Child Safety Apps for Android: Parental Controls Compared

Set the phone up with your child sitting next to you. Google’s tools are built for that: adding supervision to a child’s existing Google Account needs the child’s agreement, and Google notifies both of you if supervision is later stopped. Pay for another app only once you have found something Family Link does not do.

We read Google’s help pages for Family Link and for Android’s own parental controls, then went through each app’s Google Play listing and its maker’s website. This is written for a parent setting up a child’s own phone, openly. We left out anything marketed as hidden or covert monitoring.

Family Link: Google’s free parental controls

Google Family Link is free, and its Google Play page carries no ads label. The parent runs it on an Android phone or an iPhone, or uses familylink.google.com in a browser. The child’s device has to be an Android phone or tablet, a Chromebook or a compatible Fitbit. Google says an iPhone cannot be supervised with it.

Google’s pages list what a parent can do:

• Set a daily screen time limit, with downtime and school time schedules, and add bonus time on a given day.
• Approve or block apps, and put a time limit on a single app.
• See where the child’s phone is, as long as it is switched on and connected.
• Filter what Google Play, Chrome, Search and YouTube show.

Google is plain about the limits. Its FAQ says Family Link does not block all inappropriate content: the filters sit in Google’s own apps, and Google admits they are not perfect. App updates never need fresh approval, and purchase approval only covers Google Play’s own billing.

The child is not kept in the dark. Google publishes a privacy guide for children and teens that lists what a parent can do with their account, in versions for three age groups. Read it together. A child under 18 needs a parent’s approval to stop supervision, and a parent can stop it at any time.

If the phone is locked and offline, you unlock it with a parent access code. Open Family Link on your own phone, choose the child’s profile and tap Parent access code. Google says the code is never sent by email or SMS.

How to set parental controls on Android

A child under 13 with no Google Account: create the account from the Family Link app on your phone, then sign the child in on theirs. The age is 13 or whatever applies in your country. Google suggests allowing about 15 minutes.

A child or teen who already has an account: have the child and the phone with you.

1. On the child’s phone, open Settings and tap Google, then All services.
2. Under Kids & Family, tap Parental controls.
3. Tap Let’s do this and choose the account to supervise.
4. Follow the steps. The child is asked for their consent along the way.

Without Family Link: Android now has on-device controls of its own. Google’s Android Help says they need the latest version of Android 17 or later. Open Settings, tap Parental controls and set a PIN of at least four digits. You can then add a daily limit, downtime, app limits, blocked apps, web content filters and app store filters, all managed on that phone with the PIN. Add a recovery account while you are there. Google says a forgotten PIN with no recovery account means a factory reset.

Google Play only: in the Play Store app, tap the profile icon, then Settings, Family and Content restrictions. This limits what can be downloaded or bought on that device by maturity rating. Google notes that restricted content can still appear in search or be reached by a direct link.

Samsung Galaxy: Samsung Kids opens from the quick settings panel and turns the phone into a walled-off children’s area with a PIN on the way out. Parents choose the apps, contacts and music inside it and set screen time and a bedtime. Samsung says it is available on Galaxy phones and tablets running Android 9 or later.

One side effect is useful to know. Google lists a supervised account as one of the things that rules out private space, Android’s locked area for hiding apps. Our guide to vault apps explains what that feature is.

Parental control apps compared

Prices are the ones each maker publishes in US dollars, on its website or in its listing. Most of these apps come in two parts, one for the parent’s phone and one for the child’s.

Free apps

Microsoft Family Safety makes sense if the family also has a Windows PC or an Xbox, because its app and game limits work across all three. On Android it limits apps and games and filters the web in Microsoft Edge. Microsoft’s site says other common browsers are blocked for the filter to work. The listing says the app collects usage data with the child’s consent, and Google Play shows no ads label and no in-app purchases label.

Qustodio has a free version for one device, with web filtering and safe search. Location, app blocking and extra devices are in the paid plans.

Kids Place is the child lock app in this list. It replaces the home screen with one that holds only the apps you approve, and the child cannot leave without your PIN. Its listing says it blocks by app and does not read what is inside apps. The free version covers the launcher and app blocking. Screen time controls and child profiles are in the paid version, sold as a subscription or a one-time purchase. It suits a young child on a shared phone or tablet.

Paid apps

Qustodio sells two paid plans. Basic, at $59.95 a year, protects up to five devices. Complete, at $104.95 a year, covers unlimited devices. The child’s phone runs a separate app called Kids App Qustodio. The listing also describes alerts drawn from searches, messages and social apps. If you switch those on, tell your child.

Norton Family is $49.99 for the first year on Norton’s US site, and is included with Norton 360 Deluxe and Premium. Its listing covers web supervision, screen time schedules, location alerts and a school time mode that keeps the internet on but limits it to study.

Kidslox has the cheapest paid plan in the table, Basic at $34.99 a year. The listing says one paid account controls up to 10 devices, and that the app contains no ads. It also says Kidslox can take screenshots of the child’s screen, so explain that before you install it.

Kids360 shows a child’s screen time for free and charges for limits and schedules. We found no price on its website. The child’s phone runs a companion app called Alli360, and the listing states that it cannot be installed secretly and may only be used with the child’s consent.

Bark works differently. Its listing says it watches texts, email and more than 30 apps for signs of bullying and other dangers, and alerts the parent only when something looks wrong. Parents do not get full access to the phone. Paid monthly, a year of Bark comes to $168, so the $99 annual price saves $69. One catch: the app for a child’s Android phone is not among Bark’s apps on Google Play. The listing sends you to Bark’s own site to install it.

Three popular apps are not in the table: AirDroid Parental Control, FlashGet Kids and FamiSafe. Their Google Play listings advertise listening to a child’s surroundings through the phone, which does not belong in a guide to setting up a phone openly. Kaspersky Safe Kids is missing for a different reason. It no longer has a Google Play page.

Apps made for children

YouTube Kids is free with ads. Parents pick a content level, from Preschool up to Older, or switch to Approved Content Only and choose every video and channel themselves. A timer freezes the app when time is up.

Messenger Kids, from Meta, is a messaging and video call app that needs no phone number. Parents manage the contact list from a Parent Dashboard and can limit use at bedtime. The listing says it has no ads and no in-app purchases.

SPIN Safe Browser is a web browser with the filter built in. Its listing says it blocks adult sites, forces safe search on Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo, and has no incognito mode. It is free, with an optional subscription for your own allow and block lists. A filtered browser only helps if the child cannot open another one, so block the other browsers with Family Link or the phone’s own controls.

Which one to pick

• A child’s first Android phone: Family Link. It is free and made by the company that makes Android.
• A family with a Windows PC or an Xbox as well: Microsoft Family Safety.
• A small child borrowing your phone: Kids Place, or Samsung Kids on a Galaxy.
• Family Link is not enough and you want a web filter by category: Qustodio, starting with the free version on one device.
• The lowest yearly price: Kidslox Basic at $34.99.
• You would rather not use Family Link: Android’s own Parental controls in Settings, on Android 17.

What happened to the old list

All five apps from the 2020 version of this article are still on Google Play. Family Link, YouTube Kids, Messenger Kids and SPIN Safe Browser are covered above.

The fifth, Ivymobile AppLock, is now listed as AppLock from IVYMOBILE and is free with ads. It locks apps on your own phone behind a password, which keeps a toddler out of your gallery. It does nothing to supervise a child’s own phone, so it is not in the table.

Quick answers

Is Google Family Link free?

Yes. It is free on Google Play and on the App Store for parents, and the parent can also use familylink.google.com.

What is the best free parental control app for Android?

Family Link, for most families. Microsoft Family Safety is free too, and Qustodio has a free version that covers one device.

How do I set parental controls on Android without an app?

On Android 17, open Settings, tap Parental controls and set a PIN. On older phones, the Play Store has content restrictions under Settings, Family.

Where do I find the Family Link parent access code?

In the Family Link app on the parent’s phone. Choose the child’s profile and tap Parent access code. Google does not send it by email or SMS.

Can my child turn off Family Link?

Not alone. Google says a child under 18 needs a parent’s approval to stop supervision, and both are notified when it stops.