How to set up parental controls on Android

Nowadays, many children are given a cell phone as a valuable tool that can keep them in communication with their parents and teach personal responsibility. However, there are steps parents can take to ensure their children remain safe when using their mobile phones. Below, we’ll discuss how to set up parental controls on an Android phone to limit screen time and block harmful content. 

What Are Android Parental Controls?

Android phones offer Google Family Link, a series of tools that work across Android phones and tablets. Family Link can help you manage your child’s apps, set screen time limits and filter out content you don’t want them to see. You can also share your location and manage privacy settings. Family Link even has School Time and Downtime schedules that can help your kid find the right balance when it comes to using their phone. Overall, Family Link is a great way to monitor your child’s phone activity while still giving them privacy.

Install & Set Up Google Family Link

Here’s how to install and set up Google Family Link:

• Download Google Family Link from the Play Store on both your device and your child’s device
• Sign in with your Google account
• Create or sign in with your child’s Google account
• Link the child’s device to the parent’s device
• Allow necessary permissions for supervision

How to Set Screen Time Controls

Here’s how to set up screen time limits on your child’s device:

• Open the Family Link app on the parent’s device
• Select your child’s name
• Tap Controls or Daily Limit (this may vary by device)
• Choose Screen time
• From here, you can set:
  1. Daily screen-time limits (e.g. allow your child 2 hours of phone use per day)
  2. A bedtime schedule (the device will block use at night)
• Tap Save

(Optional) From the parent device, you can also tap Lock Device Now to instantly pause screen time.

How to Manage Apps & Downloads

Here’s how to manage the apps your child has on their phone, as well as potential app downloads.

Approving or Rejecting App Downloads

• Open Family Link on the parent’s device
• Select your child’s device
• Tap Controls > App Limits or Apps
• To approve downloads:
  • Tap Requests
  • Approve or deny any app your child wants to install
• To block an app:
  • Select the app
  • Tap Block or set No time allowed
    

Blocking Access to Specific Apps

• Open the Family Link app on your device
• Select your child’s profile.
• Tap Controls and then App limits
• Find the specific app you want to block and tap it
• Tap Block and then Done to confirm

Set Age-Based App Restrictions

• Open Google Play Store on the child’s device
• Tap Profile icon > Settings
• Tap Family > Parental Controls
• Turn on Parental Controls.
• From here, set allowed age ratings for:
  • Apps
  • Movies
  • Books
    

Turning Off In-App Purchases

• Open the Family Link app and select your child’s profile
• Tap Controls
• Tap Google Play
• Under Purchases & download approvals, tap Require approval for
• Select Never

How to Filter Content & Web Restrictions

Want to limit the kind of content and websites your child accesses on their phone? There are a few different ways to accomplish this.

• SafeSearch for Google: SafeSearch is an automated filter that blocks explicit content from search results. If your family has a child account under Family Link, SafeSearch for Google is automatically enabled.
  
• Block or allow certain sites: Under Family Link, you can block adult websites so your kid can’t access them or choose which websites they can view. Just select your child’s profile and tap Manage Settings. From there, you can choose to block explicit sites or only allow approved sites, which you’ll have to manually enter.
  
• Filters for YouTube and YouTube Kids: If you have a Family Link account, you can control what they see on YouTube under Controls > YouTube. Alternatively, if you have the YouTube app, you can set it to Restricted Mode or use the YouTube Kids app and choose an age range or select the “Approve content yourself” option to manually curate videos your kid can see. 

Tips for Parents Using Android Controls

Keeping your child safe while they use their phone is all about balance and open communication. To that end, here are a few tips as you help your child make responsible decisions while they use their phone.

• Discuss expectations with your child: Keeping open communication with your child is important. Do you expect them to use their phone only to keep in contact with you for after-school activities? Are they only allowed to use their phone after all their homework is completed? Set expectations for how and when they can use their device early.
  
• Start with flexible limits and adjust as needed: You may want to start by being more flexible with certain limits to teach your child personal responsibility, then adjust based on their actual phone usage.
  
• Regularly check usage reports: Keep up-to-date with how your kid is actually using their phone. Are they spending too much time on one app? Are they using their phone during school hours when they shouldn’t be? Checking their usage reports can help you see how you might need to adjust the parental controls and filters.

How to switch off parental controls 

Turn Off Supervision Entirely

Maybe your child is old enough to manage their phone use by themselves, or you need to turn off supervision entirely for some other reason. If so, here’s how:

• Open the Family Link app on the parent’s device
• Select your child’s account
• Tap Controls
• Tap Account settings
• Select Stop supervision and follow the prompts to confirm

From now on, your child’s device will no longer be supervised, and all restrictions will be turned off.

Keep Your Child’s Phone Use Ultra-Safe 

Now you know all the ways Android allows you to keep your kid’s phone usage safe with free, strong and flexible parental control tools like Family Link. These tools are a great way to keep your kids safe while promoting healthy digital habits and also encourage you as a parent to stay engaged with your kid’s phone use. 

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