Microsoft’s Family Safety feature, used by parents and schools for parental controls, has been blocking Google Chrome from opening on Windows since early June.
Users reported that Chrome either closes unexpectedly or fails to launch when Family Safety is enabled. According to Chrome support manager Ellen T, this behavior occurs because of a bug within Microsoft Family Safety that prevents Chrome from running.
Other browsers such as Firefox and Opera are unaffected. Some users have found a workaround by renaming the Chrome executable file. Alternatively, disabling the “filter inappropriate websites” setting in Family Safety restores Chrome functionality, but removes content restrictions.
The issue has persisted for over two weeks, and Microsoft has yet to provide a fix or official comment. A Chromium engineer noted in a bug tracking thread that while Microsoft offers guidance to users, no widespread resolution has been implemented.
Microsoft has previously taken various actions to encourage users to switch from Chrome to its Edge browser, including prompts, misleading AI answers, disruptive popups, and altered download pages. Though this Family Safety issue appears to be an unintended bug, it adds to the history of Microsoft’s efforts to influence browser choice on Windows.