Microsoft announced last month that its new Microsoft 365 subscription service (formerly Office 365) would offer some family-oriented features, like a new Microsoft Family Safety app that combines screen time data across multiple platforms and provides tracking information. Microsoft announced more details about the Microsoft Family Safety app service yesterday, and there’s now a beta program you can try out.
Microsoft Family Safety has many equivalent features as existing group management tools from Google and Apple, but Microsoft’s application can gather data from Android, iOS, Windows, and Xbox devices. Parents can see screen time data across all a child’s devices, set deadlines surely apps/games, and configure web filters for Microsoft Edge (though only on Windows/Xbox). Family members also can see where everyone else is currently located on a map.
Microsoft Family Safety App
Let’s take a closer look as some of the features you can try in the preview of Family Safety:
Activity reporting
Get information about your family’s activity so you’ll have a conversation about what your kids do online and on their devices. View screen time, top websites visited, and terms kids are checking out online. Receive an email summary hebdomadally to assist facilitate a dialogue on healthy digital choices and start developing good habits from an early age.
Screen time limits
Set screen deadlines across Windows and Xbox devices. Or if your kids are going to be on devices longer for things like online learning, you’ll set limits on specific apps or games instead. Now once you say just one hour of a game, that means one hour of that game—whether that’s being played on a Windows PC, Xbox, or Android phone. And if they run out of screen time, they will invite more. you’ve got the selection to feature longer or not supported what’s right for your family.
Content controls
Create a secure space for your kids to explore online. Set healthy boundaries with web and search filters to dam mature content and set browsing to kid-friendly websites on Microsoft Edge. Get notified when your kids want to download a more mature app or game from the Microsoft Stores with age limits, keeping you within the know and helping to avoid surprises Family Safety provides you with the tools to start talking about the sort of content that’s right for your kids.
Location sharing
Stay connected even when you’re apart. See loved ones on a map with location sharing. Plus, save places they visit the foremost, like home, work, or school, to understand where relations are at glance. With stay-at-home orders and restrictions on mobility currently in situ, it’s important to understand where your loved ones are once they aren’t at home—for example, if your teenager got side-tracked while running to the grocery and ended up at a friend’s house. And as we revisit to a replacement normal, staying connected with your loved ones is going to be even more important.
Microsoft says there is “limited availability” for the public beta on Android and iOS, but those of you who have already set up a Microsoft family group can get started by completing this survey.
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