Google Family Link is a parental controls app that helps you keep your family safer online. Every family's relationship with technology is unique, so we have built tools for you to choose the right balance for your family and help them create healthy digital habits. You can use the app to see how your child is spending time on their device, see their device location, manage privacy settings and more.
With Family Link, you can:
Establish digital ground rules
• Set screen time limits – find the screen time that works best for your child. Family Link lets you set daily time limits, with school time and downtime schedules for their devices, so that you can help your child find a healthy balance.
• Manage your child's apps – give your child the flexibility that they need when it comes to app usage. Set individual app time limits, and unlimited time for educational or regularly used apps. You can block apps, too.
Manage content filters and security and privacy
• Manage what they see online – set up parental controls on Google services like Chrome, Play, YouTube and Search. Family Link allows you to block inappropriate sites, require approval for new apps, manage permissions for apps and websites and more.
• Secure their account – Family Link gives you access to manage your child's account and data settings. As a parent, you can help change or reset your child's password if they forget it, edit their personal information or even delete their account if you feel that it's necessary.*
*Children over the applicable age can manage their own account.
Stay connected on the go
• See where they are – it's helpful to be able to find your family when they're on the go. With Family Link, you can locate your children on one map, as long as they're carrying their device.
• Get notifications and alerts – Family Link delivers critical notifications, including when your child arrives at or leaves a certain location. You can also ring devices and view the device's remaining battery life.
Important information
• Family Link's tools vary depending on your child's device. See a list of compatible devices at https://families.google/familylink/device-compatibility/
• While Family Link helps you manage your child's purchases and downloads from Google Play, they will not need approval to install app updates (including updates that expand permissions), apps that you have previously approved or apps that have been shared in Family Library. In addition, purchase approvals will only apply when your child makes a purchase through Google Play's billing system and will not apply to purchases made through alternative billing systems. Parents should regularly review their child's installed apps and app permissions in Family Link.
• You should carefully review the apps on your child's supervised device and disable those that you don't want them to use. Note that you may not be able to disable some pre-installed apps such as Play, Google, etc.
• To see the location of your child or teenager's device, the device must be turned on, recently active and connected to the Internet through data or Wi-Fi.
• Family Link parental controls are only available for supervised Google Accounts. With supervised Google Accounts, children get access to Google products like Search, Chrome and Gmail, and parents can set up basic digital ground rules to supervise them.
• While Family Link provides tools to manage your child's online experience and keep them safer online, it does not make the Internet safe. Family Link cannot determine the content on the Internet, but it can give parents the opportunity to make decisions about how their child spends time on their device and determine what path to online safety looks best for their family.
Device location is not preciseToo long delay for refresh
FamilyLink
Rumen33
This app is very unstable. It can’t be used for kids phone time usage limitation at all. I set app limits and on the next day they are set to unlimited. I can’t imagine how is it possible that. I see that phone usage is 32 min, but in app limits I see apps that have been used 3 hr 40 min. In the kids phone also showing the usage is 3 hr 40 min. At first I though that my son know my passord and I changed it, but nothing changed. I am very disapointed.
Inaccurate time and unfriendly ui
Petar 12121213121
Ui is unfriendly and finding/setting limit is cumbersome.Time tracking is broken - some apps (google chrome most often) have usage times much above limit.Unable to set limits per group of apps, like “games”, “browsers”, “messengers”, etc.Unable to grant bonus time to individual app despite being forces to set time limits on per app basis.
Laggy
avGo87
Often it counts a little bit more time usage than actual and my kids get angry. Often when I change any limitation it doesn’t change at the kids smartphones. Sometimes randomly their smartphones stack locked and I cannot unlock it unless I use parent passcode at their phones which only applies like “bonus time” 😡
Developer Response
Hi there. Sorry you're running into issues. Please contact us so we can help by opening the Family Link App, tap your profile in the top right corner, click Help & feedback and Contact Us. Thanks for taking the time to help us improve the app.
New simplified design and screen time tab.
Version 2.106.49161
The developer, Google, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Linked to You
The following data may be collected and linked to your identity:
Financial Info
Location
Contact Info
Contacts
User Content
Identifiers
Usage Data
Diagnostics
Other Data
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Search History
Privacy practices may vary based, for example, on the features you use or your age. Learn More
The developer indicated that this app supports the following accessibility features. Learn More