Setting up Google Family Link on an Android phone or Chromebook

What you need

Family Link is Google's free tool for supervising a child's Google Account and Android device. Before you start:

• You and your child each need your own Google Account. Family Link can create one for a child under 13 (or the age set in your country), or add supervision to an account they already have.
• Your child needs to live in the same country as you, and their device needs to be with you during setup.
• Google says setup may take about 10 minutes.

Family Link has been available in Canada since 2018, but features can vary by country and region. If the app says something isn't supported where you live, Google's Family Link help pages list what's available.

Setting it up, step by step

On your child's Android phone or tablet:

1. Open Settings, then tap Google, then Parental controls.
2. Tap Get started, then choose Child or teen.
3. Pick your child's existing account, or create a new one.
4. Sign in with your own Google Account when asked and follow the prompts. Your child is asked to agree during setup.

On a Chromebook, your child opens Settings and selects Set up next to Parental controls.

Then install the Family Link app on your own phone (Android or iPhone). That's where you'll manage everything afterward. Menus can move between versions of Android, so follow Google's on-screen wording if it differs from this.

What you can manage

From the Family Link app on your phone, you can:

• Apps: approve or block apps from Google Play, and change app permissions. A blocked app is blocked across your child's Android devices and Chromebooks.
• Daily limits: set a total screen time limit for the day.
• Downtime and school time: schedule times when the device is locked or limited, such as bedtime or class hours.
• App time limits: cap a single app, or give unlimited time to apps like homework tools.
• Websites: set website restrictions in Google Chrome.
• Location: see where your child's Android device is, once that feature is set up.

What Family Link can't do

Family Link has real gaps, and it helps to know them upfront.

• iPhones, iPads and non-Chromebook computers can't be supervised. If your child is signed in on an iPhone or in a web browser, supervision is only partial: screen time limits, device location, app blocking and Chrome website restrictions don't apply there.
• School accounts are separate. Google Workspace for Education accounts can't be supervised through Family Link. Your child can add one next to their personal supervised account.
• It doesn't show you messages or conversations. It manages apps, time and access.
• Filters and app ratings miss things. A blocked site can show up on a friend's phone.

Think of Family Link as structure, not surveillance. It sets the edges. Conversations do the rest.

When your child turns 13

When a child reaches 13 (or the age set in your country), Google emails both the child and the supervising parent to say the child can now manage their own account.

Google's current Family Link FAQ says teens over that age and under 18 need a parent's approval to stop supervision, and that a parent can stop it at any time. Google's rules on this have changed before, and older guides may describe a previous version, so check Google's FAQ if you're unsure.

Thirteen is a good moment to sit down together and decide what stays, what loosens and what your teen manages on their own.

Talk about it together

MediaSmarts' guide puts it plainly: tools help most when they sit inside an ongoing conversation, and fear-based approaches tend to make kids less safe, not more.

Set up Family Link with your child, explain each setting, and agree on how they can ask for more time or a new app. Make sure they know they can come to you if something online worries them, without losing the device. Plan to loosen settings step by step as they show they're ready.