Windows 10: Apps appear and disappear from Microsoft Family App and Game Limits

LSkip · Feb 8, 2021

My family is using Windows 10, and I am using the Microsoft Family App and Game Limits feature to block and unblock access to games. From day to day, the list of apps that show under App and Game Limits on the website changes, and sometimes an app that I have blocked stops appearing on the list, and I cannot unblock it even after clicking "See More".

Minecraft seems to be a common problem appearing and disappearing, but other apps do this as well.

How can I refresh the application list on App and Game Limits so that it shows a more complete list of apps?

This has been going on for several months, and I have updated windows several times in that period.

Lee

:)

nms25 · Feb 8, 2021

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

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.

noslenwerdna · Feb 8, 2021

removed device still appears in microsoft family 'app and game limits' tab

In Microsoft Family under the tab 'app and game limits' I have four devices that have been removed. The apps on these old devices are all still being listed even though the device no longer exists. It is a real pain since the devices all have the same name.
I want to add a device but since all of the old devices still exist in 'app and game limits' it makes the process very convoluted. How can I remove devices from 'app and game limits'?

Brink · Feb 8, 2021

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

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Windows 10: Apps appear and disappear from Microsoft Family App and Game Limits

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