16 PCWorld JANUARY 2021NEWS MICROSOFT’S PAUSE SCREEN TIME FEATURE
Microsoft also added a control called Ask To Buy.Xbox games and apps. Family Settings was
originally set up with the assumption that your
child would be offline most of the day, at
school, before the pandemic struck and
distance learning was implemented. But it’s
still useful to track which apps and websites
your child has visited, for how long, and to
place limits on their exposure.
When screen time is paused, the child will
see the “Your screen time is up” message that
they would normally see when their allotted
screen time is expired. The Pause feature can
be turned off at any time, but will otherwise
expire at the end of the day.Microsoft also added a control called Ask
To Buy. This, too, is fairly self-explanatory:
While the child’s account will be able to buy
apps and games with money already stored
in their account, the app will send a
notification to you when the child “wants
help buying” a new game. Turning off the
option will prevent them from bugging
you with constant requests.
Microsoft said this new pause capability
has been the most requested feature for the
app. “With the holiday break on the horizon,
many parents and caregivers may be looking
for ways to help balance screen time and
family time. We know achieving this balance is
important to families,” said David McCarthy,
corporate vice president of Xbox Operations,
in a blog post (go.pcworld.com/xbop).The Pause
Now button
tracks the
amount
of time
your child
has been
accessing
Windows
and Xbox
games and
apps.