Google’s Family Link, a service first introduced in March to help you control your family’s Android device usage, is out of its invitation-only phase and now open to all in the US. If you have a device ready for your kid to use, this might be something to consider looking into, especially if you want some extra controls over the amount of use your kid gets with it and the types of content being consumed.
To recap, Family Link lets you first create a Google account for your kid. You then get control over that account, so you can control which apps are being installed, see how much time your kids are spending on their devices, set screen time limits, and even remotely lock them for bedtime.
Family Link is free to use.
To get started, head over to the Family Link site. You can download the Family Link app here.
I would love to be able to manage the configuration of the phone to minimize data use and maximize wifi.
Google does not even allow using Youtube for kids.. which is a shame and a deal breaker for me. I understand there is content in youtube not suitable for kids.. but my kid just like a whole bunch of other kids.. watch youtube for a lot of other stuff that are kid friendly and not present in youtube for kids app.
Has Google finally fixed it so you can assign an existing account to your kids?
_GASP_ do you think people would fake birth years for kids’ accounts??? π
I too would need this and second is this still only Nougat devices? Cause their S5s ain’t gettin’ no Nougats anytime soon.
Update: Just as useless as ever!
I was hoping to migrate my boys accounts into this program too. Is there no way to add an existing account? Surely they thought of this issue.
I would love to enable it on my 11 year old daughter’s phone (whom I told Google is 13), but I don’t want to create her a new account or wipe her current phone to start using it. So, now I just check her Google account history every once in a while and limit her time manually (she is usually pretty good about following the rules). But, it would be nice if I could just flip a switch and enable this without disrupting everything.