Getting started with FamilyProtect
Setting up FamilyProtect takes about ten minutes: create your account, verify your email, subscribe, download the installer, and run it on your first family PC. This guide walks through each step and tells you what to expect along the way.
How do I create my account?
Go to the FamilyProtect dashboard and choose sign up. You need an email address you can check straight away and a password. The account you create is the owner account for your whole family, so use a parent’s email, not a child’s.
Why do I need to verify my email?
After signing up, we send a verification link to your email address. Your dashboard shows a banner until you click it, and you can resend the email from there if it hasn’t arrived. Verification proves the address is really yours before any billing or protection is set up. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it within a couple of minutes.
How do I subscribe?
Once your email is verified, the dashboard shows a Subscribe button. It takes you to a secure checkout handled by our payment provider, the same kind used by millions of businesses. FamilyProtect is one flat plan that covers every device in your family, and you can cancel anytime. If you want to see what is included before you subscribe, the features page lists every protection.
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial. You enter a card when you subscribe, but you are not charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel any time before then. We email you a few days before it ends so the first charge is never a surprise.
After payment you’ll return to your dashboard and see “Activating your account”. This normally takes under a minute. Use the Refresh button if it seems to linger.
How do I protect my first PC?
When your account is active, your dashboard shows Add your first device. That opens a guided setup: it hands you the installer, either as a download to move across on a USB stick or as a short link you can type into a browser on the child’s PC, then walks you through running it and watches for the PC to appear. It normally shows up within a few minutes.
The full walkthrough, including what your child sees on the PC, is in Installing FamilyProtect on a Windows PC. FamilyProtect runs on Windows PCs.
How do I turn protections on?
Your dashboard lists every protection as a card with a switch. Turn a card on and it rolls out to all of your enrolled devices automatically, usually within a few minutes. Turn it off and it is removed just as cleanly. Some cards are managed automatically as part of a bundle and don’t have their own switch.
If you want to understand what a protection actually does before switching it on, each card has a short description, and our blog covers the big ones in depth, like how DNS Protection works on Windows.
Can other parents help manage the account?
Yes. As the owner you can invite other family members by email from the Family members screen. Invited owners get the same controls you have. You can also invite members with installer-only access, which is handy for a teenager who sets up their own PC but shouldn’t be able to change any settings.
Should I turn on two-step verification?
We recommend it. Open Settings from your account menu and you can add a login code sent to your email, or an authenticator app if you prefer. Devices you trust stay signed in for 30 days, so the extra step only appears when something unusual happens.
What’s next?
Stuck at any step? Get in touch and a human will help.