Chrome Not Opening? Microsoft Family Safety Might Be the Reason
Some users have found themselves unable to launch Google Chrome on their PCs—and the reason may be unexpected: Microsoft’s Family Safety app appears to be blocking Chrome, without a clear explanation why.
Google engineers confirmed the issue on the company’s support blog, noting that Chrome may not run when Family Safety is enabled. The cause is still unknown, and Microsoft has yet to publicly respond. The glitch has been quietly affecting users for weeks.
The Verge reports that renaming Chrome’s executable file is one quick fix that works for now. While that trick may get Chrome up and running again, Google has also shared a more official workaround:
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Visit familysafety.microsoft.com or open the Family Safety mobile app.
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Select the affected child profile.
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Disable filtering by:
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Turning off “Filter inappropriate websites” under the Edge tab, or
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Going to the Windows tab → Apps & Games → and unblocking Chrome.
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Microsoft Family Safety is meant to help parents manage their kids’ app usage, but in this case, it might be overreaching. Let’s hope Microsoft sorts out this odd behavior soon.