Chromebook: the parent’s setup guide
Covers personal Chromebooks and the (limited) controls you have on school-issued ones.
Family Link on Chromebook
Supervised Google accounts carry over to Chromebook. On first login, your kid’s account is supervised by Family Link and most controls apply:
- Screen time limits on the whole device (set in Family Link on your phone).
- Website allow/blocklist.
- SafeSearch enforced.
- Play Store install approvals.
- Incognito mode disabled.
Setup walkthrough
- On the Chromebook login screen, click Add Person and sign in with the child’s supervised account.
- Complete the Family Link prompt on your phone.
- In Family Link, select your child › Controls › Google Chrome and Web.
- Choose: Allow all sites / Try to block explicit sites / Only allow approved sites.
- Under Controls › Google Search, set SafeSearch to Filter or Blur.
- Under Apps, approve or block each Android app and extension.
Chrome extensions to worry about
Whether a supervised user can install Chrome extensions is a setting you control in Family Link rather than a fixed default — Google documents the choice and not which way it ships, so check it rather than assume either. These can be used to bypass filters (proxies, VPNs). In Family Link, block extensions, or spot-check the extensions list weekly. If the Chromebook is school-issued, the school’s admin policy usually already blocks this.
Screen time
Family Link screen-time limits work on Chromebook the same way they do on Android. When time’s up, the Chromebook locks.
Known limitations
- Supervision only works for children under a child Google account. An older teen using an adult Google account cannot be supervised the same way.
- Guest mode on a personal Chromebook bypasses supervision. Disable guest browsing: sign in as the owner account, then Settings › Privacy and security › Manage other people › Guest browsing — off.
What was checked, and when. The guest-browsing path and the school-managed limits verified against the vendor’s own documentation on 2026-09-08. Not reached in that pass: the extension install default.
Common questions
Can I control a school-issued Chromebook?
Only partially. A school-issued device carries the school’s admin policy, which generally takes precedence over anything you set. Our school devices guide covers what you can and cannot change.
How do I set up a personal Chromebook for my child?
At the login screen click Add Person and sign in with your child’s supervised Google account, then complete the Family Link prompt on your phone. The controls then live in Family Link under Controls › Google Chrome and Web.
How do kids bypass Chromebook filtering?
Chrome extensions are the usual route — supervised users can install proxy and VPN extensions from the Chrome Web Store by default. Block extensions in Family Link or spot-check the list weekly. Guest mode bypasses supervision entirely, so turn it off from the owner account under Settings › Privacy and security › Manage other people › Guest browsing.
Can I supervise my 16-year-old’s Chromebook?
Not in the same way. Supervision requires a child Google account; an older teenager using an adult Google account cannot be supervised through Family Link at all, which is a limit worth knowing before you plan around it.
What web-filtering levels can I choose from?
Three, under Family Link › Controls › Google Chrome and Web: allow all sites, try to block explicit sites, or only allow approved sites. Set SafeSearch to Filter or Blur under Controls › Google Search regardless of which you pick.
When parental controls change
Apple, Google and Microsoft rename and move these settings without announcing it. Roughly monthly we send new guides, changes to controls like these, and scams worth knowing about.
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