Setting Up Parental Controls on Every Major Console

Every major console has free parental controls, and you can manage most of them from your phone in about 15 minutes. Set up a child account, an age-rating limit and a spending limit first; those three prevent most problems. Platform-by-platform steps and a comparison table are below.

The basics apply everywhere

• Create a child account linked to a parent or family account, rather than letting kids use yours.
• Set age-rating limits so games and apps above a rating need your approval. In the US, that’s the ESRB rating on the box or store page (E, E10+, T, M).
• Set a spending limit, or require approval for every purchase. This is the one most parents wish they’d done first.
• Set play-time limits by day or by week.
• Review communication settings: who can message, voice chat with or send friend requests to your child.

An ESRB rating is the US age rating for a game, set by the Entertainment Software Rating Board. It also lists content descriptors such as “Violence” or “In-Game Purchases,” which are worth reading alongside the letter.

PlayStation 5

Use Family Management in your PlayStation account settings, or the PlayStation App, to add a child account. From there you set age levels for games and apps, a monthly spending limit, play-time limits and communication restrictions. Sony’s parental controls page walks through each option.

Xbox and Windows PC

The free Xbox Family Settings app manages child accounts, screen time, content filters and spending. Limits follow the account across Xbox consoles and Windows PCs. You can also approve purchase requests from your phone, which is handy for “can I buy this?” moments.

Nintendo Switch and Switch 2

The free Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app links to the console and lets you set daily play time, restrict games by rating and see what’s being played. Spending limits are managed through the Nintendo Account.

Phones and tablets

On iPhone and iPad, use Screen Time. On Android, use Google Family Link. Both can require approval for downloads and in-app purchases.

Online play and chat

Online multiplayer brings voice chat and messages from strangers, so it deserves its own check. On every platform you can limit chat to friends only, or switch it off. Younger kids are usually best on friends-only, with any new friend request approved by you.

Remember that many popular games have their own chat and friend systems on top of the console’s. Fortnite, Roblox and Minecraft all have in-game parental settings, and some need a separate account. When your child starts a new online game, check its settings menu as well as the console’s.

In-game purchases

In-game purchases are things bought inside a game with real money: currency, skins, battle passes or loot boxes. The ESRB marks games that include them. The console’s spending limit covers these purchases too, so it’s the single most useful setting for avoiding surprise bills. If you’d rather give a fixed allowance, buy a gift card and add it to the child account, so spending can’t go past it.

Check in after a week

After the first week, look at the activity report on your phone. Most apps show time played per game, which often starts a better conversation than the limits themselves. Adjust the limits if they’re causing daily fights; the goal is fewer arguments, not more.

Quick comparison

From our research across each platform holder’s own help pages:

Talk about it, too

Controls work best alongside a conversation. Explain the rules, agree on time limits together, and revisit them as your kids get older. If you’re choosing a first console for a family, our guide to which platform to buy covers the bigger picture.

Our read: start with the spending limit. Time limits can be negotiated later, but a surprise bill is hard to undo.

Edited by Kerwin Stewart, Editor-in-Chief · How we report