Xbox Family - Parental Control App

Empowering Families for Safe and Healthy Gaming Habits

In my role, I was responsible for defining the product vision and user experience for the Xbox Family App, a mobile solution designed to help parents manage their children’s gaming habits. Working with a small but focused team—including one developer, one architect, and one project manager—we set out to address a growing concern among parents about online safety, screen time, and content exposure.

The Challenge

The research team conducted a large-scale study with 1,140 parents to understand their most significant concerns about their children’s gaming experience.

Key pain points:

  • Exposure to inappropriate content in games and online interactions.

  • Mature conversations and lousy language in multiplayer settings.

  • Limited control over screen time, friend requests, and game access.

Parents found managing their children’s gaming activities complex across multiple devices. They needed a centralized tool that provided visibility, control, and real-time updates, helping them create a safe and balanced gaming environment for their children.

Designing a Solution

✅ Visibility & Real-Time Notifications

Parents needed quick access to information about their child’s gaming activity without manually checking Xbox settings. We introduced:

  • Daily and weekly activity summaries, helping parents track playtime and interactions.

  • Push notifications for requests like unblocking a game or approving a new friend.

  • A dashboard overview providing clear insights into gaming habits.

✅ Control & Customization

We designed features that allowed parents to customize their child’s gaming experience according to their family’s needs:

  • Screen time management to set personalized playtime limits.

  • Content filters to block inappropriate games and online interactions.

  • Quick approvals for game requests, multiplayer access, and friend additions.

  • Activity reports to provide parents with an understanding of their child’s play patterns.

✅ User-Friendly Experience

We knew that parental controls needed to be effortless and intuitive for parents, even those less tech-savvy. We created:

  • A clean, modern UI aligned with Xbox’s design language for familiarity.

  • Cross-platform synchronization to ensure parental controls worked seamlessly across Xbox consoles and mobile devices.

Impact & Learnings

The app:

  • Giving parents real-time control and visibility reduces uncertainty about their child’s online interactions.

  • Increased trust in Xbox as a family-friendly gaming platform.

  • Introduced a mobile-first approach to parental controls, making family management more convenient.

This project reinforced the importance of trust-building in UX design. When designing for parents, transparency and flexibility are essential—our goal was to provide control without friction, allowing parents to set healthy digital boundaries while keeping gaming enjoyable.

This project was a milestone in designing family-friendly digital experiences, reinforcing Xbox’s commitment to safe, responsible gaming for all ages.