Google Family Link parental control app review

Our Verdict

Google Family unit Link works well on Android devices, fifty-fifty if its features are somewhat express compared to paid parental-controls apps.

For

Completely costless
Solid pattern
Excellent functioning

Against

Lacks support for iOS child device
Extremely limited web filtering
Limited features overall

Tom's Guide Verdict

Google Family unit Link works well on Android devices, even if its features are somewhat limited compared to paid parental-controls apps.

Pros

+
Completely free
+
Solid design
+
Excellent performance

Cons

-
Lacks support for iOS child device
-
Extremely express spider web filtering
-
Limited features overall

Google Family Link: Specs

Price: Free
Number of devices: Unlimited
Platforms: Android, iOS (parental app merely), Chrome OS (child only)
Web portal for parents: Yes
Call logging: None
Text logging: None
Call blocking: None
Text blocking: None
Geofencing: None
Location tracking: Yes
Location history: Yes
Spider web monitoring: Android only (Chrome)
Spider web filter: Android only (Chrome)
Time limits: Android only
Scheduling: Android merely
App direction: Android but
App blocker: Android just

Google introduced Family Link back in 2017 every bit a mode to let kids under 13 go Google accounts and Android devices of their own while allowing parents to run across how and how long their children were using those devices.

The service has since expanded to become i of the best parental-command apps for a broad age range, adding more than features to come shut to the functionality we see from its paid competitors. While Google Family Link lacks strong web filtering and many of the little extras you go from other apps, it does execute its cadre feature set quite well.

Google Family unit Link is free, ties in with the Android operating system and functions well. It's worth a look if you aren't terribly concerned with filtering content and would prefer to monitor the child's screen time, app usage and location. It might also work well in tandem with one of the paid parental-command apps, depending on your needs.

Read on for the residual of our Google Family Link review.

Google Family Link: Costs and what's covered

At that place is no cost for Google Family Link. The parent app, just called Google Family Link, is a complimentary download from Google Play or the iOS App Store. The child app, called Family Link Child and Teen, is also free only only available on Android. The Google Family unit Link parent app also monitors some action on a child'southward Chromebook, but we weren't able to test it on that platform.

With Google's history of killing products and services abruptly, it might seem a bit dicey to depend on Family Link, merely it would be like shooting fish in a barrel to switch to another parental-control option if that were to happen. Given Family Link's origins as a method for bringing in new users, Google does have reason to keep information technology around.

Full support for Google Family Link is available on all Android devices running Android seven.0 (Nougat) or above, and the parent app can run on iOS 12.0 or later.

Google Family unit Link: Installation

As noted, at that place are separate parent and child apps for Google Family Link, and the latter gets terrible reviews from kids who aren't thrilled with having their device time and activities managed.

Google Family Link parental control app review — (Image credit: Tom'south Guide)

You can offset with either the parent or child app; it doesn't particularly matter. Google Family unit Link uses the kid'south Google business relationship as their profile, and so you won't need to enter any data well-nigh them. You will need to keep both the parent and kid devices shut during installation as you have to enter a confirmation lawmaking on the child device every bit well as the child's Google password in order to grant y'all permission to supervise information technology.

Google makes the installation and permissions procedure incredibly quick and easy. The first actual decision you'll need to brand is reviewing your kid'southward installed apps and determining whether y'all would like to cake any. It sorts the apps by their historic period ratings, which is helpful.

That'south the end of the setup on the child'due south device. At present you need to return to the parent app on your own device. You tin finish turning on and customizing the settings for each of the sections by tapping "View" at the bottom of the habitation screen of the Family Link parent app.

Google Family Link: App management

The app management in Google Family unit Link is splendid. It allows you to sort the child'southward apps by fourth dimension spent, by proper name or by how recently each was installed. Past tapping on the hourglass adjacent to the app name, you lot can set a daily time limit for that app or block it entirely.

Y'all as well have command over the permissions that each app has on your child's device. This is non something I've seen from any other parental-control app, and I'm not sure that information technology would be possible without Google's level of access to the operating organization itself.

As you would look, all of this works flawlessly and immediately.

Google Family Link: Filtering

Much like the app OurPact, Google Family Link gives you but one web-filtering option: to "attempt to block mature sites." I'thou going to quote the app directly here: "No filter is perfect, but this should help hide sexually explicit and trigger-happy sites."

Plain, this is incredibly limited and fairly vague, simply the filter did block mature sites. Like Norton Family, Google Family Link gives the child the pick to request permission to view a site if the child feels information technology is being blocked inappropriately. There isn't any space for the child to add reasons why, so information technology will simply come through as an corroborate-or-deny request to you on the parent app.

Beyond the 1 category filter, you can set your child'south app to use Google's SafeSearch search-results filter. You can preemptively corroborate or deny sites on your own by adding them to lists in that section.

Google Family Link: Fourth dimension direction

Google Family Link does a solid job with its fourth dimension-direction features. It splits this into daily limits and bedtime, which isn't every bit flexible equally a total schedule as it will only embrace contiguous hours, but information technology's probably enough for many users.

Daily time limits can exist set in 15-minute increments going from no limit up to 8 hours or "locked all day." Helpfully, you tin can save a footling setup time past clicking "Besides apply to…" once you lot've set one twenty-four hour period's schedule. Y'all can employ that schedule to every day or to just the schoolhouse week (Monday-Thursday).

Bedtime lists the entire calendar week. You lot tin can cull to gear up no bedtime or pick any start and terminate time for bedtime for each day. You have the pick to apply your option to the entire school week or the entire calendar week if you don't have unlike limits for each solar day.

Google Family unit Link: Texting management

You lot tin cake texting apps or ready time limits on them, but there is no option to monitor your child'due south texts through Google Family Link. This isn't shocking because this characteristic is disappearing from virtually every parental command app. The but ane I reviewed that still supports text (and call) monitoring is Qustodio.

Google Family Link: Location tracking

Location tracking in Google Family link is effective only rudimentary. Information technology merely allows yous to run across a child'south current or last known location, and so gives yous the option to navigate to that location using Google Maps (or Apple Maps on iOS).

You can make up one's mind how accurate the location will be: High-accuracy, Battery saving or Device just. I'm surprised location history isn't hither as Google has that information, but Google Family Link seems focused on merely nailing the basics.

Controls on Google Play
You lot won't find this feature elsewhere, which makes the case for using Google Family Link aslope 1 of the other parental-control apps. It permit you set Google Play buy approvals for all content, or for all purchases using the payment method gear up for the family, for in-app purchases only or to non require purchase approval at all.

You can also set up Google Play content restrictions across v categories: Apps & games, Movies, TV, Books and Music. Each one uses the established rating system for that genre of content, but information technology gives you granular control over what your child can download.

YouTube Filters
This is the exact same filter beingness applied in the web filters above, merely at present for YouTube. At that place are already limits regarding what you can upload to YouTube, but this should give you a lilliputian more peace of mind regarding what your kid is consuming if you lot let them on the traditional app rather than YouTube Kids.

Device Details
Some other set of unique abilities you get with Google Family Link are the options to prevent your child from installing apps from unknown sources, from calculation or removing users from their devices and from turning on developer options.

These tin all be ways to circumvent parental controls, and then turning on these options is a good idea. This is also oddly the expanse in the app where y'all can trigger a sound on the kid's device, which seems similar it should exist in the location-tracking expanse.

Google Family Link review: Bottom line

Google Family Link offers a flake more functionality than I idea it would. Google has done a solid job with the features it does offer. Ultimately, with no support for an iOS child device and a still limited characteristic fix, I think it's best suited to parents of older children who want to put some limits on device fourth dimension and app access.

For a more than robust solution, you should look to Net Nanny, or if you are especially picky about app design, OurPact. Both offer broader feature sets and excellent iOS support.

A self-professed "wearer of wearables," Sean Riley is a Senior Author for Laptop Mag who has been covering tech for more than a decade. He specializes in covering phones and, of course, habiliment tech, but has too written about tablets, VR, laptops, and smart dwelling house devices, to name but a few. His articles have likewise appeared in Tom's Guide, TechTarget, Phandroid, and more.

Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/reviews/google-family-link

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