Family Link runs from your phone, not the child’s, which makes it the least intrusive of the big parental-control systems and the easiest to forget to finish. Five steps.

The thing to understand about Family Link is that it is account supervision, not device software. Everything follows the child’s Google account, which means it works across a new phone, a tablet and a Chromebook. It also means that a child signed in with an adult account is outside it entirely.

Before you start

Do this from your own phone, not your child's. You need the Family Link app installed here, and your child's Google account either created as a child account or ready to have supervision added. The child's device only comes into it at the end.

The 5 steps

Get the child on a supervised account

Install Family Link on your own phone and sign in. You can either create a Google account for a child under thirteen or add supervision to an existing account. Do this before touching the child’s device: the supervision is what everything else hangs from.

Approve or block the apps that matter

In the Family Link app, select your child, then tap Screen time and App limits. Selecting an app and tapping the Allowed toggle switches it to Blocked, and the reverse re-allows it. Work through what is already installed before setting any timers.

Set the daily screen time limit

Still under Screen time, tap Time limits and turn on Daily limit. Tap Weekly schedule, pick a day, enter the amount, then Apply to all days of the week and Done if the same figure suits every day. A school-night and weekend split takes another minute and causes far fewer arguments.

Restrict store content

Set the maturity ratings for apps, games, films and books in the Play Store controls so the store itself stops offering what you would refuse. This is quieter and more effective than blocking apps one at a time after they appear.

Decide about location

Tap Location, then Set up location, choose the children to share location with, then Next and Turn on. Worth a conversation rather than a silent switch: location sharing that a teenager discovers later costs more trust than it buys safety.

The account is the boundary, not the phone

Because supervision follows the Google account, a factory reset does not shake it off and a new tablet inherits it automatically. That is the strength. The matching weakness is that a child who signs into a browser with a different account, or uses a phone signed in as someone else, is simply outside the system.

This is why the account age matters more than the device. An account created with an adult date of birth cannot be supervised, and the fix is a new account, not a setting.

App limits do more than a daily total

A single daily figure is a blunt instrument: it treats a homework app and an endless-scroll app as the same minute. Per-app limits are where Family Link earns its place, because they let you be generous with the things you do not mind and strict with the one thing you do.

Set the always-allowed list too (phone, messages, the school apps) so that a bedtime schedule does not also cut off the ability to call you.

What to set, by age

Under eight: a small allowlist of apps, store ratings at the lowest band, no browser, and a daily total that matches the routine instead of inviting a negotiation.

Eight to twelve: per-app limits, store ratings at their age, and app installs requiring your approval. Location on, discussed openly.

Thirteen and up: supervision tends to shift from control towards visibility. Google reduces what supervision can enforce as an account ages, and that is roughly the right direction: the useful settings by then are purchases and the always-allowed list.

When the menu on your screen does not match

Family Link is an app, not a system menu, so its layout changes on its own release schedule and not with Android's. If the tabs on your phone do not match, the app has been updated since this page was walked through.

If a setting in the app does not appear on the child’s device, the device usually needs to be online and the child signed in with the supervised account; supervision is delivered to the account, not pushed to the handset.
If the child’s name is absent from Family Link, supervision was never completed; the invitation has to be accepted on the child’s device.

Questions about Android parental controls

Can my teenager remove supervision?

On an older account they can request it, and you are notified. Below thirteen, no. The realistic risk on Android is not removal but a second account, which is why the store rating and install-approval settings matter as much as the limits.

Does Family Link cover a Chromebook too?

Yes, because the supervision belongs to the account. A school-issued Chromebook managed by the school is a separate arrangement and your settings may not apply there.

Does it read messages?

No. Family Link reports app usage and time, not message content. If you want to know what is being said, ask. Covert reading is a bad trade at every age, as the chat guidance sets out.

Will blocking an app delete its data?

No. Blocking hides the app and prevents it opening; unblocking restores it as it was. That makes a block a reversible, low-drama tool rather than a punishment.

What happens at the daily limit?

The device locks to a limited state: calls still work, and your child can request more time from you. Granting a short extension from your own phone is usually the least disruptive answer.

Is a paid app better?

Rarely enough to justify it on Android, and the paid options often ask for permissions you would not otherwise grant. Family Link is free, deeply integrated and sufficient for almost every household.

Sources

Google Families Help: manage your child's device with Family Link · checked 2026-09-02

Android parental controls with Family Link, from the parent’s phone