One of the simplest ways to keep track of your child's activity on their Android smartphone is to set up Family Link. Family Link lets you have some control over your child's device, as well as monitoring their activity.

This guide will walk you through the process of getting started with Family Link for parents. However, before we explain how to set it up, it's important to explain what Family Link is.

What is Family Link (for parents)?

You can imagine Family Link as "Google parental controls". It uses Google's apps (also known as the Google ecosystem) to limit certain kinds of features that can apply for a smartphone.

Family Link allows you to enforce all kinds of restrictions for your child's smartphone. Since it has control over the Play Store (which can manage apps) and Chrome (which browses the internet), Family Link offers some powerful features for parents.

Is Family Link Right for Me?

In general, Family Link is a good option for parental controls. You can enable restricted mode for your child, set up app limits, and choose what YouTube restriction level you want to have for your child.

If you decide to proceed with Family Link, you should expect to spend a little time each week reviewing your child's activity. Family Link is account supervision, not a "fire and forget" solution to blocking inappropriate content on your child's smartphone.

What are the Pros and Cons of Family Link?

Family Link allows you to set all kinds of restrictions for your children's accounts. Here are some of the pros that we think parents should know about:

• Set up app restrictions, such as screen limits, device downtime, or blocking an app.
• Enable Restricted mode for YouTube.
• Good Android device compatibility.
• Enables Safe Search for the Google browsers that your child is signed into.
• You will be able to view activity and location reports, if you choose.
• It's relatively easy to set up (if you know what you're doing).

However, there are also some cons that you should consider:

• Works very well on Android smartphones but will not work as well on desktops, laptops (except for Chromebooks), or iPhones. You will only have partial supervision on those devices.
• Full supervision is not available for iOS devices. This includes iPhones and iPads.
• With very restrictive setups, it can become a hassle to install new apps or sign-in to new devices, even with the parent's permission.
• It does not block all inappropriate content. While great lengths have been made to prevent as much inappropriate content from being accessed, this will not solve the problem entirely. Parents may need to consider more layers of protection, such a content filtering, to have more fine-tuned control over their child's device.
• It can be very confusing to set up properly.

Basically, parents should expect that Family Link will not offer the ultimate blocking solution. Even with the most restrictive setups, parents should expect to have a much more hands-on approach and shouldn't expect Family Link to automatically block inappropriate content. 

What Do I Need in Order to Use Family Link?

There are a few things that you'll need in order for you to be successful with Family Link. We first recommend taking a look at  Family Link's main overview page .

1) Accounts

The first thing you will need as a parent is a Google Account. In most cases, you may already have an account with Google. Either way, setting up a new account is very easy.

You will also need to have accounts for each of your children (we don't recommend sharing accounts, either between you and your child, or for multiple children).

If you want to set up an account for your child, there are two main ways that you can do this. The most likely option that you have is to link an existing account to Family Link. If your child doesn't have an account, don't worry, creating an account for them is easy - Family Link can walk you through it.

2) Device Compatability

The next question is what kind of devices you and your child have and determine whether it's compatible with Family Link. Family Link recommends using Android devices, but parents can manage settings on iOS. Since Family Link might have updates in the future, here is the link to the page that use to help you determine if your devices are compatible .

Recap

If you can answer "yes" to the following questions, then you should be all set:

Do you have a personal Google account?

Does your Child have a separate Google account already? If they don't, can you create an account for them when you set up Family Link? (This only works if the child is under 13 years old)

Are your devices compatible with Family Link ?

Setting Up Family Link

Now we get to the fun part, setting it all up!

It will help to have separate devices for both you and your child ready before starting.

1) Setting up a Family.

The easiest way to get started with this is to visit Family Link's main site and begin setting it up from there. However, this guide will show you another way to set this up.

In order to set up a Family, you will need to use your own Google Account to begin the process of setting up a family of accounts. 

After you've signed in with the account that you want to be the parent account, click on the icon for your account, and choose Manage you Google Account. 

From your Google Account page, click on People and Sharing, and then Get Started under Your family on Google.

You will then need to follow the instructions to create a family group. 

You will be prompted if you are ready to be a family manager. Keep in mind that information will be shared amongst your family members. Click Confirm to continue.

From here, you can invite family members with already existing accounts. If you child already has an account, this is where you can add send them an invite to join your family.

If you don't have an account for your child, you can go ahead and create one for them. To do this, you will need to use the Family Link app or website. The following examples will use the website, but you can use the app instead. If you need to add a child account, go ahead and click skip on the invite family screen:

Once this is done, the family group is now set up! Click on Got it to continue.

You should now have a family group created, but the only person who's joined the family is you. The next step will be to sign in to Family Link by visiting their website , so you can invite/add other members.

2) Add Family Members

First, go to Family Link's main page to get started. Make sure that you are signed in with the same account you created a family group with previously. (If you haven't done this yet, don't worry. The website can also walk you through this process.)

Once you've set up a Family Group, you should get a main page that looks something like this:

Go ahead and click on Add child to begin the walkthrough process for adding a family member.

Follow the instructions to either create or invite a family member. In this case, here is the information you will need to provide in order to create a new account:

If your child is older than 13, then you will have to create their account separately (or use an existing account).

From the Family Link main page, click on Manage Family.

Here, you will need to send an email invitation to your Teen, and they will have to accept it.

On your Teen's device, follow the instructions in the email:

If you have more than one Teen or Child account that you want to add/create, repeat the process for each new member.

That's it! You've successfully created a family group and added your family members! You can use the Family Link app to further refine content restrictions. 

Now What?

Now that you've added family members, you will get access to some of their information, such as location history and alerts. 

If you are using the Family Link App as a parent, this is an example of what the home page for a child will look like:

If you scroll down a bit, you'll see some of the options you can set:

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Family Link Protect my Child from Inappropriate Content?

In the great majority of cases, yes. Family Link is designed to make the internet as safe as possible to use. However, it is not a complete solution to blocking inappropriate content online, and occasionally this kind of content might slip past Family Link. This is why it is important for parents to be constantly involved with their child's activities online, and consider layering multiple filters.

Do I Need Family Link to Filter Content on YouTube?

No. Many parental control Apps or content filters can restrict content on YouTube. We have separate guide for filtering content on YouTube if you want to learn more.

Will Family Link Work on my Child's iPhone Device?

Family Link does not offer full supervision for iPhone devices, only partial supervision.

Will Family Link Work on my Child's Computer?

Family Link will work on Chromebooks, but standard Windows or Mac computers can only have partial supervision.