Windows 10: Microsoft Family Safety is blocking Google Chrome, but there's a workaround

If you are having trouble with Google Chrome crashing or not opening, Microsoft Family Safety may be the reason why. Here's what happened.

The Verge says that the problem began in early June, with first reports dating back to June 3. Most users say the same thing, Chrome crashes after a few seconds, and does not restart, or does not open at all. There are a dozen or reports about the issue on Reddit, Microsoft and Google support forums. The issue seems to have started with Chrome 137.0.7151.69. And it doesn't appear to be limited to Windows, some users say that Chrome didn't open on Android, macOS, too. Annoyingly, there was no error message associated with the crashes. This had led to some confusion as some users began to worry if their PC had been infected by some malware.

However, one user, possibly an IT person, reported they had several students report that Chrome was crashing, but some of them had seen a message "You need to ask permission to use this app". Another user discovered that it was Microsoft Family Safety causing the problem, specifically, the web filtering options that were enabled under Windows Family Parental Controls. Among other things, it is used to prevent access to adult content, harmful websites, manage screen time, track online activity. It is also used by Schools to restrict access to harmful content, so you can imagine how many students couldn't access Chrome because of this problem.

According to a discussion among Chromium engineers, the issue caused a 2.5x surge in Chrome uninstall rates on June 3rd, but eventually normalized on June 7th. It probably means that users uninstalled Chrome and tried reinstalling it to see if it fixed the problem. Unfortunately, Google couldn't fix the problem, since this was controlled by a Microsoft setting, and the latter has not provided a fix.

As a workaround, Microsoft is advising parents to make the following change in Family Safety.

1. Go to https://familysafety.microsoft.com or open the Family Safety mobile app.
2. Select the child's account.
3. Disable “Filter inappropriate websites” under the Edge tab, or Go to Windows tab ? Apps & Games ? unblock Chrome.

This will allow Chrome to run, but the downside to this is that the child could access any website without restrictions.

Many users have criticized Microsoft for not fixing the problem, some say that it is not to be blamed, and in fact the safety feature is functioning as intended by blocking access to other browsers. When Edge works perfectly, but Chrome doesn't, you can hardly fault the users for jumping to conclusions whether this was by design, especially given Microsoft's shenanigans to promote Edge. Some users were able to rename Chrome.exe to Chrome1.exe to bypass the problem. That's sneaky, but this also points out the fact that the parental control feature is not perfect. There are also a couple of reports that say the issue does not seem to affect other browsers.

There is speculation that the problem was related to Microsoft's web filtering not working on unsupported browsers, this was broken for a long time, and was fixed recently. This fix apparently broke Chrome. This thread on Microsoft Defender for Endpoint has some comments about web filters breaking on Chrome around June 3rd. Surely it can't be a coincidence?

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Family Safety Not Blocking Websites on Google Chrome

Family safety has suddenly stopped blocking any website on the blocked list when using Google Chrome. It still blocks them on Microsoft Edge but Edge additionally blocks Google websites such as Gmail and Google Docs even though they are on the allowed list.

I have tried removing and adding back the account but it did not help. Any advice on fixing this issue will be much appreciated.

 

Family Features blocking google chrome

Hi Taylor,

It is possible that there is an issue with the Family settings. This can be the reason why you're unable to use Google Chrome. We recommend that you check you family settings by accessing account.microsoft.com/family
to see Google Chrome is added to restricted applications.

If you're already an adult in your family settings, we suggest removing your account from your family settings and see if you will be able to access Google Chrome. We also suggest creating a new Microsoft account, and then add that account to your family
as an adult. These steps will allow us to verify if there is an issue with your family settings or if there is an issue with your original Microsoft account.

We'll be waiting for the outcome.

 

Block Google Chrome for Child

I have 5 kids to setup content restrictions for. Though I love that Microsoft gives the power to have the safety features it does, the process is RIDICULOUS if you are doing it for more than 1 child!!!

I attempted to setup my 3 younger kids to only have access to a couple of specific websites, but no other sites. During that process I removed Google Chrome from the blocked apps list. What I did not know was that I had to use Microsoft Edge (one of the
worst browsers ever) to use the feature that only allows certain sites. So now Google Chrome is no longer a blocked app, but yet the site has no way to just add it back.

I looked up how to block an app and was SHOCKED by the official info from Microsoft. See Below. Basically your kid has to use an app before you can add it to the blocked list. Doesn't that defy the purpose of having safety features for a child?

Besides... I used my child's account and opened Chrome, yet it still DID NOT show up in their activity list in order to block it. NOW WHAT?

FROM MICROSOFT

Blocking specific apps is possible with the Microsoft Account's Family Safety Feature. To block a specific application on your child's account, it is a requirement that the app must be used by your child, so that it will appear in under the Recent Activity
list. For your child's security, you can log in as the child and launch the app to satisfy this requirement.

Follow these steps to successfully block specific applications:

1. Visit the Microsoft Family website and then sign in your Microsoft Account.
2. Click the account of the child that you want to block from using an app.
3. Select Recent Activity.
4. Click to ensure that Activity Reporting is turned on.
5. Scroll down and look for Apps & Games.
6. Choose the apps that you want to block on your child's account.
7. Click Block to block usage of the app.