How to Set Up Family Accounts in Windows 10
On a single Windows 10 device, you can set up accounts for all the adults and children in your home, and the adults can limit what the kids can do.
By Lance Whitney
https://www.pcmag.com/news/how-to-set-up-family-accounts-in-windows-10
Do you share a Windows 10 computer or tablet with the adults and children in your family? You can easily add new family accounts to the device so everyone in the house can use it individually. Then, adults in the family can manage use of the device by children so they don't get into digital trouble.
As an adult, you can perform the following tasks on your kids' accounts:
Give your kids money so they can buy stuff in the Windows and Xbox stores without need of a credit card.
View activity reports about what your kids are doing on the device, such as purchasing apps and searching the web.
Set age limits for apps, games, videos, movies, and TV shows.
Set time limits for how long your kids can use the device.
Locate your kids on a map if they're using a Windows 10 mobile phone.
The primary account used to set up the PC is already part of the device's family, so you now need to add the other people in your family. Let's go through the steps for setting up these accounts.
Adding People to Your Account
In Windows 10, click on Settings > Accounts > Family & other people > Add a family member.
At the next screen, choose whether you want to add an account for an adult or a child and then enter the person's email address. Click Next.
Confirm that you want to add this person. The person then receives an invitation by email. He or she can log into the Windows device, but to manage family settings, the person needs to accept the invitation by clicking on the Accept Invitation button in the email.
The Family & other people screen now shows the new account.
If you want to add an account for a child, click on the option to Add a family member, but this time choose a child account. The rest of the process is the same. The child receives an invitation to join via email, and he or she clicks on the Accept Invitation button.
Monitoring Your Kids' Activity
Okay, let's say all your accounts are set up. Now is the time to see how you can monitor your kids' activity on your Windows device. Open your browser and log into the Microsoft page for your family using one of the adult accounts. You'll see all the accounts listed for your family.
Choose one of the child accounts and you can then set up the following features:
Click on the "Add Money" link to add money to a child's account.
Click on the "Recent activity" link to turn on Activity Reporting to view a child's web browsing and purchasing.
Click "Purchasing & spending" to control and view what your child can buy.
Click on the "Screen time" link to manage how long and when your child can use the device.
Click on the "More" link. Then click on the "Web browsing" option to block inappropriate websites for your child.
Click on the "Apps, games & media" option to block inappropriate apps and games for your child.
And finally, click on the "Find [your child's name] on a map" option to locate your child if he or she is using a Windows Phone handset.
For more, check out these other Windows 10 tutorials:
How to Retrieve Folders, Files With Windows 10 Quick Access
How to Run Windows 10 From a USB Drive
How to Back Up and Restore an Image File of Windows 10
How to Turn on Cortana by Voice in Windows 10
How to Share More (or Less) Personal Data With Cortana
How to Tweak Your Tiles in Windows 10
How to Check Out Early Versions of Windows 10
How to Customize Your Default Apps in Windows 10
How to Find a Lost Windows 10 Device
Google Sued Over Kids' Data Collection on Education Chromebooks
Verizon Introduces Smartphone Plan Designed for Kids
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About Lance Whitney
Surviving a long and varied career in publishing, advertising, and IT, Lance Whitney now wears a few different technology hats. By day, he's a journalist, software trainer, and sometime Web developer. By night, he's asleep. These days, he writes news stories, columns, and reviews for CNET and other technology sites and publications. He's written two books for Wiley & Sons: Windows 8 Five Minutes at a Time in 2012, and Teach Yourself VISUALLY LinkedIn in 2014. Contact Lance via Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.
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