Guide G.03 · Updated April 2026

Setting up a Chromebook (school or family).

Chromebooks are increasingly how kids access school — and, often by default, a huge slice of the internet. This guide covers both school-issued and family-owned Chromebooks.

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School-issued laptop? Some controls are locked by the school. You can add a second layer of family supervision on top, but you can't fully override school policy. Contact your IT department for what they have enabled.

  1. Sign the child in with a supervised account

    Use the Google account you created via Family Link. If the Chromebook was previously set up with a different account, sign out and remove that account from Settings → Accounts.

  2. Enable SafeSearch by default

    Open a Chrome tab, go to google.com → Settings → Search Settings → turn on SafeSearch (Filter). Because the account is supervised, this setting is locked on.

  3. Restrict sites in Family Link

    In Family Link: child → Controls → Filters on Chrome. Options: Allow all sites, Try to block explicit sites, or Only allow approved sites. For under-10, allowlist is usually right.

  4. Control app & extension installs

    Controls → Filters on Google Play & Chrome Web Store → Parent approval required. Extensions are the sneaky vector here — many "free" ones are trackers.

  5. Turn off Guest mode

    Settings → Security & Privacy → Manage other people → Restrict sign-in to the following users. Guest mode lets anyone bypass your setup.

  6. Set daily screen time

    Family Link → Screen time. This counts only active Chromebook use, not video-playing-in-background time; tune accordingly.

  7. Turn on bedtime

    Same menu → Bedtime. Chromebook locks itself at the bedtime you set, kid or no kid.

  8. Check for school-installed extensions

    chrome://extensions. If you see things you didn't install, they're almost certainly from school. Don't remove them — ask the school what they do if unsure.

  9. Review Google Activity

    At myactivity.google.com, check that Web & App Activity, YouTube History, and Location History are all off for the child account.