Accessing Defender

Alerts for Microsoft Defender for individuals are surfaced inside the Microsoft Defender app and dashboard, not in the Microsoft 365 admin center.

To see alerts for the account owner and family members:

1. Ensure Microsoft Defender is installed and signed in
   • Each family member must install Microsoft Defender on their devices (Windows, Mac, Android, or iOS) and sign in with their own Microsoft account that is part of the Microsoft 365 Family subscription.
   • On first run, they should allow Defender to monitor device security and, if desired, identity theft monitoring.
2. View alerts on each person’s device
   • When Defender detects an issue (device threat, identity theft monitoring hit, or credit activity), an alert is shown:
     • As a notification on that device
     • Inside the Microsoft Defender app under the dashboard and Alerts & History
   • Each person needs to open the Defender app on their own device to see and act on their alerts.
3. View devices and status from the organizer account
   • As the Microsoft 365 Family organizer, after family members install Defender and choose to share their device security/identity status, their devices and protection status appear on the organizer’s Defender dashboard under View all on the device protection card.
   • This view shows:
     • Other devices signed into Microsoft Defender
     • Any pending alerts on those devices
     • Last time their security status was updated
   • If a device in the list shows an alert or a key protection turned off, action must be taken on that specific device (sign in on that device, or ask the family member to do it). The organizer cannot clear or fix alerts remotely.
4. Notes about device list behavior
   • Devices not signed in to Defender for 90 days are automatically removed from the “Other devices” list.
   • Each person in the Microsoft 365 subscription can have up to 5 devices signed into Defender at a time.

If emails mention “multiple alerts,” but nothing appears on the web account page, open the Microsoft Defender app (or Defender web portal if prompted) for the account that received the email; interacting with the email alert should deep-link into the corresponding alert view where details and recommended actions are shown.

References:

• View other devices in Microsoft Defender
• Getting started with Microsoft Defender
• Getting started with identity theft monitoring in Microsoft Defender