Google Family Link guide

Step 1 – On your child’s Android device, go to the Settings screen. Scroll to Google > All services > Parental controls.

If your child’s device is already connected to a Google Account, you will instead tap their name > All services > Parental controls.

Step 2 – Tap Let’s do this. You’ll then be able to add your child’s account or create a new one. Tap Supervise account.

Step 3 – Follow the prompts and read through the information that comes up on the next couple of screens.

You’ll need to enter your own email and password to become an admin. You’ll also need to confirm your child’s password to complete setup.

You can now edit your child’s permissions on Google Family Link on your device.

Step 1 – Open your Google Family Link app and click your existing child’s icon in the top left corner. Tap Add child.

Step 2 – If your child has a Google account, tap Yes. Follow the instructions from How to set up Google Family Link to connect your child’s device.

If you need to create a Google account for your child, tap No to set one up and jump to Creating a child’s Google account.

Step 3 – Once your child’s account is connected to your Google Family Link account, return to your own device and tap Done. You can now access all added children’s profiles in the top left menu.

Step 1 – When adding a child, the app will ask you if your child has an account. Select No if they do not. Follow the instructions to add a first name and date of birth.

Tap Next to move forward.

Step 2 – Choose an email address for them along with a password when prompted. We recommend choosing an email that they can continue using as they grow. Use a password manager to create a strong password. Tap Next.

You will then see a couple of screens of information. Read through them fully. This will help you better understand Family Link.

Step 3 – Choose how you would like to proceed. For a quicker process, select Choose in fewer steps. You can change these settings later.

Read through the documents explaining how your child’s data is managed and which settings are impacted. Tap Confirm.

You will now be able to customise your child’s account and set restrictions.

Open the Google Family Link app and tap Screen time on the bottom left. Tap the top box, which shows device usage.

Here, you can see how long they’ve spent on their device and in particular apps.

Step 1 – Go to Screen time in the Family Link app and tap Schedules. Scroll to School time and tap the toggle to turn it on.

Step 2 – Tap Weekly schedule. Tap the time next to Mon and choose the time range for school time.

You can choose to set a Break and tick the box next to Apply Monday-Friday if the same hours work for each day. Tap Done.

Now, when your child tries to use their device during school time, they will see a full screen that says school time is active.

Step 3 – Under Allowed apps, make sure Unlimited apps is off. The toggle circle should be to the left for off.

Note: On their device, your child can tap Disable for today. You will then need to enter your parent password or parent access code. You can share the parent access code with your child as it will expire after 30 minutes. Do not share your password with your child.

To get the parent access code, open Family Link on your device, tap on your child’s profile image in the top left and select Parent access code.

Step 1 – From the Screen time option in the Family Link app, tap Time limits. Tap the toggle to turn limits on.

Step 2 – Tap Weekly schedule. For each day of the week, set a limit. Consider school work, responsibilities and needs when making these decisions.

You can set limits on specific apps in the next step, which will also be affected by the overall daily limit.

Step 3 – Back on the Time limits screen, select App limits. You will see a list of all apps installed on your child’s device. Tap the app you wish to limit. Set a limit and tap Done.

You can also tap the toggle next to Allowed to keep your child from accessing the app.

Step 1 – From the Screen time screen, select Schedules. Tap the toggle next to Downtime to turn it on.

Step 2 – Tap Weekly schedule. Choose a day and set the hours for your child’s bedtime. This can include time to wind down before bed.

You can apply to all days of the week and edit the weekends if applicable.

Step 3 – On the Schedules screen, under Downtime, tap Allowed apps and make sure Unlimited apps is turned off (the toggle background should be white, not purple).

Step 1 – On your child’s Family Link profile page, tap Controls in the centre of the bottom menu. Tap Google Play.

Step 2 – Under Content restrictions, choose Apps & games, Films, TV or Books. Then, select the level of restriction you’d like to add. Learn more about age ratings for games here.

Step 1 – On the Controls screen, select Google Chrome and web. Choose Try to block explicit sites.

Step 2 – If you don’t want your child to access specific websites, go to 0 blocked sites under Manage sites. Manually add which websites you don’t want your child to visit.

Step 3 – Alternatively, if you’ve selected Only allow approve sites, tap 0 approved sites under Manage sites. You will need to manually add the sites you’re happy for your child to visit.

From the Controls screen, select Google search. Ensure that Filter is selected to limit results with explicit images, text and links.

Step 1 – In your Family Link app, tap Location in the bottom menu > Set up location.

Step 2 – Choose which child(ren) you’d like to turn on Location Sharing for. This will only work with Android devices or Fitbit Ace LTE.

Tap Next. Read through the information and tap Turn on.

Step 3 – To further customise your child’s location settings, go to the Controls menu and tap Location settings. Tap on their device under Device location settings and read through/set the options.

Option 1 – If the device is likely nearby, go to the Screen time menu and select their device. Tap Play sound and listen for its location.

Option 2 – If the device is unlikely to be nearby, select Location in the bottom menu. Tap on your child to see the location of their device. You might need to refresh the location.

Step 1 – Go to Location using the bottom menu. Select Family places > New place.

Step 2 – Enter the address of the location such as your home address or their school. Name the location and when you’d like to get alerts (Arrives and/or Leaves). Tap Save.

Now, as long as your child has their device, you can see when they arrive or leave each location. You can adjust the size of this area if multiple addresses are close to each other to create a ‘zone’ instead.

Step 3 – To adjust the size of a location, select the location. Use the slider below the map to increase the zone.

You will then receive notifications if your child leaves this zone with their device.

Step 1 – On the device you wish to add, sign into your child’s Google account. Follow the instructions within Step 1 of How to set up Google Family Link for more guidance on how to do this.

Step 2 – In Google Family Link on your device, go to the Controls menu and select Signed-in devices. You should now see any device registered to your child’s email.

If you can’t tap on them, they may not be one of the devices listed above. You will need to use different parental controls outside of Google Family Link.

From the Controls menu, tap Google Play. Under Purchases and download approvals, tap Require approval for and choose the level of restriction you’d like to set.