Today I’m going to show you exactly how to set up Google family link parental controls in 2022.
This is one good way to control the sites the little kids in the family visit on a daily basis and protect them from any further harm.
And you’re going to learn how to have all these set up, quick and easy.
Let’s dive right in!
Online Protection via Google Family Link Parental Controls
We can’t always control the kinds of sites our kids’ visit, or the contents they would be exposed to daily. It however does not make us completely helpless and without a means to control at least some activities on our children’s devices.
Google Family Link is an app that enables parents to view the activities of their children’s smartphones, monitor the types of apps they can download or use, lock their devices, even set screen time limits, and most importantly, in case of emergencies track their location.
The app still has its few limitations – one of which includes its inability to block inappropriate contents; but lucky enough, some apps (not all though) have imbedded in them their own filtering options (for example Google apps like Chrome and Search).
Must Read: How to set parental control on Spotify family accounts…
There is also the Restricted Mode option on YouTube that can help filter mature content for parents with teens of 13 years and above. Google notes that these filters are not perfect, therefore some graphic and explicitly visual content may make their way through to your children’s smartphones sometimes.
How to Set Up Google Family Link Parental Controls
Parents learn how to set up Google Family Link parental controls using any Android devices that run Android 4.4 – 7.0 or higher versions, as well as iPhones running iOS 9 and higher.
Note that you can also learn how to set up Google Family Link parental controls on a Chromebook (that is, Chromebooks running Chrome OS versions 71 or higher).
By learning how to Family Link, parents can choose the websites their children can access or not access using chrome, give strict supervision to the apps used by their kids and so much more.
With the steps listed below, you’ll be able to learn how to set up Google Family Link Parental Controls on smartphones:
- Download the Family Link app to your own device (Android or iPhone).
- The Family Link app would automatically walk you through the process of linking your device to your child’s, that’s if your child already has an account. However, if your child doesn’t have an account, he or she would need to download the Family Link Child/ Teen app on their phone to complete the process of linking up the phones.
- You can use Family Link to create a Google account for any child below 13 or if the child doesn’t have a Google account use Family Link.
- The child can proceed to sign in to their device using their new account.
- Next parents can begin to set digital ground rules for their family once the accounts are linked.
There might still be a few areas where parents may not have control over their children’s content when learning how to set up Google Family Link Parental Controls, especially with the kind of apps that are on their devices. Therefore, if at any point there is a need to block an app that as a parent you think may be harmful to your kids, here is all you need to know on how to block or unblock an app as the case may be using the family link app ;
- Open the family link app
- Select the child you wish to block or unblock his/her apps.
- Search for the apps installed card
- Click on more
- Click on the name of the app you wish to block or allow.
- Tap on the Allow app either to turn on or off.
To disable or enable any app on Family Link on the web when learning how to set up Google Family Link Parental Controls simply:
- Go to the family link on the web.
- Select the child you want to allow or block his/her apps.
- Select Android apps
- Turn the apps on or off.
One of the things that frighten parents most is that their children can at any time in any place download mature apps (like the new sexual games currently trending), thankfully there is a way out when learning how to set up Google Family Link Parental Controls, you can prevent your kids from downloading mature apps and set up parental controls to restrict the kind of contents your children can download or even purchase from Google play store by following these simple steps;
- Open the Family Link app.
- Click on the child you wish to restrict.
- Search for the settings card
- Select manage
- Select Controls on Google play.
- Look for restrictions and choose your filters
- Under the apps, games, movies, and Tv filter select the highest level of maturity of contents you wish to allow for downloads or purchase.
- For the Music and Books filter, choose whether or not you want to restrain your kids from downloading or purchasing content with detailed graphics or offensive content.
There is nothing like enough screen time with kids, so it is up to the parents, especially on a school night, to decide when the child has had more than enough screen time. By learning how to set up Google Family Link Parental Controls, you can actually set bedtime on your child’s phone:
- Open up your Family Link app
- Tap on the child you want to set up the bedtime for
- Search for the bedtime card
- Click on edit schedule
- Follow the instructions on the screen to set up a bedtime on your child’s device.
Or you can manage all these settings by simply tapping on your child’s name at families.google.com.
FAQ
Is Google Family Link Free?
Parents can manage their child’s Android phone by downloading the free Google Family Link app to their iPhone or Android device.
Parents can schedule the phone to be inaccessible at night, set a time limit on how much time their child can spend on it, and easily block their child’s phone use
How Do I Set Parental Controls On Google?
- Open the Google Play application.
- Tap the profile icon in the top right corner.
- Select Settings Family. parental restrictions.
- Set the parental controls to on.
- Create a PIN that your youngster doesn’t know to protect the parental restrictions.
- Choose the content category you want to filter.
- Select a filtering or access restriction method.
Can I See My Child’s Text Messages On Family Link?
Yes, you can. You can view your child’s text messages, SMS texts, and social media texts with Google Family Link, and you can even ban the specific activity.
Why Can’t I Find My Child’s Location On Google Family Link?
If your child’s device is turned off, the Family Link app won’t show you where your child is.
Also if they don’t have an internet connection to their gadget or The phone has not recently been used.
Can Family Link See Your Deleted Search History?
Now that you’re curious, can your parents see what you’ve searched for? The short answer is that, unless you have removed it or searched in private search mode, your parents can view your search history.
What Can Parents See On Family Link?
Parents can set screen time restrictions on their child’s Android or ChromeOS devices via Family Link.
They can see where a child’s active and signed-in Android devices are located
They can limit the availability of content depending on maturity ratings, or approve your child’s downloads and purchases on Stadia and Google Play;
What Happens To Family Link When A Child Turns 13?
Your child will have the choice to upgrade to a regular Google Account when they become 13 (or the legal age in your country).
Parents will receive an email before their child turns 13 informing them that their child will become responsible for managing their account on their birthday and that they will no longer be able to do so.
What Are The Downsides Of Family Link?
Some downsides of Google family link are:
- It does not support iOS children’s gadgets.
- Very little web filtering is available.
- It has fewer features all around
Can My Child Delete Family Link?
The Google Family Link app is guarded against kid manipulation. You must input the group password for the parents’ Family Link account and remove the child’s account from the group to uninstall Family Link on the child’s device.
The child’s smartphone won’t have any restrictions limiting the simple removal of the app till that time.
Can Family Link See Snapchat Messages?
Yes, it can. Snapchat introduced parental restrictions to help supervise teenagers’ use of social media. Parents can see who their teen is contacting on Snapchat through the Family Center, but not their messages.
Without their child’s knowledge, parents may also report accounts that they don’t like.
Can Family Link Access WhatsApp Messages?
Yes, WhatsApp communications can be viewed by parental control. Remember that a family link is an outside application that monitors all activity on the target device, including WhatsApp messages.
