How to leave a Microsoft family without permission from the family organizer

Lucas Lerma 0 Reputation points
2025-10-31T06:16:51+00:00

How do I leave a Microsoft family without permission from the family organizer? I do not know the family organizer, and I don't even know how I got into this family in the first place. Ever since I updated my OS, family safety has been stopping me from opening web browsers like Google Chrome and Opera GX. In the images bellow, you can see that I am in a family with someone known as "PII Removed". I do not know this person and need to leave so I can join my actual family. If anyone knows how to leave without this user's permission, or knows how to get around the family safety restrictions so I can use my browsers, please tell me.

Image is removed due to PII policies.

User's image

Microsoft 365 and Office | Microsoft Family Safety | For home | Other
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  1. Zoevi-V 2,075 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator
    2025-11-01T03:28:05.74+00:00

    Hi Lucas Lerma,

    Thanks for reaching out to Microsoft Q&A Forum and I’m sorry you’re dealing with this. Based on your screenshot, it looks like your Microsoft account has been added to a Family Safety group with an unknown organizer, which is why Chrome and Opera GX are getting blocked. Below is a safe, step‑by‑step way to leave the wrong family group and get your browsers working again, without relying on the organizer’s permission.

    1) Confirm your account’s age/role (this determines what you can do)

    Go to Your info and adjust your birthdate by following this guideline

    Adult accounts can leave a family group themselves. Child accounts must be removed by an organizer.

    2) Try leaving the family group yourself (as an adult)

    Sign in at account.microsoft.com/family > Select the three dots next to your name >choose Leave family group > Confirm.

    If you don’t see “Leave family group”, your role/age setting is likely preventing it; fix the age in step 1, then try again.

    Note: Leaving the family group removes Family Safety restrictions tied to your account and may affect shared benefits (e.g., Microsoft 365 Family).

    3) If you suspect account compromise or an unknown organizer was added

    You need to secure your account immediately: change password, enable two‑step verification, and review recent sign‑in activity.

    Contact Microsoft Support and explain that you’ve been added to an unknown family group and cannot leave despite being an adult.

    4) Restore browser access on your own PC (safe local fixes)

    These steps remove or refresh Family Safety enforcement only on your device, use them to regain access while you resolve the account side:

    Refresh Family Safety policy (for adults seeing restrictions):

    Open Command Prompt (Admin) and run (on each affected device):

    schtasks /run /tn "Microsoft\Windows\Shell\FamilySafetyRefreshTask"
    

    Disable the Parental Controls service locally (Admin account required):

    Press Win+R → services.msc

    Find Parental Controls (or WpcMonSvc) → Stop

    Open Properties → set Startup type to Disabled → Apply → OK → Restart

    This prevents Family Safety from re‑enforcing restrictions on that PC. With web filtering turned on, Family Safety only manages Microsoft Edge natively; other browsers (like Chrome/Opera) are blocked unless explicitly approved by an organizer. That’s why non‑Edge browsers close or show “Ask a parent” prompts.

    5) If restrictions persist after leaving the group

    Residual settings can stick around. After you leave, try:

    Sign out/in of Windows and restart the PC.

    Reset browser settings (Edge/Chrome → Settings → Reset).

    Check DNS and flush DNS (ipconfig /flushdns), then restart.

    These steps clear cached policy and network blocks left by Family Safety.


    I hope these resources help resolve your situation. Please don’t hesitate to reach out again if you need further assistance.

    If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment".

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