Google Family Link

Editor's Review

Google Family Link is a comprehensive parental control app designed to help you keep your family safer online. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 We understand that every family has a unique relationship with technology, so we've created tools that offer flexibility and help you establish healthy digital habits. 📱

With Family Link, you can easily monitor your child's device usage, track their location, manage privacy settings, and much more. 🛡️ This user-friendly app empowers you to set digital ground rules and stay connected with your family wherever they go. 📍

Establish Digital Ground Rules

• Screen Time Limits: Set downtime for your child's device and create time limits for specific apps, helping them achieve a healthy balance. ⏳

• Age-Appropriate Content: Approve or block apps your child wants to download. Family Link also lets you choose the right YouTube experience, such as a supervised experience on YouTube or YouTube Kids. 🎬

Manage and Secure Your Child’s Account

• Privacy Protection: Manage permissions for websites and extensions accessed through Chrome, as well as apps downloaded on your child’s device. 🌐

• Account Security: Access and manage your child's account and data settings. As a parent, you can change or reset their password if they forget it, edit personal information, or even delete the account if necessary. 🔑

Stay Connected on the Go

• Location Tracking: Locate your children on one map when they’re on the go, provided they have their device with them. 🗺️

• Notifications and Alerts: Receive critical notifications, such as when your child arrives at or leaves a certain location. You can also ring their device and check the remaining battery life. 🔔

Important Information

• Family Link’s tools vary depending on your child’s device. See a list of compatible devices. 📱

• While Family Link helps manage purchases and downloads from Google Play, approval isn't needed for app updates, previously approved apps, or those shared in Family Library. Purchase approvals apply only to purchases made through Google Play’s billing system. Regularly review your child’s installed apps and permissions. ⚠️

• Carefully review apps on your child’s device and disable those you don’t want them to use. Some pre-installed apps may not be disabled. 🚫

• To see the location of your child or teen’s device, it must be powered on, recently active, and connected to the internet. 📡

• Family Link parental controls are available for supervised Google accounts, giving children access to Google products with parental supervision. ✅

• Family Link provides tools to manage your child’s online experience but does not make the internet entirely safe. It helps you make informed decisions about your child’s device usage and online safety. 🛡️

Features

• Set screen time limits for healthy balance ⏳

• Guide to age-appropriate content on YouTube Kids 🎬

• Manage permissions for websites and extensions 🌐

• Secure child's account with password reset 🔑

• Locate children on one map in real-time 🗺️

• Get notifications when child arrives/leaves location 🔔

• Ring device to find it quickly 📱

• View device's remaining battery life 🔋

Pros

• Establish healthy digital habits for your family 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦

• Manage and secure your child’s online account with ease 🛡️

• Stay connected with your family on the go 📍

Cons

• Tools vary depending on your child’s device 📱

• Doesn’t make the internet entirely safe ⚠️