Windows 10: "App and Game Limits" not recognizing apps to limit in MS Family

nms25 · May 30, 2020

I want to use Microsoft Family to limit kids' ability to pay a specific game Kerbal Space Program to no more than X hours per day, on just a single Windows 10, brand new Acer laptop. No other devices at issue or being used with these accounts.

But when I go to "App and Game Limits" at family.microsoft.com for the local user accounts I have set up, the main account I want to limit call it the "games account" does not include *any* apps as options to limit -- there is no "installed apps" list at all to choose from. It just says

App and game limits

Too much time spent watching videos or playing games? Set limits on their apps and games to help them stay focused and get a healthy balance of screen time throughout the day.

On
Limits will apply to
LAPTOP-[computer name of my laptop]
Help with Microsoft family features
-------------------------------------------------

Etc. Turning "Time limits" to "on" or "off" makes no difference. Still no list of apps to limit in any case. The other children's accounts have an "installed apps" list and certain apps appear on it, but Kerbal Space Program does not appear on the list for those accounts either. If this was an ordinary windows function there would be a "browse" option and I could just select the .exe file on the HDD and identify the app that way if nothing else worked, like when windows can't automatically find your printer driver--- but I can't find any function like that. It just seems to be something that either works or doesn't with no way to look under the hood, or am I missing something?

All accounts I am trying to limit are children's non-administrator local user accounts on the laptop in question. In each case I created a microsoft account to go along with the user account. In each case MS family controls for the account recognize the Acer laptop's computer name and say "limits will apply to" that laptop. In each case the MS Family internet monitoring/blocking functions in MS Edge seem to be working for the accounts.

On the "games account" I mentioned above, I have started the Kerbal Space Program account every different way I can, from start menu, clicking on the executable in folder, from pinned task bar, from desktop shortcut icon etc to try to get the computer to recognize it as an app that I should be able to control in MS Family. When I type the program into search from the task bar it is recognized as "Kerbal Space Program - App," but I can't do anything to get it to show up on an MS Family list so that I can limit it.

For comparison, another app we play, Universe Sandbox, appears in the list of "installed apps" for other accounts on the computer, but does not appear anywhere for the "games" account even though we regularly use that program with that account.

Any help appreciated.

nms25

:)

Brink · May 30, 2020

New App and Game Limits for Family Settings on Windows 10 and Xbox One

Screen time is something so many families think about every day, including me, both at work as the product and strategy lead for family at Microsoft, and at home as a mother of two. I’m excited to share the next step in our efforts to empower families to strike the right balance of technology use in their lives with new app and game limits. Starting today, you can access this new feature in preview within our existing family settings across Windows 10, Xbox One and Android via Microsoft Launcher.

You may already be familiar with our existing device screen time feature, which allows parents to set limits at the device level. For instance, I can give my kids one hour of screen time on their Windows 10 PC devices, and another hour on their Xbox One console. Alternatively, parents can also choose to set a combined allowance of two hours, giving kids the option to spend it whichever way they want across both Windows 10 and Xbox One devices.

With the new app and game limits feature, we introduce two new key elements to screen time:

You can now set how much time your children spend within specific apps or games. Rather than a blanket time limit for time spent on device, you can now set limits at the app or game level, enabling you to be more specific with how your kids are spending their time with technology. This can be extremely helpful as parents struggle to balance the needed screen time for homework or education purposes when children use the same devices for gaming and entertainment.

The app and game limits you set will apply across Windows 10, Xbox One and even your child’s Android phone running Microsoft Launcher. We want to provide families the convenience of setting this up once, and letting it carry over across your child’s devices. This means one hour of Netflix per day is one hour of Netflix per day – my daughters can no longer pull a fast one by switching from one device to another.

One thing we learned from our research is that families tend to agree to different screen time allocations for weekdays and weekends. For example, you may want to allow your child to play a game until 9 p.m. on Saturday but want them done before dinner during the week. That led us to design the app and game limits feature with additional granularity to allow for both a variety of set time limits and different windows during which those limits apply, depending on the day.

Ultimately, our goal is for the app and game limits feature to provide flexible and customizable tools to meet each family’s unique needs. You as parents know what’s best for your children — no technology can ever replace that — but we’re hoping these tools can help you to strike the right balance.

To get started with app and game limits, and the many other family features we offer, the first step is to create a family group and ensure each child or teen in the family has their own Microsoft account. This is an important step for you to be able to manage their safety settings. We have recently made significant improvements to the child account creation, and credit cards are no longer required.

Once the family group is created, we encourage parents to have an open conversation with their children about their use of technology, how to empower them to learn and grow, connect with family and friends, play games and have fun; and at the same time, place guardrails to help them stay focused on their goals.

When children begin using an app or game, they are reminded of how much time they have. They will also get a reminder when they’re within 15 minutes of reaching the limit, and another reminder at five minutes, at which point they will have the option to ask for additional time. You, as the parent, can grant or deny that via email or more conveniently, via the Microsoft Launcher notification on your Android phone.

Starting today, you can access this feature in preview across the devices tied to your child’s account, which is connected to your Microsoft family group. The new app and game limits feature completes a large set of family features we’ve been developing over the past few years to empower families to develop healthy digital habits, including weekly activity reports – sent to both parent and child as a great opportunity to foster a dialog – content filters, device screen time, spending limits, child location and Xbox privacy and online safety settings.

Check out Xbox Wire for more information. We hope you will give this new feature a try and let us know what you think so we can continue to build experiences and tools that meet the needs of today’s families. (Go to any of the family web pages and click on Feedback in the bottom right.)
Click to expand...

Source: New app and game limits empower parents with more specific settings | Windows Experience Blog

How to Set App and Game Limits of Microsoft Family Child on Windows 10, Xbox One, and Android

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) View on Twitter

Brink · May 30, 2020

New App and Game Limits for Family Settings on Windows 10 and Xbox One

The new school year is well under way, and as families continue to balance homework and after school activities with screen time, Xbox is here to help. We’re continuously studying ways to improve children’s safety online and to give you, their parents or guardians, the tools to help ensure their wellbeing throughout their online interactions in the digital world.

Late last year, we detailed the many easy-to-use features built into your Microsoft account to give you peace of mind with family settings for screen time limits, purchase limits, content filters, and privacy settings.

Today, we’d like to share with you some of the additional steps we’ve taken to improve our existing family settings. We’re giving you more control over what your children see and interact with on the devices in your home, which is part of our commitment to make gaming a fun, inclusive, and safe experience for everyone. For us, that means offering tools that provide choice so families can create the right balance of screen time in their lives.

Improved Family Settings

We’ve updated our existing family settings to now include app and game limits to cap how much time your children can use specific apps or games. You can activate this feature across the devices tied to your child’s account, which is connected to your Microsoft family group. Creating a family group is an easy and important first step! The feature is currently available in preview release, and we are eager to hear your feedback so we can continue to refine the experience for your family.

For example, you can choose to set one hour of game time for Ark: Survival Evolved each day and two hours for Netflix. Prior to this, you could set broad screen time limits (three hours on Xbox One), whereas now you can determine what specific apps or games are playable or not playable within that timeframe. These app and game limits are shared across Xbox One, Windows 10, and Android via Microsoft Launcher devices and work on all child and teen accounts. You may be wondering about accessing websites through a browser. While the new app and game limits only apply to apps and games – which does not include the app’s website – you can choose to filter websites through the currently available family settings.

Meeting the Needs of Parents Today

In the past year, we’ve also updated family settings on Xbox to empower parents and guardians to enable or block their child’s access to play or communicate with players on other networks. You can modify this setting in supported games on any child or teen account (defaulted to off for child accounts). These features can be found under your Microsoft account on Windows 10 or Xbox One. Simply select the account you’d like to update, and then enable or block cross-play/cross-network communication.

These cross-play settings are currently available for Fortnite, Rocket League, Dauntless and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and we expect other games will enable them, as well.

We’ve also made it easier to set up a child account on Xbox One. You now only need to add your e-signature to provide consent for your child to have a Microsoft account — credit cards are no longer required for verification.
It’s important to us to continually update our family settings to ensure they fit the unique needs of families today.

Balancing Work and Play

Every Microsoft family account can choose to receive a weekly activity report — sent to both you and your child — which contains an overview of how much time was spent on apps, games, and websites. The activity reports provide transparency in how your children are engaging with Xbox One, Windows 10 devices and Android running with Microsoft Launcher and empower you to set limits and features that you feel are the best fit for your family.

When your child reaches the end of their screen time permitted for a specific app or game, they have the option to request additional time, which you can choose to allow or deny through your Microsoft account.

You know what’s best for your family; no technology can ever replace that. The right tools can help make parenting easier and family settings on Xbox does this by putting parents in control of what your children can access across the platform.
Click to expand...

Source: Introducing App and Game Limits for Family Settings - Xbox Wire

How to Set App and Game Limits of Microsoft Family Child on Windows 10, Xbox One, and Android

Tweet

— Twitter API (@user) View on Twitter
Click to expand...

Remyvan Tol · May 30, 2020

App and game limits - Microsoft Family

Suddenly my daughter gets messages she has to ask a parent for more time to use Chrome. App and game limits in Family is OFF and grayed out, I have never set any restrictions. How can this be fixed?

Windows 10: "App and Game Limits" not recognizing apps to limit in MS Family

"App and Game Limits" not recognizing apps to limit in MS Family

"App and Game Limits" not recognizing apps to limit in MS Family

"App and Game Limits" not recognizing apps to limit in MS Family

"App and Game Limits" not recognizing apps to limit in MS Family - Similar Threads - App Game Limits

Time Limit For A Group of Apps in Family

Time Limit For A Group of Apps in Family

Time Limit For A Group of Apps in Family

Apps appear and disappear from Microsoft Family App and Game Limits

Microsoft family Apps and game limits don't work

Phantom devices under Family } Apps & Game Limits

App Limits

App and game limits - Microsoft Family

App and game limits