Add & manage supervision on a current Google Account

If your child or teen already has their own Google Account, you can add supervision and manage their parental controls with the Family Link app.

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 the Family Link app.

If you add supervision to your child’s Google Account, you can choose to stop supervision at any time. A child under the age of 18 will need a parent’s approval to stop supervision. You’ll both get notified when supervision is stopped.

Requirements

Important: The Family Link app works best on these devices and versions:

Android devices with Android version 5+
iPhones or iPads with iOS version 13+
Chromebooks with version M69+

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 at no charge.
Be 18 or older or the appropriate age in your country.

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

Important:

If your child uses a Pixel Tablet and is below 9 years old, you can create a Google account for them without an email address and password.
Your child will need to give you their consent when you set up supervision on their account.

On your child's device, open Settings 👁 Settings
.
Tap Google 👁 and then
All services.
Under "Kids & Family," tap Parental controls.
On the lower right, tap Let's do this.
To choose the account you want to supervise, tap the account name.

On your child's Chromebook, open Settings 👁 Settings
.
Under "Accounts," next to "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.

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 & filter settings

You can manage parental control settings for your child's supervised devices with the Family Link app 👁 Family Link
on your own (i.e., the parent's) device.

Install Family Link for parents

Parents can install Family Link for parents app 👁 Family Link
on their devices to change parental control settings and remotely manage their child's supervised devices. 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.

Switch between family members

👁 Child switching

Open the Family Link app 👁 Family Link
.
To switch between family members, swipe the top left corner.

Stop supervision

You can stop supervision once your child reaches 13 (or the applicable age in your country).

Important: If you get an error, your child may need to update their Google Account. Learn how to update your Google Account.

To go to the child's account settings that you last visited in the Family Link app, tap the button below:

Stop Family Link supervision

To stop supervision with a parent's device:

Open the Family Link app 👁 Family Link
.
At the top left, select your child’s profile.
Tap Controls 👁 and then
Account Settings 👁 and then
About supervision.
Follow the on-screen instructions.
Tap Stop supervision.

A child under the age of 18 will need a parent’s approval to stop supervision.

On an Android device:

Important: To stop supervision on your child’s Android device, it must have Android 7.0 or higher.

On your child's device, open Settings 👁 Image
.
- On Android versions 8.1 (O) and later, tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
- On other Android versions:
  1. Tap Google 👁 and then
    All services.
  2. Under “Kids & family,” tap Parental controls.
At the top right, tap More 👁 Image
👁 and then
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.

From the Web or on a Non-Android Device:

Go to Supervision Opt Out.
At the bottom, select Stop supervision.
Follow the on-screen instructions.

What parents can check & do with added supervision

Important: We’re currently updating settings for Google Search services, which include Search, Maps, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, Translate, and News. These are rolling out gradually over the next few months. If the settings in this article do not match what you see, history and personalized recommendations for Search services are still controlled by Web & App Activity.

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 current Google Account, you can use Family Link to manage things like:

Update some of your child's account settings
Help your child sign in to other devices with their Google Account
Manage settings that control how Google collects and processes your data, like settings for Search or Location History
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

Learn which devices can be supervised.

See where your child is with their Android devices

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

Learn which devices can be supervised.

Tip: Purchase approval settings apply only to purchases made through Google Play's billing system.

Tip: Only applies if you’ve supervised experiences for teens on YouTube set up.

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 check or do

Important: Your child won't be able to stop supervision until they reach the applicable age to manage their own Google Account. Find out when children can manage their Google Accounts.

If you and your child choose to add supervision to their current Google Account, you won't be able to use Family Link to:

Remotely check your child's screen
Find your child's past searches
Check your child's Chrome browsing history
Check your child’s YouTube watch history
Check or reset your child's account password
Read your child's emails or messages
Listen to your child's calls
Choose a new screen lock password 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 with the Google Home app on their own device.

URL: https://support.google.com/families/answer/9055704