Cannot use private browsing in new edge or chrome despite being an adult in family settings

Question

I have looked over the family settings regarding blocking content multiple times and I cannot find anything that mentions allowing or blocking private browsing, my age is set as 21 but I still have to ask permission to use chrome (which goes through to an error screen every single time, I have uninstalled and reinstalled chrome but it continues to happen) and when I try to open a private browser the option is highlighted a pale grey and I am unable to click it or open a private tab through the keyboard shortcut.

(This is what shows up every time I try to open chrome, when I am in the family as an adult, as a child or completely removed)

(The error message that shows up every time I click through it, I have looked into this in previous threads but have found nothing that helped me, even after uninstalling the application and then reinstalling it it still shows both of these messages)

My 'family' is made up of me and another account that I own, I used to be a part of a few other accounts owned by actual members of my family when I was much younger but that has been disbanded for at least a year, after I ran into some problems regarding chrome and permissions I looked into it and started up another one in the hopes that I could find settings to allow myself to use these seemingly blocked features. I managed to allow myself to use private browsing mode, I cannot remember how I did this or if it was to do with family settings but on the new version of Microsoft edge it comes up with this when I hover over the private browsing option

I go to the bottom and click on this option of the same name, it brings me to a website of information regarding this subject and what is managed by a family group

Nowhere in where this (managed by your family group)leads me can I find anything regarding blocking members from opening a private browser, the section about content restrictions only mentions turning on 'ask a parent', blocking inappropriate games/ media and blocking websites but nowhere does it mention my issue.

I have tried leaving the family but I was still affected by these family settings, I am set as an adult in the family but I still cannot browse privately or use chrome. I have set one of my other accounts as a child and looked through the settings to see if there was anything possibly disabling private browsing but I cannot find anything, the most I can find is something enabling or disabling blocking content but that is to do with websites not an entire section of the edge browser.

I was able to use private browsing mode before I updated to the new edge browser but now that I have it replacing the old one why can I no longer use it? Why, when I am set as an adult in the family, can I not open private browsing or use chrome? I am using the exact same account but for some reason updating to the new edge changed my settings?

I have tried removing myself (and tried removing the other account making up the 'family') from the family previously and it seemed to be disbanded, coming up with only the 'create a family' option when I clicked on the 'family' section on my Microsoft account instead of going straight to managing family options, despite seemingly being removed from any family settings I could still not browse privately due to settings 'managed by my family group' or use chrome without asking for permission from a family I was no longer any part of

How can I allow myself to use private browsing mode or, ideally, completely remove myself and my device from and and all family settings that have only served to hinder and confuse me? Would removing myself finally allow me to use chrome and move on from the restrictions of edge? Is it even possible to completely remove myself as I have tried to multiple times in the past to no avail?

Answer 1

Hi,

Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.

I understand that you are unable to access private browsing in Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome on your PC, and I certainly appreciate your efforts in trying to resolve the issue.

We will certainly look into this for you.

Let’s try changing some registry settings and see if we can fix the issue.

**Note:**Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. To backup and restore registry key, refer tothis link.

1. Press Windows Logo key + R, to open Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit and click on OK.
3. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft
4. Now, right click on Microsoft key, select New, and select Key.
5. Rename the newly created key as Edge.
6. Click on Edge key, on the right hand pane, right click on empty space, select New and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
7. Rename the newly created DWORD as InPrivateModeAvailability.
8. Double click on the InPrivateModeAvailabilityDWORD and change the value to 0.
9. Now navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Google\Chrome
10. On the right hand pane, right click on empty space, select New and select DWORD (32-bit) Value.
11. Rename the newly created DWORD as IncognitoModeAvailability.
12. Double click on the IncognitoModeAvailabilityDWORD and change the value to 0.
13. Restart the computer and check.

Let us know how it goes, if the issue persists, we will certainly assist you further.

Regards,

Prakhar Khare

Microsoft Community – Moderator