Update, June 25, 2025: This story, originally published on June 23, has been updated with further insight regarding the blocking of the Google Chrome web browser via the Microsoft Family Safety feature, as well as news of a Chrome security update that all Windows 11 users should ensure is installed and, importantly, activated.

More often than not, if you see Windows and Google Chrome in the same headline, it’s because a browser update to patch a security issue has been released. Thankfully, that’s not the case here. However, when Microsoft, the world’s most popular operating system vendor, appears to have blocked the world’s most popular web browser, Chrome, that understandably becomes a cause for concern to some Windows 11 users. So, what is happening, and how can you address the issue if you are affected by it? I’ve been taking a detailed look to discover the truth behind the forum furore.

Parental control software is designed to enable parents to protect their children from dangers, both perceived and very real, on the internet. Windows 11 has this functionality built into the operating system, through a feature called Microsoft Family Safety. This gives parent the ability to create what can be considered a safe environment for their children to browse the web, and this is accomplished by the use of content filtering. But what if that content filtering seemingly goes rogue? Scroll down for the reason why I don’t think that has happened in this case.

The issue was first reported June 3 by Windows 11 users on Reddit, and the complaints have continued to come in across various forums ever since. The problem appears to have started following the Google Chrome update to version 137.0.7151.68/69, since when users have reported that the browser will close down and then not reopen again when the Microsoft Family Safety feature is used. There do not appear to be any similar issues being reported from those using Microsoft Edge and parental controls.

While Google has published a support posting that acknowledges the problem, stating that it has “investigated these reports and determined the cause of this behavior,” as being “when Microsoft Family Safety is enabled,” Microsoft itself has made no public announcements.

I have approached both Microsoft and Google for an official statement, and will update this article if any is forthcoming.

Meanwhile, Google has suggested the following workaround, which some reports suggest is the same advice being given by Microsoft to users who sought support:

I am still waiting to hear from Microsoft, despite requesting a statement before this article was published. I do, however, think that there are plenty of clues as to what is going on behind this latest round of complaints from Windows 11 users regarding the blocking of Google Chrome. I previously mentioned that similar issues with the Edge browser have not been reported by users of the Microsoft Family Safety feature for Windows 11. I suspect this is key to understanding what is going on here.

If you head, as I did, to Microsoft’s dedicated Family Safety page, you will find a very brief, as in just two items, Frequently Asked Questions section at the very bottom. This FAQ actually states that the feature works by enabling web and search filters to filter out sites and search results that might be considered too mature when using the Microsoft Edge browser. And here comes the important bit: “Other commonly used browsers will be blocked for this to work,” the FAQ confirms.

If you are using Windows 11 and employing the default Microsoft Family Safety parental controls app, then I would suggest it’s not that controversial that this would work with Microsoft’s default browser, Edge. If other browsers can effectively allow users to bypass the parental control filtering, then it would be more controversial if Microsoft enabled that to happen, surely?

If you have been having problems with your Chrome web browser crashing and have opted to use the workaround as detailed earlier in this article instead of switching to Edge or another application, I’m afraid your work isn’t finished yet. Although the initial issue with Microsoft Family Safety on Windows 11 appeared to occur after a Google Chrome security update, I recommend updating again. As soon as possible, in fact.

Google has confirmed a total of 11 new security issues impacting users of the popular web browser client, including three that have been given Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures database entries and associated severity ratings. Although none of these are categorized as critical or high-rated, if successfully exploited they could enable an attacker to bypass content security policy and execute arbitrary code. Needless to say, you should update to the latest copy of Chrome for Windows, version 138.0.7204.49/50, as soon as possible.

The Google Chrome update process actually happens automatically, but as Google has stated, the update itself will “roll out over the coming days/weeks.” Personally, I would rather not wait days, let alone weeks, to fix multiple security vulnerabilities that could leave my Windows system open to attack. Fortunately, there’s a workaround for this as well: kickstart the update into life manually.

Head to the Help menu and select “About Google Chrome.” This will check for and both download and install the update. You are not finished yet though, at least not if you want to be protected by the security patches that you have just installed. For this to happen, you must activate the update by restarting Chrome. Although there are those who might be worried that they will lose all the gazillion tabs that they have open in their browser, this isn’t the case. Google makes it quite clear that, in ordinary circumstances, your tabs will simply reopen when the browser restarts, allowing you to continue where you left off. The important thing is that you keep your copy of Google Chrome updated, and by so doing, you will also be protecting your Microsoft Windows machine.