How To Do Parental Control On Google

To set up parental control on Google, use Family Link, SafeSearch, and content filters on each device your child uses.

Why Google Parental Control Matters

Kids use Google products for school, entertainment, and chatting with friends. Without any limits, they can bump into adult search results, apps that do not fit their age, or videos that feel confusing or scary. Parental control on Google gives you tools to steer what they see and when they use their screens, while still letting them learn and stay in touch.

Google does not give one magic switch that protects every device. Instead, it offers a set of tools that work together. When you set them up in a thoughtful way, you can shape search results, apps, YouTube, and browsing across phones, tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks under the same family.

Google Tools For Parental Control At A Glance

Before you start tapping settings, it helps to know which Google tool controls what. This quick table shows the main options you will use most of the time.

Tool	What It Controls	Where You Use It
Family Link	Screen time, app installs, app limits, basic web filters for a child’s Google Account.	Parent’s phone, tablet, or web browser.
SafeSearch	Filters explicit search results across Google Search.	Search settings in browser or Google app.
YouTube Kids / Supervised YouTube	Video content level, features, and watch time controls.	YouTube Kids app or supervised YouTube profile.
Google Play Controls	Age ratings for apps, films, and games, plus purchase approval.	Google Play Store settings or Family Link.

Google describes these tools on its Safety Center parental controls page, which is a handy place to revisit when Google adds new options.

Parental Control On Google For Your Child’s Devices

The strongest way to do parental control on Google is to supervise a child’s Google Account with Family Link. Once supervision is in place, you can adjust screen time, approve or block apps, and add web filters that follow your child from device to device.

You can use Family Link with a new Google Account that you create for a younger child or with an existing account that your teen already uses. The exact menu names may move slightly between Android versions, but the basic flow is the same.

Create Or Supervise A Child’s Google Account

You will need your own Google Account, a compatible Android phone or tablet, and your child’s device. Set aside a few minutes when you both can sit together and walk through the setup.

Install Family Link — On your phone, install the Google Family Link app from the Play Store or App Store and sign in with your Google Account.
Add your child — In Family Link, choose the option to create a new account for your child or to add supervision to an existing account they use.
Pick the right age range — When Google asks for your child’s age, enter it truthfully, as this controls which features and limits are available.
Link your child’s device — On your child’s phone, tablet, or Chromebook, sign in with the supervised account and follow the on screen steps to finish supervision.
Check both devices — Confirm that your phone shows your child under Family Link and that their device shows that a parent manages the account.

Set Core Limits With Family Link

Once supervision is active, you can start tuning the controls that matter most for your home. A short pass through these basics gives your child a safer Google setup from day one.

Set daily screen time — Open Family Link, pick your child, tap the screen time section, and choose how many hours they can use the device on school days and days off.
Schedule bedtimes — Use the same screen time panel to set device off hours at night so the phone or tablet locks when kids should sleep.
Require app approval — Turn on the setting that makes your child send a request when they want to install a new app or make an in app purchase.
Limit specific apps — For apps that keep your child glued to the screen, add per app time limits or block them entirely when needed.
Review activity — From time to time, open the activity report to see which apps your child uses most and adjust limits if something starts to look out of balance.

Google explains these features step by step in its Get started with Family Link help page, which also notes that tools and options can vary by country and device type.

Make Google Search Safer With SafeSearch

Search results are often the first place where unwanted content appears. SafeSearch filters explicit links, images, and videos from Google Search results and is on by default for many signed in users under 18. When you lock it, kids cannot switch it off without your help.

Turn On And Lock SafeSearch

SafeSearch can be changed per browser and per device, so it is worth setting it on every phone, tablet, and laptop your child uses. The steps are simple once you know where to tap.

Open the SafeSearch settings page — On any device, visit the SafeSearch settings page in a browser while signed in to your child’s Google Account.
Choose a filter level — Pick Filter to block explicit content, Blur to soften explicit images, or Off if you are setting up a teen account and plan to rely mainly on other controls.
Lock the setting — If you see a lock icon, turn it on so only you can change the SafeSearch mode later.
Repeat on each profile — Repeat the same steps on other browsers or user profiles on shared computers.

SafeSearch helps a lot, but no filter catches everything. Younger kids still benefit from kid friendly search portals and close guidance while they are learning how to search.

Combine SafeSearch With Chrome Filters

When your child uses Chrome with a supervised Google Account, you can add another layer of control to restrict which sites they can visit. These Chrome settings work alongside SafeSearch and extend to other search engines loaded in the browser.

Open Chrome and Web controls — In Family Link, choose your child, then open the Google Chrome and Web section of the controls.
Pick a browsing mode — Choose between allowing all sites, blocking explicit sites, or only allowing a small list of sites you approve.
Manage allowed and blocked sites — Use the manage sites option to add websites to an approved list or blocked list. This is handy for school portals or games you want to allow even when other sites stay filtered.
Switch off site permissions — In the advanced settings, you can prevent your child from granting permissions like location or camera access to sites by mistake.

These filters are not perfect and may sometimes miss things or block harmless pages, so it helps to glance at the allowed and blocked lists every so often and adjust them.

Control YouTube And Google Play Content

YouTube and Google Play are two of the busiest places your child will spend time inside the Google world. Tightening the level of content and adding approval steps keeps the mix of videos, apps, and games closer to what fits their age.

Choose The Right YouTube Experience

You have two main options when you want parental control on Google video: the YouTube Kids app for younger children and a supervised experience on regular YouTube for older kids and teens.

Use YouTube Kids for young viewers — Install YouTube Kids, sign in with your account, create a profile for each child, and pick an age band so the app can filter what it shows.
Set up a supervised experience — For older kids, link their Google Account to a supervised YouTube profile through Family Link or the family center page, then choose a content setting such as Explore, Explore more, or Most of YouTube.
Review watch history together — From time to time, open the watch history with your child so you both can see which channels look healthy and which ones should be blocked.
Use new watch time tools — Take advantage of watch time limits and break reminders for Shorts and regular videos so long scrolling sessions do not eat the entire evening.

Shape What Kids Can Get From Google Play

Parental control on Google Play sits at the border between content and money. You can restrict downloads that sit above a certain age rating, block explicit films and music, and force your child to ask before spending money on apps or in app items.

Open Google Play controls — On your child’s device, open Google Play, tap the profile icon, open settings, and look for Family or Parental controls, or manage the same options from Family Link on your phone.
Set content limits — Pick the maximum age rating that fits your child for apps, games, films, and books. The store will then hide or block anything above that level.
Require approval for purchases — Turn on the option that makes your child send a request for every purchase or at least for paid items and in app add ons.
Block specific apps and games — If a title slips through and still feels wrong for your family, block it in Family Link so it no longer opens on your child’s devices.

Parental Control On Google In Chrome And Chromebooks

Many schools hand out Chromebooks, and plenty of kids share family laptops that run Chrome. The good news is that you can bring the same supervised account setup from Family Link onto these devices and keep controls in one place.

Use A Supervised Profile In Chrome

On a shared laptop, it helps to give your child their own Chrome profile tied to their supervised Google Account. That way, bookmarks, history, and browsing limits follow them, and they do not mix with your own tabs and passwords.

Create a supervised profile — Sign your child into Chrome with their supervised Google Account instead of letting them use a generic guest profile.
Sync settings through Family Link — In Family Link, open the Chrome and Web settings again to confirm that the same browsing mode and site lists apply on the laptop.
Limit Chrome extensions — Use the extensions control in Family Link to block your child from installing extra toolbars or add ons that could weaken your limits.

Lock Down A Chromebook

On a Chromebook, parental control on Google feels even tighter, because the entire device is tied to the supervised Google Account. Kids sign in, and the Chromebook loads their apps, extensions, and web filters from the cloud.

Add your child to the Chromebook — On the sign in screen, choose add person, enter your child’s supervised account, and follow the steps to link it to Family Link.
Check Chrome and Web settings — From your phone, open Chrome and Web controls for that child and pick the right browsing mode and permissions for school and home use.
Review app and extension list — Look over the apps and extensions installed on the Chromebook, remove anything that looks out of place, and block new installs that do not fit your rules.

Habits That Keep Google Parental Controls Working

Technical settings are only part of parental control on Google. Kids grow fast, their tastes shift, and new apps and sites appear every year. A few steady habits on your side keep your Google setup useful as your child changes.

Talk openly about rules — Sit down with your child and explain which controls you turned on, why they matter, and what they can do if something online makes them feel uneasy.
Revisit settings regularly — Mark a date every few months to walk through Family Link, SafeSearch, YouTube, and Play settings so they still match your child’s age and school needs.
Watch for workarounds — Keep an eye on guest profiles, borrowed devices, or new apps that try to slip past your limits, and adjust your setup if you notice a pattern.
Model healthy screen habits — Kids often copy what adults do, so simple steps like parking phones during meals and at night send a strong signal.
Stay current with new tools — From time to time, read update notes from Google on Family Link and YouTube so you can use new controls as they roll out.

When you mix these everyday habits with the tools in Family Link, SafeSearch, Chrome, YouTube, and Google Play, parental control on Google stops feeling like a one time chore and turns into a normal part of how your family uses technology.