If you’re a parent who has young children using mobile devices that runs on Android, it is understandable that you might be concerned about the kind of content they can access, how frequently they access it, and so on. While parental controls aren’t new, earlier this year Google announced Family Link that offered parents more control over their child’s Android devices.However when it was announced, the tool was only available via invite-only, but the good news is that Google has since announced that they will be opening it up to all Android users. According to Google, “Today, we’re happy to announce that Family Link, our solution for bringing kids and their parents into the Android ecosystem, is now available to parents in the United States without an invitation. Parents can also create a Google Account for their kid right from Android setup, and then manage their kid’s account and device with Family Link.”
In case you’re learning about Family Link for the first time, users will be able to manage the kind of apps their kids can use, and can approve and block apps that their kids can download from the Google Play Store. Parents will also be able to keep an eye on screen time to see how long their kids spend on apps, as well as set daily limits.
There is even an option to set a “bedtime” which will remotely lock a handset when it’s time for your kids to do something else, like study, do their homework, sleep, and so on. While Family Link was created to control Android devices, earlier this year Google also released a version on iOS where parents using an iOS device could also control their kid’s Android device.