Set up Family Link on Android

Google Family Link is the main account-based parental control surface for Android phones and tablets that ship with Google services [source: google-family-link-getting-started].

A parent can manage the child’s account, daily limits, app allowance, Play content, location, and search filters [source: google-family-link-supervision].

This page is the English-language counterpart to the iOS Screen Time setup article. It models the same model: set the family first, then turn on each layer separately.

What follows assumes the device is a Google Mobile Services Android. Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, and Honor fork the entry point and the labels. See Why the same Android article reads differently on Samsung, Xiaomi, and Huawei for what changes and where.

Prerequisites

Three things must be in place before any of the steps below have effect. None of them is a device setting.

• The parent’s Google account is the family organiser. Google documents a parent-parent account as the one that creates the family group and supervises the child [source: google-family-link-getting-started]. Without organiser access, the controls you set will not apply; the parent-side drawer is the only place where the full set of Family Link controls is visible.

• The child has a Google account, or one is created. Google describes a child account as one the parent creates for, or attaches to, a child [source: google-family-link-getting-started]. A standalone account that the child already opened before supervision can be added to a family group [source: google-family-link-supervision-add].

• The child device is at least Android 5.1 for the cited Kids Space setup, or Android 7 for app limits. Google states that app limits require Android 7 or later [source: google-family-link-screen-time]. On older devices, the account profile exists but the app-level controls may not be available.

If any of these is missing, the steps below will let you make the missing piece. If they were already set up on a different device, the same login carries the configuration over.

What Family Link covers

Family Link is account-based, not device-based. The same controls apply wherever the supervised child account is signed in on a compatible device.

Google documents the parent-managed surfaces as:

• Daily screen time and lock. Per-day device limits and manual lock of the child’s device, with the documented provider requirement that calls and Emergency stay reachable while the device is locked [source: google-family-link-screen-time].

• App limits. Per-app time limits on Android 7 or later. System apps do not accept app limits [source: google-family-link-screen-time].

• Play content and purchases. Highest maturity rating for Play downloads, and requirements for purchase approval [source: google-family-link-play-content] [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

• Location. Device location for Android and compatible Fitbit, with family places and arrival/leave alerts [source: google-family-link-location].

• Search and YouTube. SafeSearch is turned on and locked for a supervised child account; supervised YouTube exposes a separate content setting, watch and search history, and autoplay controls [source: google-safesearch] [source: youtube-supervised].

What Family Link does not cover is on its own page: What Family Link cannot do on Android. The short version: it does not see the child screen, does not listen to calls, does not automatically follow the child profile across separate device accounts, and does not turn into Android 17 device-local controls [source: google-android-device-controls].

Steps

Order matters. The activity log, the controls drawer, and the supervision-state toggle are visible in sequence; the parent does not see what was not enabled earlier in the flow.

1. Install the Family Link app on the parent’s device. Google names the parent-side app as the place where the family group is created and managed [source: google-family-link-getting-started]. The exact entry label sits on the parent device, not on the child’s.

2. Create or attach a child account. Choose to create a new Google Account for the child or to attach an existing one. The screen Google exposes for this decision is the Controls on Google Play entry referred to elsewhere in this article as google.familylink.play_store.

3. Enable supervision. The parent enters the parent-side drawer and confirms the child account is supervised [source: google-family-link-supervision]. This step is the gate that locks the parent-set limits onto the account.

4. Set the daily limit. The parent-side drawer’s Daily limit row carries the daily device cap and the manual lock button. The UI key is google.familylink.daily_limit. The parent surfaces a schedule family next.

5. Set a schedule. Downtime and School time are the two schedule tabs documented on Android 7 and later for Family Link. The DE label is Ruhezeit / Schulmodus; the EN label is unverified in the wave-0 research packet [source: google-family-link-schedules]. The corresponding UI keys are google.familylink.schedule.downtime and google.familylink.schedule.school_time.

6. Set app limits. On Android 7 and later, per-app limits live under Screen time > Time limits > App limits. The UI key is google.familylink.app_limits. Google documents that system apps cannot be limited [source: google-family-link-screen-time].

7. Configure Play content and purchases. The parent side drawer exposes the highest maturity rating for downloads and the approval flow for purchases [source: google-family-link-play-content] [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval]. None of these settings extend to non-Play billing flows or to other app stores.

8. Turn on location sharing. Family Link displays the supervised device location once location sharing is configured [source: google-family-link-location]. Family places and arrival/leave alerts are configured on the same screen. The corresponding UI key is google.familylink.location.

9. Verify SafeSearch and YouTube. When supervision is established, Google turns SafeSearch on and locks it so the child cannot change it [source: google-safesearch]. Supervised YouTube uses a parent-set content level and watch-history controls [source: youtube-supervised]. The corresponding UI keys are google.familylink.safesearch and google.familylink.youtube.family_center.

The order — supervision, daily limit, schedule, app limits, Play, location, search — is the order Google documents for the parent setup. Reversing the order produces a child account that is signed up but not yet supervised.

What the lock does not buy

Setting up Family Link is not the same as locking it. Each parent-side toggle has a documented scope, and the scopes do not add up to one block.

• It does not cover the second profile. Family Link settings on a child account do not apply to other profiles on the same device [source: google-multiuser]. A parent who only sets up Family Link on a tablet that has a Guest profile leaves the Guest profile untouched.

• It does not replace the device screen lock. SafeSearch locks inside the supervised account; the parent still has the responsibility to keep the device itself screen locked when the child is not in front of it.

• It does not propagate to another device. The limits live on the supervised account. A second device signed in with the same account sees the same limits; a second device signed in with a different account does not.

• It does not extend to non-Play billing. Purchase approvals cover Google Play billing only [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval]. A gift card redeemed on a third-party store, a web checkout, or carrier billing is outside the documented scope.

• It does not give the parent a live view of the child screen. Google documents Family Link as a setting surface, not a remote-viewing tool [source: google-family-link-supervision].

The next article, What Family Link cannot do, covers the full set of gaps. The rest of this article is the configuration that has to land alongside the lock for the lock to mean anything.

What each setting covers — and what it does not

The list below names what each parent-side toggle buys. It also names what each toggle does not buy.

• The supervision state. This is the gate that turns all other limits on. It is set on the parent side, not on the child device. Removing supervision is a separate decision that, by Google’s documentation, requires parent permission until the child is 18 [source: google-supervision-13].

• Daily limit. This is the daily device cap. It does not set per-app limits; it does not block apps; it does not configure schedules.

• Schedule. Downtime and School time are the two schedule tabs documented on Android 7 and later [source: google-family-link-schedules]. The schedule does not modify the per-app limits or the Play content ceiling.

• App limits. Per-app time limits on Android 7 and later. System apps are excluded by Google’s documentation [source: google-family-link-screen-time]. App limits do not block apps; an app outside the limit can still be opened unless the parent has blocked it.

• Play content. Highest maturity rating for Play downloads. Google documents that this does not block restricted material from showing up in search results or through a direct link [source: google-family-link-play-content]. Apps downloaded before the restriction was set may remain visible.

• Purchase approval. Approval gate for Play billing only [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval]. Gift cards, web checkout, and OEM store purchases are not part of the documented scope.

• Location. Device location on Android or compatible Fitbit, with family places and arrival/leave alerts [source: google-family-link-location]. This is not a remote screen view and not a remote microphone.

• SafeSearch. On and locked for a supervised account [source: google-safesearch]. SafeSearch is a search filter; it does not govern in-app search, in-browser search, or non-Google search.

• YouTube content setting. A parent-set content level for supervised YouTube, with watch and search history, and autoplay controls [source: youtube-supervised]. The setting lives inside the supervised YouTube product; it does not govern non-YouTube video.

What none of this covers: cellular carrier controls, DNS- level filtering, school-managed devices, and any payment route outside Google Play [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

The U.S. FTC treats parental controls as one layer of protection, not a complete solution [source: consumer-ftc-parental-controls]. Layered defense remains the recommended approach.

When the configuration does not stick

Limits that vanish overnight have a small number of known causes. Each one is on a separate page in our trick database.

• The supervision was removed. Family Link settings apply only while the child account is supervised. A parent who removed supervision to test something and forgot to re-enable it sees the limits as missing [source: google-family-link-supervision].

• The parent is on a second account. Family Link controls are bound to the organising parent account, not to the device. A second parent who opens the child drawer on their own device must sign in with the organising parent account to see the same limits.

• The child is on a second device profile. The account-level limits do not apply to other profiles on the same device [source: google-multiuser]. The parent needs to disable Add/Remove user for the child profile, or set a separate screen lock on the other profile.

• The child upgraded the account on a birthday. When the child reaches the country minimum age, Family Link supervision becomes opt-in [source: google-supervision-13]. The lock survives only if the child decides to keep it.

• The parent changed the limit on the device side. Settings made on the parent device do not always round-trip cleanly back to the child device. A configuration that was set on the child side rather than the parent side is not protected by the parent-side passcode.

If the configuration keeps reverting despite the lock, that is a Google-side issue rather than a configuration gap. The U.S. FTC recommends periodic review of any parental control configuration [source: consumer-ftc-parental-controls].

Talking about it

A Family Link setup that the child does not understand is a setup that will be reset at the next opportunity.

Three small habits make the configuration land without becoming a control story:

• Tell the child what changes, and what does not. Family Link limits screen time, app use, and some content; it does not read messages, see photos, or listen to calls. Google documents the controls as settings, not as monitoring [source: google-family-link-supervision].

• Agree the exception route before the limit is set. A child who knows how to ask for a five-minute extension on a homework app does not have to bypass the limit to ask. Family Link surfaces a parent-side approval flow for bonus time; the exact wording is verified on the device, not on the help page.

• Use the birthday as a configuration moment, not a surprise. On the child country age, Family Link supervision becomes opt-in [source: google-supervision-13]. The default after that age is the new state, not the old one. Plan the decision with the child rather than around them.

The control protects the configuration. The conversation protects the relationship. Both are needed.

Sources

• google-family-link-getting-started — Google Families Help, “Get started with Family Link”. The primary source for the parent-side setup flow [source: google-family-link-getting-started].

• google-family-link-supervision — Google Families Help, “Set up supervision to continue using your Google Account”. The supervision-state gate and the parent/child notification rules [source: google-family-link-supervision].

• google-family-link-screen-time — Google Families Help, “Manage your child’s screen time”. The daily limit, manual lock, and app-limits documentation [source: google-family-link-screen-time].

• google-family-link-play-content — Google Families Help, “Set up content restrictions on Google Play”. The maturity-rating ceiling and its documented limitations [source: google-family-link-play-content].

• google-family-link-purchase-approval — Google Families Help, “Purchase approvals on Google Play”. The Play-billing-only scope [source: google-family-link-purchase-approval].

• google-supervision-13 — Google Families Help, “How Google Accounts work when children turn 13”. The supervision-continuation rule [source: google-supervision-13].

• google-supervision-setup — Google Families Help, “Set up supervision to continue using your Google Account”. The continuation-of-supervision flow [source: google-supervision-setup].

• google-safesearch — Google Search Help, “Make Google Search safer with SafeSearch”. The supervised-account SafeSearch toggle [source: google-safesearch].

• google-android-device-controls — Android Help, “Set up parental controls on an Android device”. The on-device local controls available on Android 17 and later [source: google-android-device-controls].

• youtube-supervised — YouTube Help, “Supervised experience on YouTube”. The content setting, history, and autoplay controls on the supervised YouTube product [source: youtube-supervised].

• google-multiuser — Google Kids Space Help, “Add users to a device”. The profile boundary and the parent-side recommendation to screen-lock other profiles [source: google-multiuser].

• consumer-ftc-parental-controls — U.S. FTC, parental controls advice. The periodic-re-review recommendation and the layered-defense framing [source: consumer-ftc-parental-controls].