Leave a Review Microsoft Family Safety
Doesn’t do what it’s supposed to
It doesn’t keep track of time on the computer. My child has been on the computer for a couple of hours and on my phone app it says that 0 minutes have been used out of 60 minutes. But when the time frame is up, it works…until she asks for more time on the computer and I try to approve it from my phone. I approve for any set amount of time and it doesn’t even register. My phone says approved. But she still can’t log on. I have to physically do it from her computer and click on “parent is here” to approve more time. And still, it shows 0 minutes have been used.Show lessTiru117
Basic functionality not worth the effort of taking up a tile
You may as well log into the we website to do the functions you need to.
You cannot alter screen time on this app just approve additional time. Not sure why time sliders are not out of the box functionality for this app. Which has been available for a few years now.
Would be good to have a button that unlocks for all users e.g all kids are working from home today so remove time limits for today.Show lessMakdaddy8888
Overall mediocre performance
I downloaded this as an alternative to Life360 to include my children’s Microsoft accounts. I’ve used Office 365 family for some time and enjoy the centralized cloud storage and apps available on iOS. Family Safety is not one of those.
The drive logging is terrible. It’s fails to log a drives throughout the day.
The location map is messy. Zoom in? Not so fast, it zooms back out. Accurate location? Not really. The list will show correct but the map always lags behind a few seconds when you switch to it.
You can set notifications for arrivals or departures but not both. Not great for a family design.
I like how the app allows me to monitor Xbox activity but internet search is not existent on anything but the Xbox.
Overall, it’s an “ok” app. Hopefully it improves or I’m seeking an alternative.Show lessZamobafood
Screen time function does not work
The whole purpose of me getting this app was to be able to quickly and effectively manage my kids screen time. This does not match the time spent or shown in my Microsoft account on the computer and is slow in updating requests and changes, effectively locking my kids out when I have allowed them time, making this app a complete waste of time. The time zone appears to be wrong and I have diligently updated all users current time zones in the user profile to to avail, the app is still not synced with the computer account screen time. There seems to be a bug that numerous posters in forums and reviews here have raised, and Microsoft developers are ignoring.Show lessCbsquared_
Developer Response
Thank you for using Family Safety! Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue. If you could send us more details and logs from the app by tapping on the App Menu/Home > Help and Feedback > Send feedback > I Don’t Like Something > Attach/Include Logs/Diagnostics, we’ll take a look. Thank you!Works surprisingly well
Thanks Microsoft for providing family controls that’s both sensible and reliable.michael 7584
Developer Response
Thank you for using Family Safety. We're glad to hear that you've been enjoying our app. If there are other ways we can improve the experience for you, please send a feedback via the app (Home/Menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback) Thank you!It’s stopped working! Oh, now it’s ok.
I’ve been using the app for several years to set time limits and grant extra time for my son. Yesterday the app just stopped working - wouldn’t connect or refresh the page, and showed a message: “an error occurred, please try again later”. I did try again later and it still doesn’t work. I deleted the app and reinstalled it, and now I can even set it up. Can’t get past the first page. Please fix this!
Update on 14th December 2021: it’s back working again! Apparently there were network problems.Show lesshonest jake
Developer Response
Thank you for reaching out . There was a reported network outage affecting some regions that started December 8, 2021, impacting the Family Safety app. It should have been resolved as of December 13, 2021 around 12 PM PST. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. Should you continue to experience issues, please let us know Again, thank you for reporting this. This really help us a lot in identifying issues like this for us to make continuous improvement.If only zero stars were possible…
I am 25 years old, owned and paid for my own Xbox live account for at least 7 years, bought several games over time, yet only now am I being rejected from downloading games that I OWN because of a mysterious content filter. My live account does indeed display my real age and I had to verify this, wondering why I have child settings on an ADULT ACCOUNT. Live support is completely useless and pulls up several of the same tabs, they offer “web support” as if you could change these random content settings without needing an app ….. WRONG! Here I am, downloading another useless Microsoft app to change one ridiculous setting. Great.Show lessSammieBammie1204
It either has a bug that removes limits OR kids can disable it when your not looking due to no PIN
The limits keep disappearing in the app! So my kids stay on their devices much longer than they should. I have to keep recreating them. Either it has a bug and the limits randomly delete OR due to it not having a PIN protection my daughter secretly removes them when she “borrows” my phone for something. Either way it needs sorting out because very frequently the limits are gone and my kids keep playing so it’s not doing what it claims it does. ALSO…. My kids are too young to drive by 7 years so STOP suggesting I pay to track their driving!! I want to get rid of it, I don’t need it. The app asks “does your family drive?” but doesn’t actually let me say “no so go away”!Show lessLaurence Cope
Developer Response
Thank you for using Family Safety! Sorry to hear you're experiencing this issue. If you could send us more details and logs from the app by tapping on the App Menu/Home > Help and Feedback > Send feedback > I Don’t Like Something > Attach/Include Logs/Diagnostics, we’ll take a look. Thank you!Great app for controlling/blocking/limiting website access
This app allows me to truly restrict/allow the specific websites my child uses or tries to use.
I also really like the ask permission request feature allowing a limited set amt of time.
Been a life saver for me! Keep it up!Tom W 360
Best family safety software for parents
This is the best free family safety software I have used to date, and I’ve used many, including paid services such as the Circle. This is far better, and free. Totally recommend.gabbiecolenso
Developer Response
Thank you for using Family Safety. We're glad to hear that you've been enjoying our app. If there are other ways we can improve the experience for you, please send a feedback via the app (Home/Menu > Help and feedback > Send feedback) Thank you!
