How to set up parental controls on an Xbox

Step 1: Xbox Family Settings (on your phone)

1. Install Xbox Family Settings from the App Store or Google Play and sign in with your Microsoft account.
2. Add your child's account to your family.
3. Set screen time limits, content restrictions by age rating, Ask a parent for purchases, and choose who can chat and play with them online.

Step 2: Filter the browser and apps

Xbox consoles include Microsoft Edge and apps like YouTube and Twitch. The simplest way to filter all of it is your home Wi‑Fi router: see the router guides. That also lets a Sheepdog Filter bedtime turn the Xbox's internet off at night, and Homework mode pause online games until a set time.

Can't change your router? Set it on the console

Every major console lets you type a DNS address by hand. In your Sheepdog Filter dashboard, open Devices › + Protect something › Everyone at home. That links your home internet and shows your DNS address. Type that address into the console as below, and leave the secondary DNS empty (or the same address if it insists). It works while the console is on your home internet.

Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One

1. Press the Xbox button and go to Profile & system › Settings › General › Network settings.
2. Choose Advanced settings › DNS settings › Manual.
3. Enter your Sheepdog Filter address as the Primary IPv4 DNS, press Enter, and enter it again for Secondary IPv4 DNS.

What blocking "gaming" does on an Xbox

If you switch off Gaming for your child in Sheepdog Filter, online play and the Xbox store stop loading on that console while the rule is on. Single-player games already installed may still run offline. Use the Xbox Family Settings timer for total play time.