Name: Microsoft Family Safety
Rating: 3.51751 (2798 reviews)

User Reviews for Microsoft Family Safety

3.52 out of 5

2.8K Ratings

3 years ago, another teen mom

Needs to keep settings when app updates

With each of the last updates, all my settings get lost. When you update, please create a process to port the existing settings into tge new version. It takes time to set these up. Plus for a time all settings, so all safety features, are lost until the parent realizes it updated and the settings are no longer active. This is not acceptable for a family safety app. Otherwise, the app gets better. Just don’t make this any more complicated. It’s starting to have too many layers. People may be asking for minute levels of control but not realize that it makes the set up that much more steps or involved to get it. Then every time we lose our settings we have to do all that again. Simple is best. Thankful for this app though. Makes it so we don’t have to argue. When time is up, it’s up.

1 year ago, Lollybraine

App doesn’t work (fixed as of 5/12)

Update- seems to be fixed! I am very relieved. However, I still would prefer if Microsoft would not make it so difficult to use the website on a mobile device. The App and website do have slightly different functionality and I would like to be able to choose for myself which one I use without constantly having to confirm, that, Yes, I actually want to use the website on my phone. The app repeatedly crashes. I can no longer get it to function at all. The worst aspect of this is that whenever I try to use the family safety website instead (which works just fine) Microsoft tries to shunt me to the app. It is sooooo annoying because continually telling Microsoft that, no, I don’t want to use the app, takes a lot of time. It takes so long to give my child extra screen time (usually just to save and quit) that he often ends up dying in game, before he can get back on to save and quit. Because of my son’s ADHD/Autism it is very difficult for him to switch tasks and even when he knows that his screen time is running out, he can’t make the mental switch to saving progress and quitting. When the app worked, our house was much more peaceful- because I could give him that extra five minutes he needed to transition after the screen time ended. Just to clarify- the delay is caused by Microsoft continually try to get me to use the app whenever I sign into the family safety website on my phone.

2 years ago, nothanks0000000

Still getting hung up in install. EDITED RESPONSE

After downloading to both iPad and iPhone app gets hung up in preferences/permissions it asks for. (This after repeated delays in asking and granting permissions when previously using for a few years). After asking to send notifications it goes to location permissions request with a “next” button. Button responds to tap, but will not advance or go back from that point. Skipping previous notification option does not help. Website access through 365 has multiple “it’s not you it’s us” as another person reported. Customer service said “It’s not a Microsoft problem”. Why not? It’s a Microsoft app in their office suite? You need to have people available when you issue an app that people are using for safety. If it was a game or something strictly pleasure related I’d understand the lack of response. But if you’re going to choose to offer to help parents keep their kids safe you need to follow up and get things fixed. Can’t send logs because I can’t get past setup. I have sent multiple notices to developer over last several days. Beyond aggravating. Maybe AI should be used to fix these things since it’s always available. *****I don’t have access to your proposed solution because THE APP IS FROZEN DESPITE NUMBER OF INSTALLS AND THE PATHWAY YOU SUGGEST DOES NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE FOR ME TO ACCESS. Work the problem with the info I gave you or get someone to actually interact with me directly to fix it.

8 months ago, G_TRX

Last update broke a major feature

Latest update removed the ability to log my child out of his account on moment’s notice. Which as a parent was very useful in case you had set some screen time but experienced a change of plans (as parents this is just the fluidity of life w active kids) and needed to stop screen time without having to go change the allotted preset daily screen time and figure out how much time was used already and how much you’d need to reduce to stop screen time in the next minutes or completely set it to zero which you’d have to go back and then set the proper screen time again which you spent precious time setting up for each day. This was sort of a kill switch that did not change the preset screen times. Now when I press on my kids account and their device, I do not have the option to log my kids out. A shame that updates take features away from us parents relying on them. I was so impressed with the work Microsoft did to this app that I have recommended it to many parents surprised to hear that Microsoft had made such progress in the family screen time space. I will have to warn them now of the major gap this new update created for us. Would really like to see it back to add stars back to my review.

1 year ago, garrettnichols

Used to be great

I’ve loved this app for a long time. I use it to monitor screen time and content on my children’s Windows 11 gaming PC’s. However for quite a while now when one of my children sends me a request for more screen time I get the notification fine, but when I tap the notification and open the app, almost every time the app will fail to load the request. It will take me to the notifications screen and spend a while loading until finally displaying an image of a dropped ice cream cone saying “It’s not you, it’s us.” and giving me an option to refresh. Doesn’t seem to matter whether I’m on mobile data or wifi, the only this that is consistent is its inconsistency. Usually after refreshing several times it will finally work. Very rarely does tapping the notification the first time work. I usually opt to use the website at this point (which works fine, by the way), but the constant pop ups on the website trying to get me to use the app instead (I would love to if it worked) are so intrusive and obnoxious that it makes it a terrible experience. If this gets corrected this is an easy 5 star app, it isn’t fancy or flashy, but it has always been easy to use and did what it was designed for. Hope it gets fixed soon.

5 days ago, SHONM7

Has potential, too many bugs and glitches

The family safety app had been working pretty good with keeping track of how much my son played and adhering to the time limits I set. A couple times the app was not showing how much time he had played and how much time he had left but it corrected itself. However now for this whole week it keeps saying no video games have been played at all for the past few days even though my son has played for at least 4 hours each day! There has been a few nights when he has been able to play past the bedtime limit as well even though it was set. It is very frustrating that it’s so inconsistent because it has a lot of potential and intuitive settings. Another time he was able to purchase and download a mature rated game even though his age and game rating limit is at 13. I checked the settings and it was all still in place. Then when he went to play it it said you need permission from parent. Other times it asked me for permission before he bought and downloaded it and asked if I wanted it as an exception to his age limit, which makes way more sense. Over all a lot of potential but too many bugs they need to fix and stay on top of.

2 years ago, RockinPaige

Buggy & Invasive

I uninstalled the app because it refused to close a demand to turn on location for my children so I could control their driving with, "Drive safety." Umm, they're under 12! The "demand" wouldn't go away, no way to dismiss it. The app has outdated notices that can not be dismissed.. for example, password reminders that are almost 2 years old. Their passwords were changed the same day they expired, but still the error notice remains with no way to dismiss. My child sent a game purchase request so I bought it for her yet the request STILL sits in the family dashboard with no way to dismiss it. Reinstalled the app and can't get past the, "your family cares about you, turn on location tracking" (using my family as an excuse to track me and sell targeted local ads to me, cute). It says I can turn off location tracking at any time but it won't allow me past it... Can't dismiss or reject it, my only option is to agree and enable. An error notification for one child to be reverified on a game console continues to be annoying with no way to dismiss even though they were verified on that console months ago. Half baked and invasive.

7 months ago, Deeji12

Microsoft is Intrusive and Annoying

This app is garbage. The only reason I downloaded it is because Microsoft sent me an email saying they set my family safety settings for me by default because “you haven't updated your Family Safety settings.” Yeah, I didn’t set them because I don’t want to and it’s my account. The email attaches a link, “Click here to change what we defaulted for you.” I click the link. Login. Sorry, you need the app to change these settings. Download the app. Change the settings. Leave this review. Delete the app. Microsoft wants to be apart of everything you do and it’s extremely irritating and intrusive. Here’s an idea Microsoft: make a tool (app, software, OS, whatever) and let the user use the tool on their own. Stop handholding, stop trying to collect our information (location data, hardware data, browsing data, personal data, etc.), stop being so darn annoying and intrusive. Sell your product. Make sure it works. Then back off and leave us alone. We aren’t paying for you to tell us what to do in our personal affairs.

1 year ago, JUSTICE FOF BREONNA

Good for screen time

This is a good way to check how much hours my kid has been playing also to see what he spends his money on ! I’ve been able to catch him purchasing stuff without telling me so very useful if you have sneaky kids that like to spend ur money a lot! And an easy way to give them more screen time ! Like if they run out they can ask for more and I just put more! I gave it 4/5 because there are times where this app just randomly closes by its self and crashes and I have to uninstall it and download it again. Very annoying but useful app

1 year ago, Lrichele

Absolute worst app

For the last couple weeks I have been having issues even getting the app to load any of the pages. You click to go to your child, wait, and then it says oops its is not you. Finally it loads and you try to get into screen time and the same thing happens. It takes forever to even get in to do anything or it just doesn’t work. With the update a few days ago I can’t even use the app now. Every time I open it and try to go anywhere within the app it crashes. I thought deleting it and reinstalling it would help and now I can’t even get past location notifications on the set up screen. You push the next button and nothing! I’ve closed it out a million times and re opened it and still nothing. What’s even better is you cant manage any of the stuff on the app on the website. So now I’m just screwed as far as getting into my child’s screen time settings …. Or anything else for that matter.

5 months ago, TemporaryLettuce

Not customizable. Device use times can only be set on the hour/half hour.

Users are only able to set a device to start or stop on the hour or half hour. Life does not work that way. For example, if I want to let my child use the computer from 5:40pm to 6:10pm, I cannot do it. I would have to set it to turn on at 5:30pm and off at 6:30pm and set it to allow 30 minutes of use. That also means I can’t have another window of time later that day, say 7:10-7:40pm, because I’ve limited the total use to 30 minutes. The only way to truly customize device use down to the minute with Family Safety is to allow zero time, then have the child send a request for more time. I can then permit a range of minutes from 5m to 8h59m. But this can only be done in real time —- I can’t do it in advance, which I would like to do. And I’m not always immediately available to set the controls. This defeats the purpose of setting daily/weekly controls. This is a simple fix! All it would take is a number wheel or number pad to allow entry of specific times. Please, please let parents control the start/stop time of our children’s devices. (Who does Microsoft think we are, Apple users who need functionality to be dumbed down?!? And even Apple’s Screen Time allows for fine-tuning parental controls down to the minute!) Very dissatisfied with this, Microsoft.

1 year ago, JFO9903

Need to fix 1.24 update!!

I used to love this app. Within the past few weeks, however, the app stopped letting me give additional screen time and started showing the ice cream cone and “it’s not you, it’s us”. Since the last update a few days ago, this app won’t even stay open longer than 4 seconds; it just crashes. I’ve tried restarting my phone and deleting and reinstalling the app. After reading through other reviews, it’s pretty clear to me that when the 1.24 update was installed a few weeks ago, the app started going downhill for many users. It’s also obvious that since the 1.24.2 update was installed, the app started crashing for many users. Developers, if you respond to tell me to send an error report in the app, that’s impossible because the app won’t stay open long enough for me to do anything. I think it’s pretty clear that the 1.24 update is garbage and needs to be fixed asap.

2 months ago, Millville NJ

Does not work with Windows 11

While the app is useful for protecting my child on the Xbox, it does not work to protect our child on our Windows 11 PC. When I set up his account on a Win11 PC the device would not show up as a connected device in the Family Safety app. I followed the instructions in the Family Safety app. Googled the problem and discovered others have the same problem of getting the Family Safety service recognize the child account on a Windows 11 machine. Review Update: After rebooting the new Windows 11 PC the device started appearing in the Family Safety app. No mention in instructions that a reboot may be needed for Windows 11 PC to appear in the Family Safety service/App. I think instructions should be amended, that the device being added may a reboot be necessary if the device doesn’t automatically appear in the app/service.

1 year ago, hoodplustwo

Works well but needs more flexibility

Thank you to the developers for the quick fix after recent crashes. App is working great now. Kids are masters of negotiation and in our house the currency is screen time. Family Safety has worked consistently in terms of doing what it says it will do and cutting off access when time is up. If you have a fixed schedule and no need to change it then the app is perfect. My wish though would be to be able to make a temporary change to the limits. Right now my son can ask for more screen time and I can approve “for the next” block of time (15 minutes, 1 hour, etc). But I can’t add an hour to his total allotment for the day unless I go in and change the day’s limit, in which case I have to remember to change it back. I give my kid opportunities to earn more time and would love a system that made rewards easier. Know that only Microsoft Edge is monitored so you will need to block Google to use that feature. This was annoying during COVID when his schoolwork was all done on a Google platform and the thought of using Edge was horror to a tween. Rather than battle it out over browsers I mostly rely on Circle for filtering.

7 months ago, zelda36874588

This stupid app block every single browser except for edge! 👎😤

So my parents decided I was looking at way to much “bad stuff” on my windows 10 computer even though I’m literally 18 years old and ever since they installed this garbage, I can’t use Google chrome, Opera, or even Pale Moon! Every time I open any of these apps it says, “this app is blocked because of your family safety settings, but it doesn’t hurt to ask”. I have my SCHOOL HOMEWORK login saved on these browsers and because of this stupid app I am getting D’s C’s and F’s in school now because I can’t log on to Google classroom because of this software. I HATE you Microsoft for creating this stupid software, and if you’re a parent reading this, find another way to keep your children out of harms way. Not only will I have to repeat the 11th grade because of this app, but my parents won’t unblock any of the apps I need for school which has ruined my school career.

1 year ago, JDeereRocks

Garbage Architecture

Seriously, whoever decided to interlink all Microsoft products in the way should be fired. I can NEVER get my kids’ accounts to work properly. Take this app. There is a link in it regarding “how to connect” a device. But when you click that link it takes you to the app, which is completely unhelpful about actually connecting the device. And then of course on my kid’s iPad, the app continuously crashes. So here I am again, losing an hour of my life trying to configure a Microsoft product unsuccessfully. Oh, and in the app, it shows allowed and blocked apps. But it doesn’t show how to actually allow an app. Microsoft, if you are listening, put an “Allow” button here so I can click on it and allow something. Why should I have to go to somewhere else to do this. I still don’t know how to allow something. Goodness this is garbage architecture and interface design.

2 years ago, Hopeless Microsoft

Useless App and useless support

The App has a Drive Safety feature which I am unable to turn it ON for members. Reinstalled the app, changed the members to organizers, reinstalled the app and still does not work. Called, emailed and Chatted with MS support and they all could not help and told me to check their website or publish my query in a forum. This is after you pay to have upgraded version of this app. I can understand if it was a free app and they ask you to publish queries in a user forum but with a paid subscription you would expect more. Also before a MS developer reads this and decides to ask me to send them the log from the app, I have also done that multiple times. I suggest you fix the issue in your app rather than wasting money and time for subscribers. My only comment for new users would be to use the free version and don’t hope for any help from MS support team.

5 months ago, Gaspar5411

Disappointing

Very disappointing app. As profitable as Microsoft is as a company, this app, to help parents regulate their kid’s addition to computers and gaming, is woefully inadequate. I’ve tried dozens of times to add a device to my child’s account and am getting nowhere. I googled the Microsoft support number and it routes me to an automated message telling me to go online. Of course, the online portal only provides answers to several basic questions - none of which pertain to my issue. Then, I called the same Microsoft support number back and it told me to go online to get help with the Family Safety app. So they recorded my number and issue and automatically recognized it. This is a terrible product without any support to parents that are trying to do the right thing, for a company that makes billions of dollars a quarter. I’ll be using Apple products going forward.

4 years ago, ShawnZzzzzzzz

Website is still better

I was hoping to see and respond to requests from my kids quickly and easily using an iOS app. Unfortunately it’s not helpful yet. The problem is that when you get a request you can only unblock the app completely. On the website, you get an option to give access for a specific number of minutes or hours. If I’m goi to unblock all the apps, why bother using Family Security at all? Also an issue is that when the notification pops up and you tap on it, it opens the app but doesn’t show the newest request. Once again, it’s clear Microsoft doesn’t use the products they make. I discovered this issue the first time I used the app. I used to be a big Microsoft fan, but they have gone downhill in the last couple of years. I’ve slowly started moving to all Apple products, but my kids need these machines for schooling.

4 years ago, chutch15

Close but not quite

This app does a great job of allowing restrictions on devices that are solely used for gaming (i.e. Xbox). However, many kids use the same PC for schoolwork that they do for gaming. This app needs a way for parents to group Windows apps into categories then allow them to set the limits on those categories. My use is games vs. non-games. I don’t want to limit Chrome which is used for school but I do want to limit the total time played on games in general, not each individual game. The current paradigm for Windows restrictions does not makes sense. Giving them 4 hours on each game, say for three games, is 12 hours of screen time. I want to set it for 4 hours total. Please make this update! I know a lot of parents need this feature!

2 days ago, iPad2Addict1985

App displays 0 time used but still kicks my kids outta apps??

I have time limits set for my kids and it all seemed to be working fine for a while.. now the app doesn’t register any use for me to track either of my kids, hasn’t recognized my adjusted time limits, but still shuts down apps on their pc’s.. they request more time, I grant it, but the app seems to not be connected to actually grant that time to them. When in the app under each child, it says 0 time used across the board.. but as they reach the initial time limit I set per app (which is too short so I adjusted) it kicks them out and prompts them to request more time.. the app itself doesn’t register any of that time. How do I fix this? I’d like to track their usage but am close to just deleting the app unless this bug is addressed.

8 months ago, Average iPhone Guy

Absolute trash

Avoid if possible. Sorry Microsoft, generally love your apps but this is terrible. I initially installed this to help manage my daughter’s account and didn’t find out after that I really needed to log into my Xbox Live account to do what I want. Now that I spent an hour reading, installing, connecting, and troubleshooting all I want to do is delete this app from all devices. But I don’t seem to have permission to do so. I can’t even remove her account from the family group. I get errors saying I’m not the one who added her which is definitely not correct. Differing UX/CX between web/iphone/ipad platforms makes it difficult to navigate. It also seems like there’s a lack of integration between accounts Live/Microsoft for anything that needs to be done. Absolutely ridiculous and useless for me.

3 years ago, SpecialJefferson

Great in theory…

This app should be great in theory. You would expect that Microsoft would provide great tools - I mean they have them to administer large networks and organizations, right? Unfortunately this app is plagued by odd unexplainable behaviors - websites appear in the white list even though you removed them the day before. The app limits seem to reset each day… sometimes. Setting a time limit for an app seems to be over ridden by also adding a schedule. The overall devise schedule oddly resets. Blocked apps are still accessible - this is well documented online. It is completely unpredictable. Just do a web search regarding these and other types of problems. If I can’t really on the settings being persistent how can I trust that my parental controls are in place? Come on Microsoft you are better than this!

1 year ago, jphelp32

Repeated crashes make this app unusable right now

Cmon Microsoft fix this already! Update: the crashing is fixed. But I still 75% of the time get the frustrating “uh oh it’s us not you” error message when I try to grant my kids additional screen time. Do you guys know how many times a day parents have to deal with these screen time requests from multiple kids and multiple platform devices? The amount of time and taps it requires to take action should be streamlined AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. Like a single tap would be SO appreciated. But in this case I have to tap refresh multiple times bc of connection errors, and it’s a 2 minute interruption process each time just to grant an extra 30 min of time. Please fix this! I’m begging.

2 years ago, iCrux

Broken

This app used to work pretty good to limit time on my kids computers. In the last two weeks any time my kids request time and I pull up the notification in the app I get the ice cream error. Over and over and over. The main screen per child says “can’t load a screen time information”. UPDATE - Microsoft family web site is completely broken too with multiple errors and trace ids. Garbage. I figured there was some glitch with the app so deleted and reinstalled. Bad idea. Now I can’t even get past the setup screens. I enter my email/pwd then click next and see the “Give your location get shared piece of mind” page with a single blue Ok button. I click the button and nothing happens. There is no option to skip. Stuck on this step with this piece of junk now.

1 year ago, Wakid1

No longer works (update)

Loved this app until a couple weeks ago when it started crashing immediately when opening. Found lots of other people with the same issue online. Getting ready to switch to another service if this isn’t fixed soon. (Update) someone finally woke up and fixed the glitch after two weeks. App is solid but could be better. We have several kids and the web interface is a bit more intuitive than the app which is reverse of how things usually are. No reason they shouldn’t be the same. Very helpful in managing screen time. But doesn’t work with chrome browser.

1 year ago, Wheresmyfoot

Could be great

I’ve used this app for around two years now. Aside from LOTS of crashing whenever there is an update to ios or to the app. It works as i guess it was intended. There just so much more that could be done. The main issue is that this is the ONLY way to manage the apps and screentime numbers. The web interface thats required to setup the system redirects you to the app to manage the settings. Currently its 100% unuseable as it crashes after 1-2 seconds of being in the app. I cant even grant more time for my kid at this point. Hes locked into the setting we had for school. At least he cant surf the web for things i dont want him to see….but now i cant even see what hes trying to access or what games he was playing on his windows laptop. Please fix this app!

4 months ago, Cloudryder9

Works great

Bought a Lenovo Ideapad 1 with Windows 11 for my 9 yr old son for coding camp. I have the family safety app on my iphone. It works exactly as expected. Maybe a half minute delay at most. I can set time limits on the entire account down to each application, permissions for download or app usage, age requirements and specify websites he’s allowed to visit, can see what he searched for in Edge browser and how long he spent on each app. It’s almost seems a little much but then considering how hard it’s been to get him off his new computer, wonderfully helpful.

8 months ago, spellgage

One Schedule removed

A recent update to Microsoft’s Family Safety services removed One Schedule. One Schedule allowed you to set a total screen time limit that multiple devices could pull from. In our family, we used this feature to teach our kids to make choices and accept tradeoffs. Time spent on one device was time that could not be spent on another. But now Microsoft has removed that feature, which is a major downgrade. Furthermore, you will probably see an automated response under this from Microsoft support asking me to send logs from the app as if this were a technical issue rather than a complaint about design choices and the loss of features. Does Microsoft even have a real person reading these reviews?

5 months ago, VAriousReporting

Very useful app but key feature deleted

Why doesn’t the app give me a “quick glance” at minutes of screen time used any more? Instead it just tells me the kids aren’t sharing their location with me; which is good because I didn’t opt in for location sharing. So that information is useless to me. The “minutes used” feature was by far the best feature for checking in on my kids and now it’s buried deep in the app and I have to look their usage up individually.

2 years ago, Zalamomma

Excellent Parent App for Device Management

I enjoy using this app. It alerts me if my teen is speeding and their screen time on all their devices (iPhone, computer, and Xbox). I wished a compatibility mode to control the data on the devices of what they can visit like computer controls but you approve or disapprove on the spot and screen pauses but it does not work on iPhone, unsure which phone this works on. However, after the fact you do get a list of sites banned, visited and history of data. Overall excellent parent app.

1 month ago, Gold fly

Doesn’t sync with the Family Safety Website

I’ve been using both the app and the website. The website typically works well, however when I get requests from my kids the requests go to both the website and app. I’ve tried approving extra time from the app and it never actually goes through with providing more time even though the app shows otherwise. I also get weekly emails for my kids usage and it is clearly wrong when it shows my kids were on a game for 4 to 5 minutes when I know they were on for 30 minutes. The website shows the correct information, which tells me the app and the website are not “talking” or syncing correctly with each other.

2 years ago, Steven@Eastvale

Need passcode protection

This app has faster the request approval as well as the schedule update, but the problem is there’s no passcode protection, the once the kids get the chances to touch my phone then they might update the screen time schedules (it happened on my phone). Eventually I deleted this app and still use the Outlook app (passcode protection activated) to approve the kids requests, even this way is not convenient, but it is what I want — avoid the kids to change the settings. Hopefully the developers would to hear the users opinions (no strong expectations lol, you know sometimes the developers are living in their own world).

2 years ago, Binaryspiral

App locks up when approving spending

I paid $10 to put into my child’s account to buy Robux. When he wants to spend the money - I get promoted by this app to approve. When I enter the app, click on the approval, I’m prompted to log in again (even though I was already logged in) to approve. When I click on the email field to login the app freezes. *infuriating* that my money has been already taken but I can’t actually get the product I paid for. Update: followed Microsoft’s advice and submitted feedback outside of Apple Store through their own app. Also could have been due to Black Friday load on e-commerce systems but still needs to be improved to not take money if it isn’t going to sell me stuff.

1 year ago, Mr. Ice Tea

Complex

This app is useful for families with Windows PCs. It allows parents and guardians to set time limits overall or per app, block websites, and limit screen time for non-educational activities. However, the iPhone app leaves much to be desired. Notably, it can take several taps if you want to simply give a child 15 more minutes on an app of game. Also, settings to allow a new website are buried deep and take four or more taps. Hope these issues get fixed over time.

3 years ago, Tiru117

Doesn’t do what it’s supposed to

It doesn’t keep track of time on the computer. My child has been on the computer for a couple of hours and on my phone app it says that 0 minutes have been used out of 60 minutes. But when the time frame is up, it works…until she asks for more time on the computer and I try to approve it from my phone. I approve for any set amount of time and it doesn’t even register. My phone says approved. But she still can’t log on. I have to physically do it from her computer and click on “parent is here” to approve more time. And still, it shows 0 minutes have been used.

2 years ago, Ana.K.H

Great App for online school students

I can see how far my kid will go To distract themselves from their school lessons with this app and it’s easy to get them back on track remotely from anywhere I am. No more hovering over their shoulder to get them to focus on their work! I love this app. It does sometimes glitch in translation if they are allowed screen time it sometimes takes quiet a few times to give them access on their device. Other than that I love it!

3 years ago, Yellohut

Needs ability to group apps for windows

I like that the app makes it easy to see how my kids are using their devices, however the ability to set time limits needs improvement. Specifically, I need to be able to group apps together, instead of individually. Right now there's no way for me to limit the amount of time spent on all games. You have to set each game individually. So when the time runs up for one game, they just jump to another one. I don't want to limit total device time as a work around because they use it for school work.

1 year ago, TheGarg

Great app, but has been crashing consistently for the last couple weeks

For some reason a couple of weeks ago, this app just starts crashing, every time you open it it just closes on its own… I’ve been having to approve my kids request via the email and then it takes me to the website… The app is pretty much unusable at this point… And I have uninstalled and reinstalled it to no avail, and I’m on the latest iOS

4 years ago, yenca615

Works well but...

This app works well for ease of adjusting the parental controls. However, the fact that anyone can open the app if they have my device without entering a pin of some sort to make the adjustments is frustrating. Especially when children are able to adjust their own time because there is no backup when the app opens. This app would receive 5 stars for being more complete. Even other devices require the account password or other pin to even open the app. I hate having to log out in order to keep my crafty kids from accessing their settings.

3 weeks ago, proginosko

Request notifications broken

The app worked fine until around a week ago, when it stopped receiving request notifications. I’m pretty sure it’s a problem with the app, because my wife and I both stopped receiving notifications at the same time. So now our son has to yell to us from the other room instead. 😐 UPDATE: Problem has been fixed. Notifications working again. Thanks to the support team for responding to feedback.

1 year ago, BDiz1977

App is useless - it doesn’t even do its basic job

Microsoft should be ashamed putting this type of garbage out. It never works right… even when you accept a request it still doesn’t work. Then you add the website to always approved list and it still won’t let you access! Their “tech support” gives the same canned answer every time… delete the app all the accounts and set it up all over again lol… that’s not a fix!! How about you actually fix the app instead of asking people to constantly delete and redo?? I even saw a text on Microsoft own forum state - it’s a glitchy app, it’s free… you might want to buy one that actually works… embarrassing

4 years ago, Roadwarrior1010

Almost there!

Finally I don’t have login to the site every time my kids send a request for additional computer time whenever they run out of their quotas. **Suggestion**: To the team maintaining/developing this app, provide the possibility to pause access on demand and not just when the allotted time runs out. It’s a key feature of any parental controls app. e.g. at dinner time all the parent would have to do to bring them to the table is a single click on the app to pause access. Holding back a star for that feature!

8 months ago, Wyrock

Competing logins make for a difficult setup

When first opening the app after a recent update it kept trying to authenticate via a work account. The login screen for organizations is different than personal ones so it would t let me switch. I can’t even log out of the work one as the links kept auto logging back in. Be sheer luck when I went to report an issue the login there (same look as the organization one) finally let me use personal credentials and the app began to work. This feels like dumb luck though, no clue how a person would normally work through this issue.

1 year ago, alkdfigvdero379,!$:@

Not working consistently

The past few months (March/April 2023) the app has been very glitchy. It always asks me to refresh because there is no connection, though my connection is fine. Lately, after I open it, the app closes on its own. I’ve deleted and reinstalled several times. My phone is turned off every day while I’m at work. I’ve had to go to my account on the website to change settings instead of using the app. Up until these problems started, the app was great and I didn’t ever have a problem w it.

3 weeks ago, Libbsey83

This app simply doesn’t work

I’m really not impressed. I was quite happy when I installed it, expecting it to do all the things they said it would do. But we have been continuously disappointed. I put time limits on so my kids wouldn’t be on their computers late…. They don’t work at all. Also, when my kids run out of time and request more, frequently the request doesn’t come through to me at all. Or it comes through, I approve the request, and their time never gets updated. Or it takes an hour. At this point, the app is so non-functional, I’m ready to delete it and find something else that actually does what it says it does.

1 year ago, Al's feedback

Last two updates have issues

This app deserves more stars but the last two updates have been a mess. The first update made it so the app crashed on all iOS devices that have recent OS versions. The patch to fix that made it so I can’t log in to my MS account in the app at all. It just tells me that my email or password are wrong. I can log in on the web interface just fine. The app worked perfectly before those two updates and I loved being able to use it. Hopefully these issues will be fixed soon.

1 year ago, Zepfhyr

App no longer crashes immediately on launch

EDIT: This issue was fixed soon after reporting it and the app works great again For some time now (can't be certain if it started before the last update or not), the app crashes immediately upon launch. Deleting the app and reinstalling it did not help. I was able to launch the app and sign in, but it then began to crash again.

3 years ago, Blue Moonlight

A great tool for the tool belt

This app is very useful for helping keep screen time wrangled in our household, especially with how much time we’ve had to spend at home lately. I would appreciate more granularity in the “schedule of available times” - half-hour increments are good, but I’d like to be able to align it a little more closely with school schedules (I.e. if school starts at 8:30, I’d like to be able to unlock the computer at 8:25, not 8:00 or 8:30).

3 years ago, SammieBammie1204

If only zero stars were possible…

I am 25 years old, owned and paid for my own Xbox live account for at least 7 years, bought several games over time, yet only now am I being rejected from downloading games that I OWN because of a mysterious content filter. My live account does indeed display my real age and I had to verify this, wondering why I have child settings on an ADULT ACCOUNT. Live support is completely useless and pulls up several of the same tabs, they offer “web support” as if you could change these random content settings without needing an app ….. WRONG! Here I am, downloading another useless Microsoft app to change one ridiculous setting. Great.

Description

The Microsoft Family Safety app helps empower you and your family to create healthy habits and protect the ones you love with digital and physical safety. Get peace of mind that your family is staying a little safer while giving your kids independence. Create a safe space for your kids to explore online. Set healthy boundaries to block inappropriate content and set browsing to kid-friendly websites using Microsoft Edge on Windows, Xbox, and Android. Get notified when your kids want to download a more mature app or game from the Microsoft Store with age limits, keeping you in the know and helping to avoid surprises. Develop healthy digital habits and provide transparency into your family's activities. View your kids’ weekly activity to help start a conversation about online activity. Set device limits across Xbox and Windows. Or if your kids will be on devices longer for things like online learning, set time limits on specific apps or games on Xbox, Windows, or Android. Stay connected offline with location sharing. Use the family tracker to stay informed on where your family is and share your location. Plus, save frequently visited places like work and school. Plus, with a Microsoft 365 Family subscription, get location alerts when someone leaves or arrives at their location, and use drive safety to build better habits behind the wheel. Get insights on how your family is doing on the road, including how many times they use their phone while driving, their top speed, and even the number of times they brake hard. Microsoft Family Safety features: Screen time – Develop healthy digital habits • Set screen time app and game limits on Xbox, Windows, Android • Set device time limits on Xbox and Windows • View activity summary of screen time and online usage • Get notifications if a user requests more time Content filters – Explore safely with content filters • Set web and search content filters using Microsoft Edge • Block inappropriate apps and games Family location tracker - Locate your loved ones • GPS location sharing to locate your family • Track locations and save frequently visited locations • Location alerts when someone arrives or departs a location (premium benefit) Driving reports - Build better habits behind the wheel • Driving reports to see top speed, hard breaking, acceleration, phone usage (premium benefit) • Drive history to see driving events along route (premium benefit) Your privacy is important to us. We work around the clock to protect your data and information to help you keep your family safe. For example, we do not sell or share your location data with insurance companies or data brokers. We provide you with meaningful choices about how and why data is collected and used, and give you the information you need to make the choices that are right for you and your family. Subscription & Privacy Disclaimer Unlock the full Microsoft Family Safety experience with a qualifying Microsoft 365 Family subscription to enable location alerts and drive safety features, all other features free and available to download with the app. Location tracking and driving safety require location permissions be active; driving safety is only available in the US, UK, Australia, Canada, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. Monthly Microsoft 365 subscriptions purchased from the app will be charged to your App Store account and will automatically renew within 24 hours prior to the end of the current subscription period unless auto-renewal is disabled beforehand. You can manage your subscriptions in your App Store account settings. Microsoft Family Safety is subject to the privacy terms (see aka.ms/privacy).