Xbox Family Settings App Preview Released on iOS and Android

Xbox is making it much easier for parents to control what younger players can access thanks to the Xbox Family Settings App. The app won’t see a full roll-out until later this year, but the company will be releasing a preview, which is available now to all Android users, and to the first 10,000 iOS users to sign-up. While the app will offer a number of different features, the highlight is that users will be able to control their system settings from their iOS and Android devices, allowing children to make requests, and parents to adjust the settings on the fly.

The Xbox Family Settings App will allow for unprecedented parental controls. Parents can place specific age limits for each user, set-up time limits, manage incoming friend requests, and control who their children can communicate with. Younger players can even make requests for time increases on the system, and parents can respond to those requests right from their phone. In addition to these options, the Family Settings App will also allow parents access to daily and weekly reports on each child’s playtime, so parents can pay close attention to what their children are playing.

Finally, the app will also allow parents to enable multiplayer features in Minecraft for younger players. The game is rated E10+ because of its online components, so players that are of a certain age won’t have access to those features unless parents decide to allow their children to use them.

The app certainly seems like a promising option for parents! Over the last few years, Microsoft has been making major strides to improve the family experience on Xbox, and the Family Settings App seems like a big step towards making the experience more intuitive. With so many families currently at home due to the coronavirus pandemic, it’s not hard to imagine how the app could be a big help for some users.

Do you plan on participating in the Xbox Family Settings App preview? Does the app sound like the kind of thing that you would use? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming (and parenting)!