THE XBOX GAMING SAFETY TOOLKIT
Empowering caregivers to support kids and teens to game safely
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
04
INTRODUCTION
06
How to use this toolkit
07
GENERAL GAMING SAFETY GUIDANCE FOR ALL AGES
08
Parental controls
10
Setting up Xbox accounts for success
11
How we keep our platform safe with technology
12
Guidance for all ages
14
Common safety risks
15
Harmful and age
-inappropriate content
16
Bullying and harassment
17
Grooming and unwanted contact
18
Screentime
19
In
-game purchases
21
AGE
-SPECIFIC ADVICE AND CASE STUDIES
22
5
-8yr olds - cultivating positive behaviours
26
9
-12yr olds - fostering independence
30
13
-15yr olds - empowering rangatahi to be confident gamers
34
>16yr olds
- championing a new generation of gamers
INTRODUCTION
At Xbox, our mission is to bring the joy and community
of gaming to everyone on the planet. We’ve seen the
positive impact that gaming can have to people of all
ages – helping to develop new problem-solving skills,
forging new friendships, being a shared activity for
families and helping people gain confidence using
technology.
INTRODUCTION
Foreword by Dave McCarthy, CVP Xbox Player Services
But like any online activity, these positive experiences are had when
communities are safe, accessible and everyone can play within the
boundaries they set, free from fear and intimidation. We recognise
that navigating these safety challenges can be hard work for busy
parents and caregivers.
We take our responsibility to society and the gaming
community very seriously. We understand that putting players at
the centre of everything we do means creating experiences
and communities that welcome all to play. We all play a role
in creating the Xbox community – whether a player is new to gaming
or has been playing for decades, each person acts as a steward of
the community, protecting others and reinforcing the Xbox
Community Standards that detail what is and is not acceptable.
We provide tools and resources that empower players with choice and
control to support balanced gaming. And that is why we set about to
create a comprehensive resource to support parents and caregivers to
better understand gaming safety.
INTRODUCTION
We designed this toolkit with the advice and support of
trusted bodies including Netsafe and Te Mana Whakaatu
Classification Office. You will find many safety resources and links
provided by these organisations throughout this toolkit. IGEA, the
association representing the gaming industry in Australia and New
Zealand, was also a key partner.
This toolkit is part of our multifaceted approach to safety, as outlined
in our Xbox Transparency Report which shares more information
about how we protect our community. Our approach includes a
range of proactive and reactive tools and measures, such as
our parental controls so tamariki can engage in safe and age-
appropriate experiences; and privacy tools to keep players informed
about what data is collected and how it is used. The Microsoft
privacy dashboard and the Xbox Data Collection for Kids
website explain data privacy and collection in simple language for
tamariki and rangatahi.
Just like any technology or online activity, children benefit from
parents and caregivers being actively involved. We encourage
whānau to learn, play and discuss their gaming activities together,
and this toolkit is designed to support this.
Continued
This toolkit is divided into two parts. Part 1 sets out general tips to support tamariki and rangatahi to game safely and responsibly. Part 2 is
organised by age group to help you get familiar with common safety risks and tools to respond with three steps:
HOW TO USE THIS TOOLKIT
1
Learn
Understand which
parental and user
controls are
appropriate for this
age group.
2
Explore
Work with your child
to guide them
towards resilient
habits.
3
Support
Behaviour patterns
to look out for and
where to go for
additional help.
We provide links to trusted online safety organisations in New Zealand, such as Netsafe and Te Mana Whakaatu Classification Office.
PART 1: GENERAL GAMING SAFETY GUIDANCE
FOR ALL AGES
Open discussions, building mutual trust, and supervision are all crucial
aspects of keeping tamariki safe online. However, it is also important to
be aware of the tools you can use on our services.
Parental controls are features within a platform, such as Xbox consoles
and apps, that enable parents and caregivers to set limits on content,
activity, and interactions on a platform. The player and the parent will
usually have separate accounts which allow the adult to set up features on
the child account. Parental controls are different to user controls which
allow a player to control their own experience.
Parental controls should not just be set and forget. Instead, they are most
effective when integrated into a family-wide approach to safety.
Appropriate use of parental controls depends on your whānau’s situation
and values.
We encourage open conversations with tamariki about the use of parental
controls. Being transparent about these tools is important for building
trust and showing young people that you respect their privacy. We also
recommend talking to them about the user controls they can implement
on their own account, and why these are important for keeping them safe
and creating a happy gaming experience.
WHAT ARE PARENTAL CONTROLS?
These days, being a gamer often includes more than playing on a
console. Games can be played on secondary devices like phones, laptops,
and desktop computers and using other apps including gaming-adjacent
platforms for communicating. It’s important to think about safety settings
across all the devices and platforms that tamariki and rangatahi use to
participate in the gaming community and to connect with others.
WITH PARENTAL CONTROLS YOU CAN…
• Support the rules and boundaries you set for tamariki
• Leverage technology to create additional barriers between
tamariki and harmful content and activities
• Use content filters to set age-appropriate limits for games and
content
• Through activity reports, confirm tamariki are only doing what
you expect
• Manage interactions with other players for younger users to
ensure they only connect with real-world/trusted friends
• Set up screen time limits to enforce boundaries that match
your whānau values
• Manage spending so all purchases require your approval or
only allocating small $$ amounts
Across the Xbox gaming ecosystem, the Xbox Family Settings tools
allow you to manage a variety of settings in your child’s gaming.
The Xbox Family Settings app is the easiest way to manage
everything in one place, and access useful reports.
Tamariki should be set up with child accounts, with you as the
family "organiser." As an organiser, you can set screen time limits;
establish website, search and game filters; view activity reports and
more.
There are multiple ways to set up and use family settings across
our gaming ecosystem, including on a browser, using an Xbox
console and in our apps. With these options you can manage your
child’s gaming, without needing to use the Xbox controller.
In addition to providing parental controls, as a platform we also
have a responsibility to create a safe environment for our players.
For years, for years, we’ve been using a set of content moderation
tools to proactively help us deal with policy-violating text, images,
and video shared by players on Xbox. Our proactive moderation
allows us to catch negative content and conduct before it reaches
players. We continue to invest and improve our tech so players can
have safe, positive, and inviting experiences.
SETTING XBOX ACCOUNTS UP FOR
SUCCESS
Xbox Family Settings app
GENERAL GAMING SAFETY GUIDANCE FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES
1
Be involved and co
-create
boundaries with your child
Take an interest in young people’s digital lives. Discuss and agree upon new rules
together so they feel empowered and part of the decision
-making process. Explore
gaming activities together and make sure you have an idea of the games they’re playing
and players they’re interacting with.
See if you can listen
-in on voice channels with your child so you can experience the
discussion and understand who they interact with and how they communicate.
2
Champion the importance
of privacy and good cyber
habits
Talk about and model good cyber hygiene including using strong passwords, thinking
twice about what is posted online, keeping accounts private or friends
-only, ensuring
devices are up
-to-date and using multi-factor authentication.
Check out Minecraft’s
Home Sweet Hmm and Privacy Prodigy games for fun ways to
learn about privacy and safety. Encourage young people to learn about how their data is
used, starting with this
Xbox Data Collection for Kids resource.
GENERAL GAMING SAFETY GUIDANCE FOR KIDS OF ALL AGES
3
Encourage respectful and
empathetic communication
Remind young people that if it is not OK to say or do something face to face, it is not OK
online. Recognise that everyone has different backgrounds and perspectives. The
Xbox
Community Standards
outline what is tolerated on the platform and our Digital Civility
Challenge
describes four online civility ideals.
4
Stay calm and open and
talk about how the online
world makes them feel
Try to avoid judgment when talking to
tamariki and rangatahi so they feel comfortable
coming to you when they need support. Get them in the habit of discussing how they
feel when they go online and engage in gaming. This can help them develop the skills to
express when something doesn’t feel right.
5
For young children
While gaming can begin below the age of 5, we recommend caregivers always play with
young
tamariki, with parental controls set at the highest safety levels. Be sure to check
the age ratings on all games to ensure they are appropriate.
The first step to safety is understanding and recognising risk. This section provides a high-level overview of common gaming risks and provides links to expert
advice from Netsafe and Te Mana Whakaatu Classification Office.
Reporting harmful content or behaviour is important for helping to keep platforms safe, and prevent other users from experiencing the same thing:
• How to report a player | Xbox Support
• Player Reporting in Minecraft
COMMON GAMING SAFETY RISKS
This player journey infographic
illustrates some of the features and
capabilities we have, to make the
player experience safer.
In any online or connected space there is a risk that young people may
be exposed to content that they’re not ready for. In a gaming scenario
this could be content that is within the game or that is shared by other
players via in-game chat functions, voice channels, clubs or in other
people’s activity feeds. Images, videos, text or even audio can contain
content that young people may find upsetting.
We recognise that everyone has a different tolerance for content,
however, on our gaming services we have strict rules about the type of
content that can be shared. We encourage you to read our Xbox
Community Standards and Minecraft Community Standards, and to get
familiar with what is and isn’t acceptable.
1. HARMFUL AND AGE-INAPPROPRIATE
CONTENT
These standards build on the Code of Conduct Section in the Microsoft
Services Agreement which is also helpful to read. If you or your child
see inappropriate content or behaviour on our services (even if it is not
directed at them), please report it so we can take suitable action and
protect users.
For families using Xbox Game Pass, age-limits for content still apply
to titles offered as part of the subscription service. Tamariki will need
to request parental consent to download a game rated above the
relevant age-limit.
Learn more
• Helping young people exposed to upsetting content | Netsafe
• Talking with young people about what they’re watching |
Classification Office
Multi-player games, communications functions, and the ability for users
to upload content on some games means that these can be forums
where bullying and harassment occurs. Harassment can take many
forms and may be perpetrated by someone they know. Hate speech is a
severe form of harassment which may include attacks on personal
characteristics, especially things like race, gender identity, sexual
orientation, and religion.
People of any age can be harassed through taunting messages, name-
calling, threats, vicious comments or the sharing of personal information
such as a home address. Bullying might be perpetrated by an individual
or multiple players.
If you can’t find a resolution to the issue on a platform, then you can
contact Netsafe’s free helpline (0508 NETSAFE / 0508 638 723) for
advice. This service is also available for schools to access in New
Zealand if the issue is between two school students.
2. BULLYING AND HARASSMENT
If you are concerned your tamariki may be bullying others, then try to
talk about this with them to understand why they are doing this in a
non-judgemental way. It is important to normalise that people make
mistakes and focus on connecting with your child to understand what
might be contributing to this behaviour, as well as co-developing
strategies to prevent it happening again. We recommend reviewing this
Netsafe resource with your child.
We have made clear what we think constitutes bullying behaviour in our
Xbox Community Standards. If someone is breaching those standards,
you can report them, as well as blocking and muting them. Player
settings, including message filters, can also be customised to the level a
player feels comfortable.
Learn more
• How to stop bullying online | Netsafe
Unwanted contact can be any online communication that a young
person finds uncomfortable and could lead them into a situation where
they feel unsafe. It can come from strangers, online friends or even
someone they know in real life.
Grooming is when predators target individuals for exploitation, which
may be sexual in nature. The grooming process typically involves an
older person befriending a young person and winning trust by giving
them personal attention. This may involve being highly responsive and
flattering or offering material or virtual gifts.
If someone threatens to share a nude image or video of someone, that
is a type of image-based sexual abuse, and it is illegal. If they are trying
to blackmail that person (sometimes referred to as sextortion), that is
also illegal.
A similar process may also be used by violent extremist recruiters to
enlist young people to hate-based causes. Recruiters look for vulnerable
people, including individuals who appear isolated, express loneliness or
have low self-esteem.
3. GROOMING AND UNWANTED
CONTACT
Extremist recruiters look for people searching for meaning or purpose
to their life, and appeal to their need for community. A common
strategy is to suggest a conversation is taken off the gaming platform to
a different space such as an encrypted messaging app.
Microsoft and Xbox have a zero-tolerance approach to grooming
behaviours across all our services and any discovered behaviour should
be reported to the platform. If you think a young person’s safety is at
risk, call the police and for less-immediate harm you can seek advice by
calling 0508 Netsafe (0508 638 723).
Learn more
• Advice for parents about online grooming | Netsafe
• The Bare Facts: The reality of sharing online intimate
images | Netsafe
There is no magic number of hours in front of screens or gaming. What
is appropriate for tamariki depends on your whānau context and other
activities, and these factors may change over time. When balanced with
enough sleep and other activities, including physical activity, spending
time gaming with screens is often not a problem.
Games can be educational, encourage teamwork, and help develop
problem solving and critical thinking skills. However, if tamariki or
rangatahi’s gaming starts to have a negative impact on them or their
relationships, it may be time to consider ways to manage this.
Screentime can be managed through the Xbox Family Settings tools.
Learn more
• Screen time advice for parents | Netsafe
4. SCREENTIME
Xbox Family Settings app
Some games are free to download but require payment for other
things like additional content. Young people may not be aware of
the real cost and could incur costs.
Spending limits can be added to your child’s account through the
Xbox Family Settings tools. You can also add settings to require
approval for all purchases on the account.
We recognise concerns around gambling-type behaviours on some
games. Loot boxes are one of the many items that games offer for
sale as many players like the element of chance. We provide a clear
policy around how Xbox Game Studios offers loot boxes in our
games, including always offering fair value, content probability
disclosure and no pay to play in premium games.
Encouraging tamariki and rangatahi to be wary of scam activity
relating to their accounts is also important across their digital lives.
Learn more
• Understanding loot boxes: a guide for parents and whānau |
Classification Office
5. IN-GAME PURCHASES
Xbox Family Settings app
PART 2: AGE-SPECIFIC ADVICE
This section sets out guidance for different age groups who are likely to be at different stages of online
exploration. As all children develop differently, these age-specific recommendations may not be equally
relevant and can be used as a guide.
For tamariki under the age of 5 we recommend focusing on modelling good behaviours, particularly
around screens and setting clear rules. Building safety awareness from a young age helps establish good
patterns for life.
For tamariki in this age group, we recommend taking a close interest in all aspects of their digital
lives, including gaming. At this age you can model and encourage positive online habits by exploring
things together.
It makes sense to set more boundaries and use the highest level of parental controls to curate your
child’s experience. This includes strict limits on who children can interact with (if anyone), restrictions
on content types and spending limits.
5-8 YEAR OLDS – CULTIVATING POSITIVE
BEHAVIOURS
5-8 year olds: cultivating positive behaviours
At this age, we encourage accounts to be set up and managed by
parents. It is critical that you set up their account as a child account so you
can use the parental controls correctly. Once set up, add their account to
yours through the Xbox Family Settings App or Microsoft Family Safety
portal.
When you set up tamariki accounts with the correct date of birth, the
settings will default to blocking almost all interaction. We also recommend
you manually check all settings to make sure they work for your family.
For families using Xbox Game Pass, age-limits for content still apply to
titles offered as part of the subscription service. Tamariki will need to
request parental consent to download a game rated above the relevant
age-limit.
On the Xbox Family Settings app navigate to your child and press the
settings icon. Set controls to the highest level to ensure:
• You manage who they can communicate with on Xbox Live (we
suggest “friends only” or “no one”) and only allow them to add friends
with your approval
• Content limits are set to the most age-appropriate, including for web
searches
5-8 YEAR OLDS
• Set message filtering to be “child default” for content they can receive
in messages
• Set screentime limits appropriate to your family
• Manage Minecraft settings including access to multiplayer games and
clubs
• Ensure “ask to buy” is on so they can only make purchases with your
approval
Read community/user guidelines so you’re familiar with what is allowed
on our gaming services.
Learn
• Choose appropriate games to play with tamariki, making sure they are
suitable for their age and stage of development. You can find helpful
information on game classifications here.
• Game Rating Information - ESRB | Xbox
• Play games with your child to see what they’re exposed to and
demonstrate good gaming habits. If there is a voice chat option, listen
to the conversations in the chat.
• Set rules about where tamariki can use their devices to play games – it
is recommended that this include using devices only in shared areas
and not in their bedroom.
• Start practicing good habits around privacy, screentime and online
behaviour with children and talk about why they are important.
• Initiate conversations about online activities, gaming, and how it makes
them feel.
5-8 YEAR OLDS
• Pay attention to how gaming makes tamariki behave - are they happy,
sad, anxious, confused?
• Be on the lookout for changes in mood or behaviour, including a
shorter temper or becoming withdrawn.
Review Netsafe's advice on gaming
Explore
Support
Alex is an avid gamer who frequently plays Xbox.
Since becoming a parent, he has been eager to
introduce his hobby to his 7-year-old daughter
and has identified Minecraft as a suitable entry
point.
Alex starts by creating a child account for his
daughter inside the Xbox Family Settings app. He
creates a new Outlook account for his daughter
using her birthdate to establish the correct default
settings. The child account is automatically linked
to his family group with him as the organiser.
As he indicated that his daughter is 7 years old,
the settings on her account default to the highest
level of privacy and content filtering.
Alex also uses the app to double check and adjust
the content and messaging filters, interaction with
other players, spending and activity reporting.
CASE STUDY – Alex, parent of daughter aged 7
Alex creates a Minecraft account for his daughter
so they can play on Windows or Xbox. Alex plays
with his daughter most of the time. Occasionally
he will leave her playing alone but is generally in
the same room so he can keep an eye on things.
Because he is conscious of setting up good
screentime-habits they only play for a maximum
one hour per day. Alex uses the screentime
settings on the Xbox Family Settings app to
enforce this.
Alex regularly checks in with his daughter to see
how she is feeling when she is gaming and discuss
anything difficult that may have happened.
As his daughter gets older, Alex adjusts some of
the settings to allow more gameplay and
interaction on Minecraft. Alex uses the app to do
all of this in one place.
Xbox Family Settings app
Between 9-12 years is a great time for tamariki to start learning to game independently while still
under a carer’s supervision. We encourage open conversations with your child on appropriate limits
about the types of games they play and interactions with others online.
Age-appropriate games and the default settings for tamariki under 13 are recommended for this age
group. We recommend being transparent about the use of parental controls and explaining why you
are using them and common online risks.
8-12 YEAR OLDS – FOSTERING INDEPENDENCE
9-12 year olds: fostering independence
A mix of parental and user controls can be used, and we recommend
setting up both with your child. Parental controls can be set up using the
Xbox Family Settings app by navigating to your child’s profile and pressing
the settings icon.
• Limit online interactions to those you approve, discussing who each
person is with your child before you do so
• Set message filtering to be “child default” for content they can receive
in messages
• Set appropriate content restrictions or age limits on the types of
games played
• Set agreed screentime limits
• Explain how in-app purchases work and set appropriate spending
limits
Together you can set up these user controls on the child’s account to:
• Mute or block a person they no longer wish to interact with
• Set up messaging filters to filter text, media, and web links to only
allow “friendly” content – these apply to content shared by users not
on friends lists. Watch this demo on how it works
It can be helpful to role play scenarios where your child might want to
block or restrict someone, so they feel more confident to do so.
9-12 YEAR OLDS
Learn
• Begin to give some independence to tamariki by talking together to
curate a list of age-appropriate games that they can play, considering
their preferences and recommendations.
• Review community and user guidelines with tamariki so they know
what is acceptable on the gaming platform.
• Continue to model good digital habits at home while slowly
transitioning from gaming being a supervised group activity to include
some solo gaming time.
• Co-create rules and agree on game time limits, types of games, where
to access devices – which might now include at school, with friends.
• Introduce them to the concept of privacy and teach the basic rules of
protecting their privacy as respecting others’ privacy. Minecraft’s
Privacy Prodigy is a fun resource for families.
• Check in regularly with your child about how gaming affects their
feelings and relationships and encourage your child to share with you
their experiences and encounters while gaming.
9-12 YEAR OLDS
• While allowing some independence, closely monitor behavioural
changes including:
• Quickly changing screens, switching off devices or muting
audio when someone else enters the room
• Playing more often when unsupervised or using portable
devices in private areas such as bathrooms
• Withdrawn behaviour including being more defensive or less
reactive to events and people
• Becoming stressed or upset when online or using emotionally-
charged or hateful language
• Look out for sexually explicit content, or violent content on their
devices, evidence of visits to inappropriate websites, encrypted apps
or platforms or live-streaming apps.
• You can also view device and app use histories and gaming activity
reports.
• Review Netsafe's advice on gaming
Explore Support
Mohammed is a tech savvy 10-year-old who was
given an Xbox for his birthday. His mother, Fatima,
takes a close interest in his use of screens and
games because she has friends whose children
had a bad experience on social media. Rather than
just leaving Mohammed to set up the Xbox alone,
she goes through the process with him.
Fatima downloads the Xbox Family Settings app
and together with Mohammed creates a new
account for Mohammed, starting with an email
address. Talking about privacy, they agree not to
use his real name in the email and come up with a
fun alias. Fatima then shows Mohammed that she
is adding his account to their family group,
explaining why this is important to protect him
from strangers and content online. Because
they’ve been reading resources from Netsafe and
Keep It Real Online, Mohammed understands the
importance of having an age-appropriate account.
CASE STUDY – Mohammed, 10 years old
When setting up Mohammed’s account, Fatima
inputs his date of birth which means the settings
default to those suitable for under 13 year olds.
Fatima is then able to check that content
restrictions on Mohammed’s account are set to the
correct age.
Over the next few weeks Fatima receives a few
notifications that new friends want to connect with
Mohammed on his account. Each time she talks to
Mohammed about who each person is, ensuring
that they are friends he knows from school, and of
a similar age. Mohammed does receive one friend
request that he doesn’t know, and he and Fatima
agree to block the request.
For children between 13-15, we recommend continuing to develop an open and trust-based
relationship that supports greater independence and may include some unsupervised play. It is
important to find an appropriate balance for your whānau between maintaining supervision and
allowing more freedom and privacy for rangatahi.
At this age it is often effective to discuss and negotiate rules rather dictate them.
13-15 year olds: empowering rangatahi to be confident
gamers
The balance between parental controls and trusting rangatahi to game
safely will likely change again during this time. We recommend rangatahi
start to build their knowledge of safety tools, so they have some control
over the content and interactions they are exposed to when gaming.
Together, you can set the controls on the young person’s account to:
• Manage who sees their profile information and who can contact them
• Mute or block a person they no longer wish to interact with
• Report interactions or content that breach the community and user
guidelines
• Set messaging filters to manage the type of media, text and weblinks
they receive from players not on their friends lists
It is important to keep an open dialogue and check in regularly with your
child to agree on appropriate screentime and spending limits.
13-15 YEAR OLDS
Learn
• Have a trust-based and non-judgmental relationship and understand
that this age group values independence and freedom more. Talk
about rangatahi’s online activity and the types of games and content
they enjoy.
• Transition from reviewing good online habits to trusting rangatahi to
know how to behave.
• Discuss privacy as well as consent and together review Privacy for
young people – Microsoft.
13-15 YEAR OLDS
• Keep a close eye on any sudden behavioural changes such as:
• tiredness, sleep disturbance, headaches, eye strain, changes in
eating, sleeping or personal hygiene
• not doing as well at school, obsession with certain websites or
games or popular trends,
• extreme anger when being asked to take a break from online
activity, appearing anxious or irritable when away from the
computer,
• becoming withdrawn from friends and family, excessive in-app
spending
• Occasionally review online histories together and keep track of
topics/websites/types of games your child likes
• Be aware of harmful online influences including hate-based
groups which may use messaging or gaming services to target
vulnerable young people. Different language, signs and symbols may
also be reflective of hate-based ideologies. There are helpful resources
available such as this database, which contains a detailed list of
common hate symbols.
• Review Netsafe's advice on gaming
Explore Support
Jane is a 15 year old girl whose mothers are not
very tech savvy. Jane has an Xbox but never had a
child account set up so she manages her own
settings. She’s never really paid them much
attention or switched on settings like message
filtering or limiting receiving messages to ‘friends
lists’, which means anyone can send her messages.
Jane receives a message containing a nude photo
of someone she doesn’t know and asking her to
send a photo of herself in the same position. This
makes her feel nervous and scared, and her
mothers start to notice she’s becoming withdrawn.
One of Jane’s mums asks her what is going on,
reminding Jane that she can tell them anything
and that they only want to support her, without
judgement.
CASE STUDY – Jane, 15 years old
Jane shares her experience. Jane’s mum talks to
her about the importance of reporting this, so
other people don’t have to feel the same way Jane
did.
Jane and her mum make a report to Xbox
together using Jane’s console. They then read
about the settings Jane can switch on to prevent
this from happening again. She starts by blocking
the player that sent the message, then updating
her settings so only people on her friends list can
see her profile and send messages. Finally she
turns on message filtering settings to “medium” so
that she won’t receive inappropriate content from
other players on Xbox.
This incident prompts Jane to dial up her privacy
settings across all her online and gaming accounts.
From age 16 rangatahi will likely start to feel more confident to manage their gaming and online
lives independently, and will naturally want parents and caregivers to be less involved. At the same
time, it is important to make sure they still feel comfortable coming to you if they need help.
16+ YEARS OLD – CHAMPIONING A NEW
GENERATION OF GAMERS
16+ year olds: championing a new generation of gamers
Depending on your family, and rangatahi’s level of independence,
parental controls may no longer be appropriate. To respect young
people’s privacy and independence it is a good idea to discuss any
ongoing use of parental controls with them.
Work with rangatahi to set up their user controls in a protective way for
them.
• Manage privacy settings, including who can see their profile and
contact them
• Mute or block players that they don’t want to be contacted by
• Report players that have made them uncomfortable or breached our
Community Standards
• Turn on messaging filters to control the type of content that comes
from players not on friends lists
• Get familiar with how data is used
• For spending limits, you can do this via parental controls or encourage
young people to use their own money
16+ YEAR OLDS
Learn
• Encourage discussions around online risks and how these relate to
gaming. Be interested in what rangatahi are learning at school about
the online world.
• Make sure young people know they can come to you if things make
them feel uncomfortable online.
• Rangatahi in this age group can be extremely tech-savvy. Be open to
the fact they might know more about the latest technology - try to
listen and learn.
• Have frequent conversations about who young people are speaking to
online and encourage them to be curious if new friends try to add or
contact them on any kind of platform.
• If you set spending limits for games, talk to young people about the
value of money and why you’re doing this.
16+ YEAR OLDS
• Young people of this age naturally go through many changes, so
it can be hard to notice behavioural changes that are influenced
by gaming. Speak to teachers about what they’re noticing and be
on the lookout for certain things like:
• Spending excess time alone, on their device or in their
room
• Becoming withdrawn or isolated
• Asking for money
• Quickly closing their screen when you enter the room
• Be aware of harmful online influences including hate-based
groups which may use messaging or gaming services to target
vulnerable young people. Watch out for noticeable shifts in their
worldview or intolerances for certain groups of people. Different
language, signs and symbols may also be reflective of hate-based
ideologies. There are helpful resources available such as this
database, which contains a detailed list of common hate symbols.
• Review Netsafe's advice on gaming
Explore Support
Sam is a 16-year-old, whose parents are both busy
professionals. Sam spends a lot of time on Xbox
playing first person games and is also active on a
gaming-adjacent platform where he chats with
others whilst gaming. Recently Sam has been
expressing intolerant views about certain
communities in Australia.
One day Sam’s mum, Rose notices a 1488 sticker
on Sam’s laptop. She asks him what that number
means, and Sam quickly grabs his device and
leaves. Rose does a quick search for 1488 online
and discovers this number is associated with far-
right extremist ideology. She finds information
about this symbol online and realises that a lot of
the language Sam has been using recently is
reflected here.
Rose talks to Sam, telling him she isn’t angry and
just wants to understand. He eventually tells her
about his new online friend who has been sharing
material on the gaming adjacent platform.
CASE STUDY – Sam, 16 years old
Microsoft has explicitly prohibited the posting of terrorist
and violent extremist content across our services, so the
content shared with Sam would be in breach of our
policies. We also use a range of proactive detection
technologies to identify terrorist and violent extremist
content to prevent it from being seen by players.
Players that try to share this content could be subject to
a range of enforcement actions including lifetime bans.
However, it is important to be aware that often
recruiters encourage moving conversations to another
platform such as an encrypted chat or a gaming-
adjacent communications service.
Rose and Sam have long conversations about what has
been going on, and Rose helps him to understand he
has been led down a dangerous path. Following advice
from the Know the Signs guide, they report the player
that had contacted Sam to the NZSIS.
GUIDANCE FOR END PAGE
