page. Click the Filter inappropriate websites and searches toggle if it isn't on already. To only allow access to specific websites, click the Only use allowed websites toggle.

10. Click Add a website to add a website to allow access to a specific site.

11. Type the address of a website, and click +.

12. You can also control access to apps here. Scroll up and click Apps and games.

13. Click the apps and games rated up to age menu, and select an age limit to allow your child to access appropriate apps.

14. If your child wants to use a specific app, you will receive a notification. Approve the app, and it will appear in the allowed apps section of this page. You can also allow and block specific apps. To allow an automatically blocked app, click Remove.

15. You can also set spending limits for your child, or prevent them from purchasing apps. Click Spending.

    The final option, Find my Child, is a link to the Microsoft Family Safety app. Download that app if you want to use the Find my Child feature.

16. Doing this brings you to the spending settings page. Make sure both toggles are on if you want to approve any purchases in the Microsoft Store and if you want to receive an email any time your child downloads an app or game. If you're going to give them an allowance to spend, you can click Add money and add funds to their Microsoft Store wallet.

Does Microsoft Have Parental Controls?

Microsoft offers a fairly robust set of parental controls in Windows 11 that you can use to control your child’s activity on your computer. These built-in parental controls allow you to block your children from accessing harmful websites, set limits on screen time, view activity reports to see how and when your child is using the computer, and oversee app and game purchases.

For the parental controls to work, your child needs to log into Windows 11 using the account you create for them. If you leave your account logged in, the child will have full access to Windows 11.

When the child logs into their account, the controls will limit their access to the internet, apps, and the amount of screen time they're allowed to use according to automatic settings based on their age. You can also customize all of these settings to your specifications.