How to Set Screen Time Limits on Windows 11

To set screen time on Windows 11, sign in at account.microsoft.com/family with a family organizer account, select your child’s tile, open the Windows tab, select Turn limits on, and then pick a day to set the hours and total time allowed. The limits come from Microsoft Family Safety and follow the child’s Microsoft account, so the child must be in your family group.

Applies to: Windows 11 with Microsoft Family Safety (website and mobile app).

What “screen time” means on Windows 11

People use the phrase for two different things, and the settings live in different places:

• A daily limit on how long someone can use the PC. This is a Microsoft Family Safety feature. A family organizer sets a schedule, and it applies when the family member signs in to Windows with their own Microsoft account.
• How long the display stays on when the PC is idle. This is a power setting in Windows. It saves energy but does not limit anyone’s use. It is covered in its own section below.

Before you start

Family Safety limits only work when a few things are in place. Checking them first saves most of the troubleshooting later.

• You need the organizer role. Family organizers are the administrators of a family group: they add and remove members, manage limits and permissions, and view activity. Members cannot set limits for other people.
• The child needs their own Microsoft account in your family group. You can only set limits for accounts you have added to your Family Safety group. If your child is not in the group yet, sign in at account.microsoft.com/family, select Add a family member, choose the Member role, select Next, and enter their email address or phone number. They get an invitation and appear as a pending member until it is accepted. The wider family setup is covered in setting up parental controls on Windows 11.
• The Windows 11 PC must be connected to the family group. Screen time limits can only be set on devices connected to your family group, and the child has to sign in to the PC with the Microsoft account you added.
• The child’s Windows account should be a standard user. Family features may not work properly if the child’s account is an administrator, because an administrator can change or break the Family Safety settings.

Set screen time limits on the Family Safety website

The website works from any browser, so you can do this from your own computer rather than the child’s PC.

1. Go to account.microsoft.com/family and sign in with your organizer account. You see a tile for each person in your family group.
2. Select the tile for the family member you want to limit. Their Family Safety page opens.
3. Select the Windows tab. The other platform tabs are Xbox and Mobile; each platform has its own schedule.
4. If no limits are shown, select Turn limits on. A schedule for the days of the week appears.
5. Select a day to add a schedule or edit the time limit. Set the hours when the PC can be used and the total amount of time allowed for that day.
6. To reuse the same settings, use the check boxes to apply the change to other days of the week or to Every day.
7. Select Finished when you are done. Repeat for any day that needs a different allowance, such as weekends.

A worked example: for a school-age child you might allow two hours between late afternoon and early evening on school days, then set a longer allowance with a wider range on Saturday and Sunday. Set Monday first, apply it to the other school days with the check boxes, and then edit the two weekend days separately.

Set screen time limits in the Family Safety mobile app

The Microsoft Family Safety app is available for Android and iPhone, and it changes the same schedule as the website. Use it when you want to adjust a limit from your phone.

1. Open the Microsoft Family Safety app and sign in with your organizer account.
2. Tap the tile for your family member.
3. Go to the platform you want to limit. Choose Windows for a Windows 11 PC.
4. Select a day to set the time ranges and the total hours permitted for device use.
5. Apply the change to other days or to Every day if the same schedule should repeat.

Limit one app or game instead of the whole PC

A device limit covers the whole PC. If the PC is also used for homework, a limit on a single game or app is often a better fit.

1. Sign in at account.microsoft.com/family, find your family member, and go to the Windows platform.
2. Select the Apps, features, and games tab.
3. Turn on the App and game limits toggle.
4. Select the app or game you want to limit.
5. Set how much time is allowed each day and when the app can be used. You can use the same limit every day or a different schedule for each day of the week.

Time limits do not work on websites. If a game also has a web version, open that app’s page in the same place, scroll to Block related websites, and check the box next to each site you want to block.

Connect the Windows 11 PC and confirm the limit is active

If the child’s PC does not show up under the Windows tab, connect it:

1. On the PC, open Windows settings.
2. Go to Accounts.
3. Go to Family & other people (the family section of Accounts; the wording can differ slightly between Windows versions).
4. Under your family, select your child, then select Allow.

To confirm the limit is working, return to the family member’s page and check that the Windows tab shows the schedule you saved rather than the Turn limits on button. To see actual use, turn on the Activity reporting toggle for Windows on their page. In the mobile app, tap Today, then Screen time, then Devices to see daily and weekly details of when and for how long the device was used.

Change or turn off the limits

To give more or less time, repeat the main steps and select the day you want to edit. To remove the schedule entirely, open the Windows tab for that family member and choose Turn limits off.

If you meant when the screen turns off

To change how long the display stays on while the PC is idle, select Start > Settings > System > Power & battery > Screen, sleep, & hibernate timeouts. Choose a time under Turn my screen off after and, if you want, under Make my device sleep after. Laptops have separate choices for plugged in and on battery. More options are covered in changing the screen timeout in Windows 11.

Troubleshooting screen time limits

The limits are set but the child can still use the PC

• Remove the limits and add them again. Try this first, because it can clear a glitch in the schedule.
• Check the account type. On the child’s PC, open the Other accounts settings, choose the child’s account, select Change account type, choose Standard user, and confirm.
• Check that the child’s Microsoft account has not expired. Have them sign in on the PC, then select Start > Settings > Accounts. If a Verify option appears, select it and follow the prompts.
• Check which account they use. Limits follow the Microsoft account in your family group. A different account on the same PC is not covered by the schedule.
• Change your own passwords. This makes sure only trusted adults can sign in to organizer accounts.

“Screen time information is not shared with you”

This message appears when you are not an organizer in the family group or do not have permission to see that person’s screen time. Sign in with an organizer account, or ask an organizer to make the change.

The Windows tab shows no device

The PC is not connected to the family group yet. Have the child sign in to it with their Microsoft account and follow the connection steps above.

The PC belongs to work or school

Family Safety limits apply only to Microsoft accounts that you have added to your family group. An account issued by an employer or school that is not in your group cannot be given a schedule from your family page, so ask that organization’s IT administrator about its usage rules.

Frequently asked questions

Can I set screen time for myself on Windows 11?

Not on your own. Limits are set by a family organizer for another member of the group. An adult who is a member can have limits applied, but only the organizer can change or remove them.

Can I set different limits for weekdays and weekends?

Yes. Each day has its own schedule. Set one day, apply it to the matching days with the check boxes, and then edit the remaining days separately.

Do Windows limits also apply to an Xbox?

No, Xbox has its own tab and its own schedule. Xbox screen time also counts for as long as the person is signed in to the console, so remind them to sign out when they stop playing.

Is Microsoft Family Safety available on iPhone?

The app is available for iPhone, and you can use it to manage a child’s Windows and Xbox limits. Screen time limits on the phone itself apply only to Android devices.

Do the limits work on a second PC?

They apply to Windows devices that are connected to your family group and that the child signs in to with their Microsoft account. Connect each PC before relying on the schedule.

Where is the official documentation?

The steps are on the Microsoft Support page Set screen time limits across devices, with fixes on Troubleshooting Microsoft Family Safety.

Once the schedule is saved, sign in to the child’s PC with their account to make sure the device is connected, then check the activity report after a few days and adjust the hours to match how the PC is really used.

If you later want to stop using it, you can remove Microsoft Family Safety in Windows 11. Older PCs are covered in setting up parental controls on Windows 10.