Approving a child's account on Windows Phone

These days, you’re just as likely to find kids using their parents’ phones to use apps and play games as the parents themselves. Whether that means families fighting over who gets to play ‘Angry Birds’, or mums and dads trying to prise their smartphones out of their little ones’ hands to order the food shopping, there's no stopping the younger generation's love for all things tech.

But with that, comes more parental locks and controls on the mobiles we use, to help protect our kids when they go and play in the digital world.

If you have a Windows Phone, for example, kids may not be able to download apps due to child restrictions. If this is the case, you’ll need to approve your child’s account for downloads if you're happy to let them play on your phone.

So, with this in mind, here’s Geek Squad’s step-by-step guide to approving a child’s account to download apps on Windows Phone.

How to approve a child's account on windows 7 phone

To approve your child's account so they can download apps on a Windows 7 phone, simply follow these steps:

1. Head to xbox.com and sign in with the child's account over in the top right.

 2. On the next screen you'll see the option to send an e-mail to the parent's email address to ask for approval. If you don't have one already, you'll need to set up a Windows Account to do this.

1. 3. Once you've sent the e-mail, you'll need to log out of your child's account and log in with your own at xbox.com.
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1. 4. You'll then be greeted with the page below. You will then need to accept the terms and conditions to proceed.​

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5. The next page will show the default settings for what a child can or cannot do on the phone. Click done. Your child will now be able to download apps from the marketplace.

how to approve a child's account on windows 8 phone

If you want to approve your child's account on a Windows 8 phone, so they'll be able to download apps from the store, ust follow these simple steps:

1. Firstly, head over to windowsphone.com. You'll need to have a Windows Live Account first. If you don't have one already, go to live.com to create one and then proceed to the log in on this page.

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2. Once you've logged in, click on the My Family option.

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3. Next, you'll come to the Add a Child page. Click OK and proceed to the next page.

4. 4. On this page, you'll need to sign in with your child's account . This will add your child's account to the My Family screen.

5. Then, on the right hand side of the page, under the Children heading, click the Fix It button. Make sure the tick is selected and then click on Save to proceed.

6. Finally, from here, you can change the basic settings for app downloads. For a more advanced settings page, follow the link to Microsoft Family Safety Settings.

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So, there's our step-by-step guide to approving a child's account for Windows Phone 7 and 8. Keep your eyes on the website for more self-help guides and tips - whatever your smartphone.