Microsoft Family Restriction after leaving

Hello, Rae

Sorry for the late reply, here are some alternative methods you can try to troubleshoot your issue:

1) Confirm the right Microsoft account on the PC

Sometimes the PC is still signed into a different Microsoft account (one that’s flagged as a child), even if you use your adult account elsewhere.

Windows 10/11

• Settings → Accounts → Your info Ensure the Microsoft account email shown here is your adult account (the one not in a family).
• Settings → Accounts → Email & accounts If you see any additional Microsoft accounts under Accounts used by other apps, remove any old/child accounts: select the account → Manage/Remove.

Why this matters: Windows uses the signed‑in account to apply Family Safety and Edge content filters. A stray child account here can keep enforcing restrictions even after you left the family group.

2) Refresh all Family Safety tasks (with admin rights)

The scheduled task you ran is correct, but it must be triggered as Administrator and sometimes the service needs a nudge.

• Open Start, type cmd, right‑click Command Prompt → Run as administrator.
• Run these in order (copy/paste each line, press Enter after each):

:: 2.1 Run the refresh task
schtasks /run /tn "Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyRefreshTask"

:: 2.2 Stop the family safety shell (if present) and restart Explorer
taskkill /f /im MicrosoftFamilySafetyMonitor.exe 2>nul
taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
start explorer.exe

• Restart the PC.

If MicrosoftFamilySafetyMonitor.exe isn’t found, that’s fine, you can move on.

3) Reset the Edge profile on the PC (without losing your other devices)

Edge can keep per‑profile Family rules. Create a fresh, clean profile, then sign in with your adult account.

• Open Edge → Settings → Profiles → Add profile → Continue without sync.
• In the new profile: Go to edge://policy - it should say “No policies set”.
  • If you see policies listed, that means Windows/MDM is enforcing browser rules. See step 6 below.
• Go to edge://extensions - remove Microsoft Family/Family Safety or any policy‑installed extensions (if the Remove button is missing, it’s policy‑installed; again see step 6).
• Now sign this new profile into the same adult Microsoft account you verified in Step 1 and test ChatGPT.

If ChatGPT works in the new profile, the old profile kept child flags. You can export passwords/history and use the new one going forward.

4) Clear Windows parental control flags in the registry (safe targeted cleanup)

Important: Back up the registry first (Registry Editor → File → Export).

• Press Win+R, type regedit, Enter.
• Navigate to each path below; if the key exists, delete only the specific subkeys mentioned (leave the parent key intact). HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Parental Controls HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Parental Controls HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentFilter HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ContentFilter
• Close Registry Editor and restart.

These keys store legacy Family Safety/content filter flags. Removing them forces Windows and Edge to rebuild policy state for your account.

5) Uninstall the Microsoft Family Safety app (if present)

On Windows, check Settings → Apps → Installed apps for Microsoft Family Safety.

• If present, Uninstall, restart the PC, then test Edge.
• If you still want the app later, reinstall it after everything is working, and skip sign‑in to any family.

Even if you left a family, app‑level permissions can keep enforcing filters.

6) Check for device policies (MDM/Group Policy)

If edge://policy shows active policies or extensions that you cannot remove, the PC is likely:

• Managed by an organization (MDM/Intune/Group Policy), or
• Joined to Azure AD/Entra ID with browser policies applied.

Actions:

• Settings → Accounts → Access work or school → if connected and you don’t intend this PC to be managed, Disconnect (again, only if it’s your personal PC).
• Open Local Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) →
• Computer Configuration → Administrative Templates → Microsoft Edge and User Configuration → Administrative Templates → Microsoft Edge.
  • Set any content filter/policy entries to Not Configured.
• Reboot, then recheck edge://policy (should be empty).

7) Create a new Windows local profile (quick isolation test)

If the current Windows user profile is “stuck,” a new profile helps confirm.

• Settings → Accounts → Family & other users → Add account → I don’t have this person’s sign‑in information → Add a user without a Microsoft account (create a local admin).
• Sign into that new Windows account, open Edge, and test ChatGPT.
  • If it works here, the issue is confined to your original Windows profile - migrate your data to the new profile or continue with Steps 3, 4 to clean the old one.

Don't hesitate to get back if you need more help.

Have a nice day!