Google Family Link parental control app review

Our Verdict

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

For

Completely free
Solid design
Excellent operation

Against

Lacks support for iOS child device
Extremely limited World Wide Web filtering
Limited features overall

Tom's Guide Verdict

Google Household Link whole shebang well on Android devices, even if its features are somewhat limited compared to paid-up parental-controls apps.

Pros

+ Completely free
+ Homogenous conception
+ Excellent performance

Cons

- Lacks support for iOS child gimmick
- Super limited web filtering
- Limited features overall

Google Family Connect: Specs

Price: Free
Number of devices: Unlimited
Platforms: Android, iOS (parental app solely), Chrome Bone (child only)
Web portal for parents: Yes
Phone call logging: None
Text logging: None
Call block: No
Text blocking: No
Geofencing: None
Positioning tracking: Yes
Location history: Yes
Web monitoring: Android only (Chrome)
Web filter: Android only (Chrome)
Fourth dimension limits: Android only
Scheduling: Android only
App management: Android exclusively
App blocker: Android only

Google introduced Family Link back in 2017 as a way to allow kids low 13 get Google accounts and Mechanical man devices of their own spell allowing parents to control how and how long their children were using those devices.

The service has since expanded to become one of the unsurpassable parental-control apps for a all-encompassing age ramble, adding more features to come warm to the functionality we see from its paid competitors. Patc Google Family Link lacks strong web filtering and many of the little extras you get from strange apps, it does execute its kernel feature set quite well.

Google Mob Connection is footloose, ties in with the Android OS and functions well. It's worth a look if you aren't terribly attentive with filtering placid and would prefer to monitor the child's screen sentence, app usage and positioning. It might also work fountainhead in tandem with one of the paid paternal-control apps, depending on your needs.

Say on for the rest of our Google Crime syndicate Link review.

Google Syndicate Link: Costs and what's covered

In that location is no cost for Google Folk Link. The parent app, fair-minded titled Google Family Link, is a free download from Google Play or the iOS App Store. The small fry app, named Syndicate Link Child and Young, is also free but only available on Android. The Google Family Link parent app also monitors whatever activity happening a nipper's Chromebook, but we weren't able to test it on it platform.

With Google's story of killing products and services short, it power seem a little dicey to hinge upon Family Link, just it would equal hands-down to switch to another maternal-see option if that were to happen. Given Family Link's origins A a method for bringing in new users, Google does have reason to hold over it around.

Full patronize for Google Family Link is available on wholly Android devices running Android 7.0 (Nougat) or above, and the parent app can run on iOS 12.0 or later.

Google Family Liaison: Installation

As noted, there are offprint 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 citation: Tom's Guide)

You can start with either the parent or child app; it doesn't peculiarly matter. Google Syndicate Link uses the child's Google answer for as their profile, so you won't need to enter any data about them. You wish need to preserve both the parent and child devices close during installation as you have to enter a confirmation code on the child device too as the child's Google password in enjoin to concession you permission to supervise it.

Google makes the installation and permissions process incredibly quickly and unproblematic. The first actual decision you'll need to hit is reviewing your child's installed apps and determining whether you would like to block any. Information technology sorts the apps by their age ratings, which is helpful.

That's the end of the setup on the child's gimmick. Now you need to return to the parent app on your possess gimmick. You can finish turning on and customizing the settings for each of the sections aside tapping "View" at the stern of the home covert of the Family Link parent app.

Google Family Associate: App direction

The app direction in Google Kinfolk Link is excellent. It allows you to sorting the child's apps by time gone, by name or by how latterly each was installed. Away tapping on the hourglass succeeding to the app name, you can set a daily time limit for that app or block it entirely.

You also have control terminated the permissions that each app has on your child's device. This is non something I've seen from some otherwise parental-control app, and I'm non certain that it would be possible without Google's level of access to the operating system itself.

Eastern Samoa you would expect, all of this works cleanly and immediately.

Google Family Link: Filtering

More than like the app OurPact, Google Family Linkup gives you sole one web-filtering pick: to "try to close u mature sites." I'm going to quotation mark the app directly Here: "Nary filter is perfect, but this should assist hide sexually explicit and violent sites."

Obviously, this is incredibly limited and fairly vague, but the separate out did block mature sites. Care Norton Class, Google Family Link gives the child the option to request permission to view a site if the child feels IT is being plugged inappropriately. There isn't whatsoever space for the child to attention deficit disorder reasons why, so it leave rightful get done as an approve-or-deny request to you on the parent app.

Beyond the one family filter, you can set your child's app to use Google's SafeSearch search-results filter. You can preemptively approve or traverse sites on your own aside adding them to lists in this division.

Google House Link: Time management

Google Family Link does a solid job with its sentence-management features. Information technology splits this into daily limits and bedtime, which isn't as flexible as a full schedule as it will only cover contiguous hours, just it's probably enough for many another users.

Regular time limits can make up set in 15-minute increments exit from atomic number 102 limit awake to 8 hours or "locked all day." Helpfully, you can carry through a bit setup time aside clicking "Also employ to…" once you've set one day's schedule. You tooshie put on that schedule to every sidereal day or to just the school workweek (Monday-Thursday).

Bedtime lists the full hebdomad. You can choose to set nary bedtime operating room pick any embark on and end time for bedtime for every day. You have the option to apply your prime to the entire school week or the entire week if you don't hold different limits for each daytime.

Google Family Link: Texting management

You can occlusion texting apps or set aside time limits on them, but there is no option to supervise your child's texts through Google Family Link. This isn't shocking because this feature is disappearing from virtually every parental control app. The only one I reviewed that still supports textbook (and squall) monitoring is Qustodio.

Google Family Link: Location tracking

Location tracking in Google Family link is effective but uncomplete. It simply allows you to see a nipper's current or endure known location, past gives you the option to navigate to that location using Google Maps (or Malus pumila Maps on iOS).

You can determine how accurate the location will be: High-truth, Battery saving or Device only. I'm surprised location account isn't here as Google has that data, but Google Family Link seems focused on just nailing the basics.

Controls on Google Play
You North Korean won't discover this feature elsewhere, which makes the case for using Google Family Link alongside one of the other parental-restraint apps. Information technology let you set Google Play buy out approvals for altogether content, or for all purchases exploitation the payment method gear up for the family, for in-app purchases simply OR to not require purchase approval at all.

You can also set Google Play content restrictions crosswise v categories: Apps & games, Movies, TV, Books and Euphony. Each ane uses the strange valuation system for that genre of content, simply information technology gives you granular control over what your child canful download.

YouTube Filters
This is the exact unchanged filter being applied in the web filters supra, but instantly for YouTube. There are already limits regarding what you can upload to YouTube, but this should give you a trifle more peace of mind regarding what your child is consuming if you allow them on the traditional app rather than YouTube Kids.

Device Details
Another hardened of unique abilities you get with Google Family Link are the options to prevent your child from installing apps from unknown sources, from adding or removing users from their devices and from turning connected developer options.

These can all glucinium ways to circumvent parental controls, then turning on these options is a good idea. This is also strangely the area in the app where you can initiation a speech sound along the child's device, which seems ilk information technology should be in the location-tracking area.

Google Family Link review: Bottom line

Google Kinsfolk Link offers a trifle more functionality than I view it would. Google has done a solid job with the features it does offer. Ultimately, with no back for an iOS child device and a still constricted feature fructify, I think it's trump proper to parents of older children who want to put through some limits on device time and app access.

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

A self-professional "wearer of wearables," Sean Riley is a Senior Writer for Laptop Magazine who has been covering tech for more than a decade. He specializes in cover phones and, course, wear tech, but has besides longhand about tablets, VR, laptops, and smart home devices, to name but a few. His articles have besides appeared in Tom's Guide, TechTarget, Phandroid, and more.