If your child already has their own Google Account, you can add supervision and manage their parental controls with Family Link.
If your child under 13 (or the applicable age in your country) doesn't have a Google Account yet, you can create one for them and manage it with Family Link.
If you add parental supervision to your child's existing Google Account and your child is above the applicable age in your country, you or your child can stop supervision at any time. If your child stops supervision, you'll be notified and your child's supervised devices will be locked temporarily.
Important: Stopping supervision may work differently for children under 18 who live in Japan and are using a Pixel phone.
Requirements
To add supervision to your child's existing Google Account, you need to:
- Have a Google Account yourself. If you don't have one you can create a Google Account for free.
- Be 18 or older (or the appropriate age in your country).
- Recommended: Have an Android device (5+), iPhone or iPad (iOS 9+), or Chromebook (M69+) to download the Family Link app on.
To let a parent supervise their existing Google Account, a child needs to:
- Agree to parental supervision.
- Live in the same country as their parent.
Add supervision
What to know before you start
Your child and their device must be nearby when you’re adding supervision to their account.
Important: If you need to provide consent for your child's continued use of their Google Account, the steps are different.
Start supervision on your child's device
Set up supervision from your child's Android device
- On your child's device, open Settings
.
- Click Google
Parental controls.
- Click Get started.
- Select Child or teen.
- Click Next.
- Select your child's account or create a new one for them.
- Click Next
Sign in with your (parent) account.
- Follow the steps to setup supervision on child account. Your child will need to give their consent during the setup process.
Set up supervision on your child's Chromebook
- On your child's Chromebook, open Settings
.
- Next to People
Parental Controls
, click Set up.
- Follow the steps to setup supervision on the child's account. Your child will need to give their consent during the setup process.
Set up supervision from web or a non-Android device
If your child doesn't have an Android device, follow these instructions to set up supervision. Make sure to use your child's email and password.
Manage supervision and filter settings
You can manage parental control settings for your child's supervised devices with the Family Link app on your own (i.e., the parent's) device.
Install Family Link for parents
Parents can install Family Link for parents app on their devices to change parental control settings and remotely manage their child's supervised devices. To do so, you can download the app from the Google Play Store (for parents on Android or Chromebook) or the App Store (for parents on iPhones or iPads).
Manage your child's account, devices, apps & more
Once you've added supervision to your child's Google Account, learn more about what you can manage.
Stop supervision
You can't stop supervision until your child reaches the applicable age to manage their own Google Account.
- On your parent device, open Family Link
.
- Select the child who will no longer be supervised.
- Tap Manage Settings
Account Info
Stop supervision.
- Confirm you want to remove supervision.
- Tap Stop Supervision and follow the on-screen instructions.
- On your child's device, open Settings
.
- On Android versions 8.1 (O) and later, tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
- On other Android versions, tap Google
Parental controls.
- At the top right, tap More
Stop supervision.
- To verify you are a parent, sign in or use your Parent Access Code.
- To turn off supervision, follow the on-screen instructions.
What parents can see and do with added supervision
Important: If you provided consent for your child's continued use of their Google Account, some supervision and account features work differently.
If you add parental supervision to your child's existing Google Account, you can use Family Link to manage things like:
Account settings & control- Update some of your child's account settings
- Help your child sign in to other devices with their Google Account
- Manage settings like Web and App Activity and Location History that control how Google collects and processes your child's data
- Control whether your child can give third-party apps and sites access to their account
- Approve app requests from Google Play
- Block apps you don't want your child to use
- See which apps your child uses, and for how long
- Set daily screen time limits
- Remotely lock devices when it's time to study or sleep
Google services & your child's Google Account
If your child has a Google Account, they can use a variety of Google services. Keep in mind that these services generally aren't designed for children.
What parents can't see & do
If you and your child choose to add supervision to their existing Google Account, you won't be able to use Family Link to:
- Remotely see your child's screen
- See your child's past searches
- See your child's Chrome browsing history
- See or reset your child's account password
- Read your child's emails or messages
- Listen to your child's calls
- Delete your child's account
- Choose a new screen lock password on your child's device
- Erase the data on your child's device
- Block your child from stopping supervision
- Link your child's account to Google Home
- Tip: Regular accounts can connect to Google Home using the Google Home app on their own device.
Important: Your child will not be able to stop supervision until they reach the applicable age to manage their own Google Account.