Xbox parental controls, step by step

What you need before touching Xbox settings

• An adult Microsoft account (the 'organiser' of a Microsoft family group)
• A separate Microsoft account for the child, added to your family group with the correct date of birth
• Xbox Family Settings app (iOS/Android) - or the Microsoft Family Safety app / family.microsoft.com for screen time and spending

Setting up Xbox controls, step by step

1. On the console, press the Xbox button to open the guide, select Profile & system and sign in to your (adult) account.
2. Open the guide again and go to Profile & system > Settings > Account > Family settings > Manage family members.
3. Select Add to family > Add new, and create or sign in to your child's Microsoft account (enter their correct date of birth).
4. Give parental consent when prompted - choose This XBOX (enter your Microsoft account) or Their phone/PC (follow the emailed steps).
5. Install the Xbox Family Settings app on your phone and sign in with your adult Microsoft account.
6. Select your child's tile, then the Settings icon (top-right) - or the Settings icon at the bottom of the Family screen, then the child's tile.
7. Select Content restrictions and, under Apply age filters, choose the age limit.
8. Select the Social tile to set how your child can communicate and whether they can follow other players.
9. Select the Multiplayer, Cross-network play and Clubs tiles and switch each on or off.
10. From the child's tile, select the Screen time tile and set the Schedule (Days of the week, Time limit, Time range).

Every Xbox control, in plain English

Stopping surprise spending on Xbox

• Ask to buy is ON by default for child accounts. To check it on the web: sign in to your Family page, find the child, select More options > Spending; under Ask to buy the switch is 'Needs organiser approval to buy things' (keep it On).
• On the console: Profile & system > Settings > Account > Family settings > Manage family members > [child] > Privacy & online safety > Xbox Live privacy > View details & customize > Buy & download, and set 'Ask a parent' to On.
• 'Email me when they get stuff' (purchase notifications) is On by default.
• Instead of linking a card, add money to the child's Microsoft account - the balance cannot be overdrawn.
• The Xbox Family Settings app shows the child's balance and spending history and lets you add money.

More on how money works inside games in Money in games.

Who can message your child on Xbox

• Xbox Family Settings app > Settings > Social tile: choose who the child can communicate with and whether they can follow other gamers.
• Cross-network play tile: set the communication level for players on other services.
• Friend requests can go through 'Ask a parent'; you can remove people your child follows.

For the wider picture, see Chat & strangers.

Xbox play-time limits and bedtimes

• Screen time tile > Schedule: pick Days of the week, a Time limit and a Time range (From/To) - e.g. no play before school or after bedtime.
• Children get a warning shortly before time runs out and can ask for more time; you can also use Add time now.
• Screen time counts while the child is signed in, so remind them to sign out.
• The same schedule can also be set in the Microsoft Family Safety app or at family.microsoft.com (Xbox tab).

Routines that make limits easier to keep are in Time & routines.

Where Xbox set-ups usually go wrong

• Get the date of birth right on the child's Microsoft account - age-based settings depend on it.
• Free or trial games may not need a signed-in account, so they can get around screen time; set up an access PIN and offline content limits on the console.
• If the child knows your Microsoft account password or can use the phone that gets requests, they can approve their own extra time or purchases.
• Gift cards or money already in the child's account can still be spent without approval.
• Ask to buy does not cover in-app purchases handled by non-Microsoft billing; Roblox's own spending limit does not cover Xbox purchases either.
• A child who is already in another family group must be removed from it before you can add them.
• Exceptions run alongside the normal limit - they don't add time on top of it.