Google Family Link: setup walkthrough
Free, native to Android and Chromebook. Here’s the full setup and what it can’t do.
Google Family Link is Google's free family control system for Android and ChromeOS, with limited functionality on iOS, and it suits households already built around Google accounts. It handles app approvals, screen time, content restrictions and location well. What it does not do is content alerting, so families who want to be told about self-harm, bullying or grooming language usually pair it with a tool such as Bark or Qustodio.
Google Family Link
Google’s free family controls for Android, Chromebook, and limited iOS. Best suited for Google-first families.
Setup
- Install Family Link on your parent phone.
- Tap Add child to make a new account, or add supervision to an account your child already has — under-13s and teens alike.
- Sign the child in to their Android / Chromebook with the supervised account.
- Set rules: app approvals, daily screen time, bedtime, location, content filters for Play Store, Search, Chrome, YouTube.
What Family Link does well
- Free.
- Native to Android and Chromebook.
- Covers teens as well as under-13s, and supervision does not end at 13. When your child reaches 13 (or the applicable age where you live), Google emails both of you; if nobody acts on the email, “supervision settings remain the same”. Google’s rule is that “children need parent approval to stop supervision until they turn 18”, you can stop it yourself at any time, and you are both notified when it stops (Google Family Link Help). What changes at 13 is the conversation: plan which controls you will loosen before the email arrives. See what changes when your child turns 13.
- Location sharing reliably.
- Clean screen-time interface.
- Play Store and Chrome supervision built in.
What Family Link cannot do
- Little control on iOS (Apple restrictions).
- No real content monitoring (no DM or chat scanning).
- No alerting on risky content like Bark.
Who should use Family Link
Any Android / Chromebook household. Pair with Bark or Qustodio if you want content alerts.
Common questions
Is Google Family Link free?
Yes, entirely — and it is native to Android and Chromebook, which makes it the obvious starting point for any Google-first household.
What does Family Link do well?
App approvals, daily screen time and bedtime, reliable location sharing, a clean screen-time interface, and built-in supervision for the Play Store, Search, Chrome and YouTube.
What can Family Link not do?
Very little on iOS, because of Apple’s restrictions. It also has no real content monitoring — no DM or chat scanning — and no alerting on concerning content of the kind Bark provides. One thing it does not do is end at 13: when your child reaches 13 (or the applicable age where you live), Google emails you both, supervision stays as it is unless someone acts, and Google states that children need parent approval to stop supervision until they turn 18. Parents can stop it at any time, and both of you are notified when it stops.
Should I use anything alongside Family Link?
If you want content alerts, pair it with Bark or Qustodio. Family Link handles the blocking and scheduling side well; it simply is not built to tell you that something worrying was said.
When parental controls change
Monitoring tools change what they can see, and sometimes stop being available. Roughly monthly we send new guides, changes to controls like these, and scams worth knowing about.
Free. No ads, no affiliate links, and we never sell or share your address.