Use Family Settings in the Xfinity app

Family Settings help families organize connected devices by person, manage screen time, pause WiFi, set limits and schedules, review online activity where available, and use Parental Controls for safer browsing. Family Settings are managed in the Xfinity app.

Note: Family Settings are included with Xfinity WiFi Shield and Shield Select when the customer account and equipment are eligible. Feature availability may vary by Xfinity Gateway model, account role, and app experience.

What you can do with Family Settings

• Create people/profiles for members of your household.
• Assign connected devices to a person.
• Pause WiFi for a device or for all devices assigned to a person.
• Set screentime limits to help manage daily online time.
• Set schedule pause for bedtime, homework, dinner, or other routines.
• Review screentime details for supported apps and sites when available.
• Use Parental Controls to help reduce access to content that may be inappropriate.

Before you begin

1. Download or open the Xfinity app.
2. Sign in with an Xfinity ID that has access to manage WiFi settings.
   • Make sure the devices you want to manage are connected to your home WiFi network.
   • Primary and Manager users can manage most Family Settings. Member access may be limited.

Create or manage a person/profile

1. Open the Xfinity app.
2. Go to the WiFi tab.
3. Under Connected to your WiFi, select the + symbol next to People to add a person.
4. Enter a name and select an icon.
5. Tap Add Profile.
   • To rename a person or change the icon later, open their profile and select the gear icon.

Assign devices

1. Open the person/profile.
2. Under Assigned Devices, select Assign Device.
3. Choose the devices you want to assign.
4. Select Assign.
5. To unassign a device, choose Unassign, select the trash can icon, confirm Unassign Device, and select Finish Editing.

Pause or resume WiFi access

You can pause WiFi access for a single device or for all devices assigned to a person. Pausing only affects access to your home WiFi network. It does not affect cellular data, public Xfinity WiFi hotspots, other WiFi networks, or access to local devices such as printers.

1. Select the device or person you want to pause.
2. Select Pause Device or Pause All Devices.
3. Choose a time period or pause until you choose to resume.
4. To resume access, select Unpause Device or Unpause all devices.

Set screentime limits

Screentime limits help you set daily online time limits for a person on your home network.

1. From the person’s Settings page, select screentime limit.
2. Choose Weekdays and/or Weekends.
3. Adjust the bar to set the daily limit.
   • Turn on automatic pause if you want devices to pause when the limit is reached.

Set schedule pause

Schedule pause blocks home WiFi access on assigned devices during the schedule. You can use schedule templates such as Bedtime, Homework, Dinner, or Anytime.

1. From the person’s Settings page, select Schedule a pause.
2. Choose a schedule type and name.
3. Select the days, start time, and end time.
4. Select Save changes.

Schedules cannot overlap. There must be at least one minute between the end of one schedule and the start of the next.

Review screentime details

Screentime details shows a more detailed view of how much time supported apps and sites are used on assigned devices while connected to the home network. It is optional and is not on by default.

1. From a person’s Settings page, select screentime details.
2. Agree to consent by checking the box.
3. Select Turn On.
   • After it is turned on, activity may not be viewable right away. Activity is measured in five-minute increments and refreshed periodically.

Screentime details cannot be turned on for default Household and Guest groups. It is available only for supported devices and platforms.

Use Parental Controls for safer browsing

Parental Controls help reduce the risk of children accessing content that is generally deemed inappropriate. To apply these controls to a device, assign the device to a person first.

• From the person’s Settings page, select Parental Controls.
  • Turn the control on for the person.
    • When enabled, Google SafeSearch is On, Bing SafeSearch is Strict, and YouTube Restricted Mode is On.

Note for customers with Apple devices: If iCloud Private Relay is turned on, Parental Controls filtering and screentime details may not work as expected. Learn more about iCloud Privacy Relay.

Notifications and expected experience

To receive screentime limit notices, make sure Network Activity notifications are turned on. Notification behavior may vary based on app settings, device settings, account role, and the Family Settings feature being used.

FAQs

What are Family Settings in the Xfinity app?
Family Settings help you organize connected devices by person and manage WiFi access, screentime, schedule pause, screentime limits, screentime details, and Parental Controls from the Xfinity app.

Do I need to assign a device to a person before using Family Settings?
Yes. To apply schedule pause, screentime limits, screentime details, or Parental Controls to a device, assign the device to a person first. Settings apply to the devices assigned to that person while they are connected to your home WiFi network.

Can I use Family Settings for Household or Guest devices?
You can use Household and Guest groups to help organize devices. Screentime details cannot be turned on for the default Household and Guest groups.

What happens when I pause WiFi for a person or device?

• Pausing WiFi blocks the selected device, or all devices assigned to the selected person, from accessing the internet through your home WiFi network. It does not block cellular data, public Xfinity WiFi hotspots, other WiFi networks, or access to local network devices such as printers.
• In-progress activity may not stop immediately.

What is schedule pause?

• Schedule pause blocks home WiFi access on assigned devices during the days and times you choose. You can use schedule pause for routines such as bedtime, homework, dinner, or another custom schedule.
• If a device tries to access a website, app, or service during schedule pause, the device may show its default message that the website cannot be reached or that the device is not connected to the internet.

Can I set schedule pause for one device?
Schedule pauses are set for a person. To schedule pause for one device, assign only that device to a person, then create schedule pause for that person.

Why are some devices still paused after a limit or schedule ended?
A device may still be paused because of another pause setting, an active schedule pause, or another pause rule. Check the person and device settings in the Xfinity app and resume or wake up the device when appropriate.

What is a screentime limit?

• A screentime limit lets you set a daily online time limit for a person on your home network. You can choose separate limits for weekdays and weekends.
• If automatic pause is turned on, the person’s assigned devices pause for the rest of the day when the limit is reached.

What counts as screentime?

• Screentime can include online activity such as streaming, browsing, shopping, gaming, downloads, and app activity that uses the internet while the device is connected to your home WiFi network.
• Background activity, such as app updates, may count as active time. Cellular data, public Xfinity WiFi hotspots, and other WiFi networks do not count toward screentime limits.

What happens when a screentime limit is reached?

• If automatic pause is on, the devices assigned to that person pause until the next day. The Primary user may receive a text message, email, or push notification when the person is close to reaching the limit, depending on notification settings.
• To receive screentime limit notices, make sure Network Activity notifications are turned on.

Can I unpause devices after a screentime limit is reached?
Yes. You can resume access by selecting the person in the Xfinity app and choosing the option to unpause all devices.

What are screentime details?
Screentime details provide a more detailed view of how much time supported apps and sites are used on assigned devices while connected to your home network. Screentime details are optional and are not turned on by default.

How do I turn on screentime details?
From a person’s Settings page in the Xfinity app, select screentime details, review and accept the consent prompt, and select Turn On. Screentime details cannot be turned on for the default Household and Guest groups.

How soon will screentime details appear?
Activity may not appear right away. Activity is measured in five-minute increments and refreshed periodically. Some current support content states that data is refreshed every 15 minutes.

Which apps and websites show in screentime details?

• Screentime details report supported apps, websites, and categories where available. Comcast works with a third-party vendor that maps websites and applications to categories and updates the mapping regularly.
• For the current app list, use the related article, "Supported screentime details applications in the Xfinity app."

Why do I see an app or company name I do not recognize?
Some app activity may be reported by company name instead of app name. You may also see activity from background app updates or embedded content inside another app or website.

Why does detailed screentime not match the total daily time?
Activity can happen on more than one device, app, or site at the same time. Total daily time and detailed category time may not add up exactly when activity overlaps.

Will screentime details work in a private browser tab or with a VPN?
Screentime details may still report activity for supported websites used in a private browser tab. Activity cannot be tracked and reported for devices using a VPN to access the internet.

What happens when screentime details are turned off?
When screentime details are turned off, details are not captured while the feature is off and app/category details may no longer be accessible. If screentime details are turned back on, recently captured details may be available only for a limited time.

How is screentime details data used?
Screentime details are designed to help you manage screentime. Source FAQ content states that the reported data is not used for other purposes, is not shared with third parties, and is stored only for a limited period before being deleted.

What are Parental Controls?
Parental Controls are part of Family Settings. They help reduce the risk of children accessing content that may be inappropriate while assigned devices are connected to your home WiFi network.

What happens when Parental Controls block access?
When Parental Controls are on, attempts to access blocked content may redirect to a block page. For secure websites or mobile apps, a block page may not appear, but access may still be prevented.

Do Parental Controls work on cellular data, public Xfinity WiFi hotspots, or other WiFi networks?
No. Parental Controls apply only to assigned devices while they are connected to your home WiFi network.

Can I add or remove specific websites from Parental Controls?
Not at this time. To allow access to blocked content, turn off Parental Controls for that person.

Do Parental Controls block all inappropriate content?
No. Parental Controls are intended to help reduce access to content that may be inappropriate, but they do not guarantee that every site, app, or piece of content will be blocked.

What search and video settings are enabled with Parental Controls?
When Parental Controls are on for a person, Google SafeSearch is On, Bing SafeSearch is Strict, and YouTube Restricted Mode is On for assigned devices connected to your home WiFi network.

Service	Setting
Google SafeSearch	On
Bing SafeSearch	Strict
YouTube Restricted Mode	On

Can iCloud Private Relay affect Family Settings?
Yes. If iCloud Private Relay is turned on, Parental Controls filtering and screentime details may not work as expected.

Additional information

Visit our Online Support Center to find common solutions.

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