Secure the parent account first
Use a unique password, multi-factor authentication and current recovery details. The parent account can change the controls.
BASTIONHOST / ANDROID FAMILY LINK GUIDE
ANDROID FAMILY LINK GUIDE
Use Family Link to support family rules—not replace them.
Google Family Link can supervise accounts and Android devices, manage apps and permissions, set screen-time boundaries and control parts of Search, Chrome, Play and YouTube. The most effective setup is one the child understands.
THE BASELINE
Configure the account, device and family expectations together.
Family Link is easier to maintain when the parent account is protected, each child has the correct supervised profile and the rules are agreed before limits begin appearing.
Create or supervise the child’s Google Account
Use Family Link to establish supervision, then sign the child into the Android device with the supervised account.
Set a weekly screen-time rhythm
Configure daily limits and appropriate downtime. Remember that Google states daily limits may apply separately to each supervised device.
Review apps before and after installation
Use approval and app limits, but also open the app together, inspect its purpose and revisit whether it still deserves access.
Make permissions parent-led
Review camera, microphone, location, contacts and storage access. Family Link can be set so only parents grant certain permissions.
Configure content services individually
Review controls for Chrome, Search, Google Play and YouTube. One Family Link switch does not create a complete safety boundary everywhere.
CONTROLS WITH CONTEXT
What each control can—and cannot—do.
Family Link is useful precisely because it combines several controls. It is still not a substitute for device updates, family conversation or checking what happens inside individual apps.
Limits & downtime
Help create predictable boundaries and reduce negotiation. They do not teach self-regulation by themselves.
Approval & permissions
Reduce unexamined installs and unnecessary access. They do not explain what a child does inside an allowed app.
Content restrictions
Narrow access across some Google services. They do not make every website, search result or video appropriate.
Device location
Can help find a supervised device when location sharing is enabled. Use it transparently and recognise that devices can be offline or inaccurate.
Remote lock & bonus time
Useful for maintaining agreed routines and handling exceptions without changing the underlying schedule.
Family conversation
The control that explains judgment, encourages reporting and continues working when the device settings do not.
A PARENT-TESTED RHYTHM
Review after change—not only after trouble.
- Review settings together after a new device
- Check permissions after installing a new app
- Confirm emergency calling remains understood
- Use bonus time for genuine exceptions
- Discuss why a request was approved or declined
- Revisit limits as routines and maturity change
- Avoid using location secretly
- Make mistakes safe to report
Official guidanceManage parental controls with Family Link ↗Manage a child’s screen time ↗Manage a child’s app permissions ↗Find and manage a child’s device location ↗
Last reviewed 10 August 2026. Controls, compatibility and menu names can change by device and software version. Check Google’s current instructions while applying this guide. This page is practical family guidance, not emergency safeguarding advice. Find UK help and reporting services.
PARENT-WRITTEN GUIDANCE
Start with a sensible baseline, then adapt it to family life.
Use the controls openly, explain why they exist and revisit them as routines, confidence and maturity change. If the guide misses a useful practical step, you can suggest an improvement.
Suggest an improvement →