How to set up Fortnite parental controls: chat, spending, friends and screen time

⏱ Time: 15–20 minutes, plus 5–10 minutes per console  |  🔧 Difficulty: Medium (fiddly if the console account has no email linked)

What you'll need

• Your child's Epic Games login, or the console they play on
• An email inbox you control
• A new 6-digit PIN that your child doesn't know and you don't use anywhere else
• Possibly a credit or debit card, as Epic may make a small refundable charge to confirm you're an adult (under-13s)
• Your PlayStation, Xbox or Nintendo parent account

Step-by-step

1. Under 13? Check your email first. Look for "Your Child Created an Epic Games Account" (check spam too). Open the link, agree to Epic's privacy terms, choose your settings and confirm you're an adult if asked. Until you do this, chat and real-money purchases stay switched off. No email? Your child can resend it from the Epic account website using Request Parental Permission.
   [Screenshot: Epic consent email with the button highlighted]
2. Check it's the right account. In Fortnite, go to profile picture → Settings (gear) → Account and Privacy and hover over Epic Games account ID. On the web, the ID is under Account → Account Information. The two IDs must match.
   [Screenshot: Account and Privacy tab showing the account ID]
3. Set your 6-digit PIN. The easiest way is to go to epicgames.com/account/parental-controls, sign in as your child and create the PIN. You can also do it in Fortnite: player icon (top right) → menu icon (three lines) → Parental Controls → Set Up Parental Controls, then enter your email and create the PIN.
   [Screenshot: Parental Controls page with the PIN box]
4. Choose your settings. Here's where we'd start for a primary-age child:
   • Voice chat: Nobody or Friends Only. Text chat: Friends Only.
   • Filter mature language: On. Require a PIN to add friends: On.
   • Require a PIN for Epic Games payments: On. Allow paid random items: Off.
   • Fortnite content rating: set this to your family's limit. Battle Royale is rated Teen, so a lower limit means they'll need your PIN to play it.
   • Creative mode and UEFN: Off for younger children. Sign in with Epic: Ask each time. AI features: Off.
   • Time limits: a daily limit or time windows, with weekly time report emails turned on.
   [Screenshot: Social Permissions section of the Parental Controls page]
5. Set up the console controls too.
   • PS5: Settings → Family and Parental Controls → Family Management, or the PlayStation Family app
   • Xbox: the Xbox Family Settings app or account.microsoft.com/family
   • Switch / Switch 2: the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app
   On each one, limit chat and set a spending limit.
   [Screenshot: PS5 Family and Parental Controls menu]
6. Test it. Ask your child to send a friend request. It should ask for your PIN. Then check that chat and party chat match what you chose.

⚠️ Watch out

• Console chat isn't Fortnite chat. Epic warns that turning off voice chat in Fortnite may not stop voice chat through the console's own system.
• Voice chat is recorded for reporting. When voice chat is on, a rolling five-minute recording is kept on the device and only sent to Epic if someone reports a problem. Reporting is always on for under-18s.
• Purchases: the Epic PIN doesn't cover PlayStation Store, Xbox, Nintendo eShop or Steam purchases, or V-Bucks already in the account. Under-13s have a $100 daily cap on Epic payments.
• Friends: "Friends Only" includes console friends, and the friend-request PIN only covers Epic friend requests.
• Age: Fortnite is PEGI 12 overall, and some islands are rated lower. Chat limits loosen automatically at 10 and 13. Fortnitemares horror content runs until 1 November 2026.
• New accounts start from scratch. Settings follow one Epic account, so a second account has none of your controls.
• If you're worried about someone contacting your child, report them in the game and to CEOP.

Related guides

• PlayStation 5 & PS4 parental controls [link to add]
• Xbox Family Settings [link to add]
• Nintendo Switch & Switch 2 parental controls [link to add]
• Your Epic Games account: link consoles, find the account ID, reset your PIN [link to add]

Sources (checked 5 Oct 2026): Epic Parental Controls · Epic: set up controls in Fortnite · Epic Cabined Accounts · PlayStation UK · Xbox Family hub · UK Safer Internet Centre