In a surprising turn of events, Microsoft appears to be implementing a tactic that inadvertently restricts access to Google Chrome on Windows 11 devices. Reports have flooded in from multiple users who found themselves unable to launch Google’s popular web browser due to the interference of Microsoft’s Family Safety feature, which serves as a parental control tool designed for families and educational institutions.

The issue first came to light earlier this month, and despite user outcry, no official fix has been made available. Users have been voicing their frustrations on forums, notably the Windows 11 discussion boards, where the thread has garnered significant attention. According to a report by The Verge, this glitch in the Family Safety feature is preventing some users from running Google Chrome altogether. Ellen T, a support manager from Chrome, confirmed the situation, stating, “Our team has investigated these reports and determined the cause of this behavior. For some users, Chrome is unable to run when Microsoft Family Safety is enabled.”

The bug has persisted for nearly a month, prompting some tech-savvy users to seek out alternative methods to launch Chrome on their machines. Some have resorted to renaming the Chrome executable file from Chrome.exe to Chrome1.exe in hopes of bypassing the restriction. Others have ventured into the Family Safety settings, only to discover that Chrome has been erroneously flagged as an “inappropriate” application, leading to its blockage. Disabling the “filter inappropriate websites” feature has provided a temporary solution, but this comes with the significant drawback of potentially exposing children to content that may not be suitable for them.

Interestingly, this glitch affecting Google Chrome does not extend to other web browsers, such as Opera and Mozilla Firefox, which continue to operate without issue. Microsoft's own Edge browser, which is based on the same Chromium architecture as Chrome, also remains unaffected by the Family Safety feature's restrictions. Despite the growing concerns and discussions about this issue, Microsoft has yet to publicly address why only Google Chrome is impacted by this bug, nor have they acknowledged the problem directly. A Chromium engineer highlighted in an online thread that while there has been no communication from Microsoft regarding a forthcoming fix, they have offered some guidance on workarounds to restore functionality to Chrome. However, these methods merely provide a temporary escape from the limitations imposed by Family Safety, rather than a true solution.