How to set your child up to play Minecraft online
Playing Minecraft with Friends while Maintaining Privacy and Online Safety
Playing Minecraft with Friends while Maintaining Privacy and Online Safety
This article tells you how to set your child up to play Minecraft online with their friends, while maintaining privacy and online safety.
If you already have your child registered under your MS Family Safety account and have an Xbox Gamertag, then you are ready to go.
Here are the basic steps to setting your child up to play with friends on Minecraft:
- Sign into your Microsoft account
- Make sure your child is added to your Family Group
- Login to Xbox settings with your Gamertag and turn on the option to allow sharing for your child
Most of this can be easier said than done, so we suggest you read through this article and figure out which parts you can just jump to and which you need to set up. If you go to Xbox settings and are able to see your child's profile, then you can jump down to the bottom to see the exact options to change to allow your child to play Minecraft with friends. If you are unable to access Xbox settings online or do not see your child's profile image, then keep reading to find the missing piece.
First of all, note that Microsoft owns both Minecraft and Xbox, so your (adult) Microsoft account can be used to login to Minecraft and Xbox and change settings where needed.
1) MICROSOFT ACCOUNT: Email address ending in @hotmail.com, @outlook.com, @live.com. If you have registered MS Office, used Outlook, Skype, OneDrive or set up a Bing profile, that email address is your Microsoft account. When setting up a new Windows computer, you likely set up a MS account with your existing email. You can use your Gmail address to set up a Microsoft account. Click here for directions
2) MICROSOFT FAMILY GROUP Add your child to your Microsoft Family Group, or set up a new Family Group and add your child's email address. You will need to do this in order to view and control the settings for Xbox and Minecraft for your child's gaming login. Family Safety is an app that can be installed on your child's devices to track their screen time and other restrictions. Your child must show up in the Family group in order to allow you to set Minecraft permissions. Go to https://account.microsoft.com/family/home to check or set up your Family Group.
3) XBOX GAMERTAG Minecraft settings are controlled in Xbox settings menus, so you will need to log into Xbox and set a Gamertag for yourself. You need the Gamertag in order to change the Xbox and Minecraft permissions. A Gamertag is basically a username that represents your profile in Xbox, including your profile picture AKA gamerpic and your activity, game history and information. Once you login to Xbox with your Microsoft account, you are automatically assigned a Gamertag. If you do not intend to use Xbox, then don't worry about changing the Gamertag info or picture.
If your child wants to connect with their friends so that they can play together in Minecraft, you will need to login with your Gamertag, click on your child's Gamertag, then locate a certain setting in Xbox settings and turn on the option.
UPDATE YOUR CHILD'S GAMERTAG PERMISSIONS Go to the Xbox settings page and login with your Microsoft account. You will see your Gamertag and the Gamertag for your child. Click on the image for your child's account and the permission settings will display.
Now you can review and set boundaries for your child's online gaming experience. The changes you make here in Xbox settings will also apply to Minecraft.
PRIVACY It is a good idea to click on the Privacy tab and review the options to block or allow certain actions. For instance, you can choose if your child can chat with people not on their friend's list, you can set all interactions to friends only and determine who can find your child's profile.
After you review and update the Privacy settings for your child's gameplay, click the second tab to locate the certain setting that will allow them to accept and send friend invitations and play games together with friends.
Once you see these settings below for your child's profile, you have come to the end of your quest. Update the settings, save and have your child log out then log back in to see the new privileges. Cheers, you did it!
REFERENCE LINKS
Set up Microsoft Account with Gmail address
