Xbox Privacy & You

After all, interacting with other gamers and making in-game purchases can put your personal information at risk. What’s more, the world of massively multiplayer online games (MMO) can make it difficult to monitor exactly who you’re interacting with. We’ll share some tips to help you establish online gaming safety rules.

Microsoft Defender

Stay safer online with one easy-to-use app<sup>1

1</sup>Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription required; app available as separate download

Learn More

What is safe online gaming? Safely playing video games online comes down to the steps you take to protect yourself, the identities of your family, and your home computer network. Safe gaming practices will also include monitoring in-game purchases. In addition, we’ve put together a few things to think about when setting up an online gaming profile for yourself or a child.

• Set limits the easy way. We’ll talk in a few about how you can adjust your Xbox safety settings… or just use a family safety app that lets you limit screen time, as well as apps and games, across Windows, Xbox and Android. Let’s face it: kids (and adults for that matter) can spend too much time in front of a screen playing games or browsing around online without even realizing it. A good family app will let you block various apps and games, limit browsing to certain websites, and even get activity summaries for the entire family.
• Create a safe username. Creating a username can be fun for anyone setting up an online gaming profile. Someone who’s eager to jump into the game might choose something simply by using their real name. Unfortunately, that’s one of the worst things you can do when creating a username because it gives hackers and scammers a starting point in figuring out who you are. Choose a creative username that works as a nickname you go by, an inside joke, or even something to do with one of your favorite video game characters.
• Be careful who you play with. Don’t be naïve to the fact that there are scammers out there looking for easy targets to steal from. Whether you’re playing with a group of friends on a private server or randomly jumped into a game on an MMO, it’s important to be aware of who’s in the game with you. In Xbox, for example, you can block or mute other players as needed, and even report them if they get out of hand.
• Be aware of what you share. Don’t share personal information with people you don’t actually know firsthand. Never give out your real name, phone number, address, school or work info, or anything else that can be used to identify you. While adults could risk getting their identity stolen and credit destroyed, kids can be at great risk by sharing something as innocent as the soccer team they play on or which mall they’ll be going to later that day.
• Vet mods and other downloads. Not all in-game purchases are created equally. Make certain you’re buying from a secure game when making in-game purchases. Playing games from mainstream AAA publishers is generally safe, but small developers might not have the security measures to prevent hackers from infiltrating their servers. If your kids are playing on the Xbox, for example, you can adjust your settings so they have to ask before purchasing something from the Microsoft Store.

How to adjust your Xbox privacy settings. You can adjust your Xbox privacy and safety settings to ensure that no one’s interacting on games/servers you haven’t approved of—or with people you don’t know. Follow these steps to reach your Xbox privacy settings and adjust them as you’d like.

• Press the Xbox button on your controller to open the guide.
• Scroll over to “Profile & system” along the top navigation bar.
• Select “Settings,” “Account,” Privacy & online safety,” then “Xbox privacy.”
• You can then choose from three default settings: “Child,” “Teen,” or “Adult.” If none of these settings fit what you’re looking for, select “View details & customize” to make the changes you see fit.

Managing your Xbox privacy settings will limit your gamer’s ability to log into certain online servers and their interactions with other players. You can also choose the rating of games they’re allowed to play.

Online gaming safety isn’t something that gamers and parents of gamers should take lightly. Ultimately, the best way to keep a handle on online gaming in your home is to talk to your family about the importance of guarding private information during any online interactions. As always, be sure to have good antivirus protection just in case.