How to Setup Parental Control in Android Phones?

Children have become more tech-savvy these days than never before. Even a pre-school kid can be able to open apps and play various games on an android device. While bringing up a digital generation is a good thing, your kids could be exposed to inappropriate content online. Additionally, your child could be purchasing apps and games, thus drastically increase your bill. Fortunately, you can control what your kids do or access on Android devices. This guide will show you how to set up parent control on Android phones to monitor and restrict their activities on the devices.

Related: How to setup parental control in iPhone?

Option 1: Set Up Parental Control in Google Play Store

You can control what content your kids can purchase or download from the Google Play Store using maturity levels.

• Launch the Play Store app and tap the menu icon (the 3-horizontal lines) at the top-left corner of the screen.
• Scroll down and open the Play Store “Settings”.

• Under the “User controls” section and tap “Parental controls” to enable/ disable and configure.

Related: How to setup parental control in Windows 10 PC?

• Tap the switch to turn on the option, enter a Pin in the dialogue that appears and press the “Ok” button.
• Confirm the Pin on the next dialogue and press “Ok” again.

Setting Restrictions for Content

• On the Parental Controls page, press “Apps & games” to set restrictions.

• Pick an option under “Allow Up To” based on the maturity level of the user you want to control. “Rated for 3+” is the most restrictive level.
• Tap the “Save” button to complete the setup.

Note: Setting up Parental Controls in the Google Play Store will only restrict your child from downloading or purchasing apps above the selected level. However, the kid can still access apps that you have already installed on your device.

Option 2: Setting Up Parental Controls with Google Family Link

Family Link is a mobile app that helps parents keep track of their kid’s digital trails and set usage rules for Android devices. The app enables you to monitor how your child uses apps on the device, lock the phone remotely and set screen time limit.

• Open “Google” settings from the device settings homepage and tap “Parental Controls”.

• If you have not installed the Family Link app, follow the screen instructions to download and install on your device.
• Open the app and tap the “Get started” link at the bottom of the screen.

• If you want to control from the current device, select “Parent” on the next page.

Related: How to setup parental control in Mac?

• You need to download and install the Family Link app on your child phone and enter the code given on the next page to connect the devices.

• Follow the screen prompts to the end to complete the setup process.
• When finished you will be able to review preinstalled apps on the target phone and block any app that you find inappropriate.
• On your phone, you can monitor app activities, filter content, track location and control screen time of the target phone.

Option 3: Add Restricted User Profile on Your Android Phone

Another Parental Control method on Android phones is to create a new restricted account on the phone for the child. However, the option is not available in some phones though most of the modern models provide that option.

• If your device allows, open the device settings app, scroll down to and tap “Users” located under the “Device” category.

• This will display a list of the current user and the option to create a new user account.
• Press “Add user or profile” and select “Restricted Profile” on the pop-up that follows.
• Selecting the option leads you to the “Apps & content access” page where you can set what apps and content the child profile can access.
• Continue with the setup and when prompted to set up the profile, press “Set Up Now”.

• Set up the space for the new user by following the screenplay instructions to complete the process.
• To switch between the profile, swipe down the screen from the top edge and then tap the user icon at the top of the display.
• Pick the profile you want to switch to, you will be logged off from the current account so you can provide the login credential for the other profile.

Conclusion

Controlling what your child is up to on the phone is a key role for every responsible parent. Whether your child is using their device or sharing yours, you can use the above methods to set up parental control and monitor their activities on Android phones. If you need further control, you may install a third-part parental control app with the features and functionality that suits your needs.