Every kid wants their own smartphone or tablet, and they're at present getting their first devices at increasingly younger ages. If this makes you nervous as a parent, don't worry. There are plenty of settings and tools that can ensure your child uses their phone safely. They also give y'all control even when y'all aren't able to supervise them directly.

Let'south take a look at some of the best ways to set upward your kid's Android telephone or tablet.

Children need to be of a sure age before they can have a Google account. In nigh countries, this age is at least 13 years old. They must be 14 or over in Kingdom of spain and Due south Korea, or 16 and over in the netherlands.

Parents oftentimes avoid this problem by creating an account for their children using a fake age. This works, merely breaches Google's terms and conditions and can potentially pb to the visitor suspending or closing the account.

To address this trouble, Google offers a service chosen Family Link, which is the equivalent to an Android kid's style. It'due south i of the about effective surveillance tools to monitor your children.

android kids mode - family link

Parents can utilize it to remotely control what apps their kids utilise, what they can search for online, how many hours a twenty-four hours they tin can employ their devices, and to lock the phone at dark.

To go started, download the Family Link app for parents from the Play Store. Walk through the kickoff few screens, then create a Google business relationship for your child when prompted. You'll need to verify your payment method during this process. A $0.thirty charge will be made to your credit card, which cancels as soon equally it's confirmed.

At present log into the account on your child'south telephone and install the Family Link app for children on it. Follow the onscreen instructions to consummate the setup.

Once you lot're washed, you can employ Family unit Link to:

  • Corroborate app downloads, meaning yous'll exist prompted to allow or deny every app your kid wants to install.
  • Limit screen fourth dimension by setting a daily usage allowance in xxx infinitesimal increments.
  • Ready a bedtime, later on which the phone will not piece of work.
  • Monitor your child'southward app activity with weekly reports, and temporarily disable apps they're using too much.
  • Set up child-friendly filters to limit what apps, games, and movies they can download, and also utilise rubber searches in Chrome.
  • Track your child's phone to keep an eye on where they are.

Family Link only works for under-13s (or whatever the legal age is in your country). When your child turns 13, they'll be able to take control of their own account, so yous might demand to start using some of the other options below.

For more than assist, check out how to protect your kid's Android phone with Google Family Link.

2. Play Store Parental Controls

If your children are 13 or over---or take accounts that say they are---or y'all don't desire to use Family Link, then you'll need to utilise the born parental controls in the Play Shop.

This lets you limit what apps, games, movies, and Tv set shows your kid can download, based on an age rating. Y'all tin too restrict books and magazines through a condom search filter (which may not be 100 pct foolproof), and music labelled Explicit is also off-limits.

To set up parental controls, open the Play Store app and go to Settings > Parental Controls, then toggle the switch to On. Yous'll now be prompted to gear up a new four-digit Pin.

Side by side, get through each blazon of content and set an age limit, or actuate the explicit filter, and hit Save when you lot're washed. Your child won't be able to purchase or play anything that falls outside these settings.

Note that you apply parental controls to individual phones and tablets, rather than the business relationship. If your children have more than i device, y'all'll need to set up them up on each one.

3. Parental Controls in Chrome

To protect your kid from some of the nasty corners of the web, yous tin can utilise the safe search filter to their web browsing. This works mostly in Chrome, since they're logged into that browser. If your kid uses a third-party browser, then this setting won't necessarily apply.

Pair this with the restrictions on app downloads above to help prevent your child from using a different browser. To activate it, open the Google app. Get to More > Settings > General, and set the SafeSearch filter pick to Active.

chrome parental controls

Family Library is a service that lets all the users in your household maintain their own Google accounts while sharing paid Play Store apps and content with each other. You tin can too share a single payment method.

This ways that you don't have to buy the same apps or movies more than once. Thankfully, yous can do this selectively, assuasive you to keep some of your ain purchased content abroad from your kids. Using this also allows your children to use your credit menu to buy items through the Play Store, though you get to approve every purchase.

To become started:

  1. In the Play Store, get to Account > Family unit > Sign upwards at present.
  2. Choose the payment method y'all want to share with your family.
  3. When prompted to share your content, select either Add all or One by one.
  4. Finally, invite family members to your group past adding their Gmail addresses when prompted. They'll each demand to accept the invite.

By default, all family unit members under eighteen (co-ordinate to the age set up in their Google account) volition demand approval when they try to purchase anything. Y'all'll become a notification on your phone to permit or decline the purchase. This applies to in-app purchases as well.

5. Replace YouTube With YouTube Kids

Many kids live spend a ton of time on YouTube these days, but there's a lot of content in that location that you probably don't want them stumbling upon. To brand an Android tablet or phone child-friendly, you tin supplant the YouTube app with YouTube Kids, an official, family unit-friendly alternative with curated content.

Get-go, disable YouTube by going to Settings > Apps > YouTube and tapping Disable. This will hibernate the app's icon so that your kid volition not be able to access it.

Then install YouTube Kids in its identify. Through the settings for this app, y'all tin turn search on or off, identify limits on the amount of fourth dimension your kids can spend watching, and flag whatsoever inappropriate videos that have gotten through by accident.

youtube kids

If your kids are besides one-time for that, you can set the standard YouTube app to Restricted Way. This hides videos that other users flagged as containing adult or inappropriate content. YouTube filters some mature content algorithmically also.

youtube restricted mode -android parental controls

To activate this, open YouTube and tap the Business relationship icon in the tiptop-correct of the screen. Now become to Settings > General and toggle the Restricted Style switch.

Android's Child Style Options

Although at that place is no specific child mode on Android, a combination of the Family Link and Family Library services does help to brand devices safer for kids. It's as well worth checking if specific apps take options to reduce access to explicit content.

Proceed in mind that no parental control tool is perfect. Be prepared for your children bypassing parental controls in ways yous might not wait.

7 Ways Your Children Might Featherbed Parental Control Software

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Almost The Writer

Andy Betts (218 Articles Published)

Andy is a freelance writer and section editor for Android at MUO. He'due south been writing about consumer tech since the early on 2000s for a wide range of publications, and has a passion for all things mobile.

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