Google Family Link

Name: Google Family Link
Rating: 4.5480847 (4249706 reviews)
Author: Google LLC

Guide kids with parental tools in Family Link.

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Google Family Link is a comprehensive parental controls app designed to help families create healthy digital habits. It enables parents to set screen time limits, manage app usage, and enforce content filters across Google services like Chrome, YouTube, and Play. Family Link also provides tools to monitor device locations and receive notifications, ensuring your child's online safety.

The app supports customized controls that adapt to your family's unique relationship with technology. You can approve app downloads, manage privacy and security settings, and even reset your child's account password if needed. Family Link promotes online safety by allowing parents to oversee their child's digital activity while encouraging responsible tech use.

App Privacy & Security Productivity Education

By:

Google LLC

Downloads:

163,694,449 500.23K

Rating:

4.55

(4,249,706) 16,957 new ratings

Version:

2.53.0.E.763759747 Last updated: 2025-06-11

Version code:

825798

Creation date:

2017-03-15

Permissions:

android.permission.ACCESS_NETWORK_STATE
android.permission.GET_ACCOUNTS
android.permission.GET_PACKAGE_SIZE
android.permission.INTERNET
android.permission.POST_NOTIFICATIONS
android.permission.READ_CONTACTS
android.permission.RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED
android.permission.WAKE_LOCK
com.google.android.apps.kids.familylink.DYNAMIC_RECEIVER_NOT_EXPORTED_PERMISSION
com.google.android.apps.kids.familylink.permission.C2D_MESSAGE

Size:

27.46MB

Email:

fa*****@google.com

URLs:

Website ,Privacy policy

Full description:

Source:

Google Play Store

Updated:

a day ago

Ranking

# 741 ▲ 2

Other rankings

#145 in Tools (Free) ▼ 45

#1 in family keyword 13

#1 in parental control keyword 9

#7 in disable keyword 32

#7 in stayfree keyword 16 ▲ 4

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User reviews

Google Family Link is appreciated for its ease of use in establishing schedules, app blocking, and controlling multiple devices conveniently. However, users experience frequent glitches, including inaccurate screen time reporting and unreliable lock/unlock changes. The app lacks flexibility in downtime scheduling, has limited controls over calls and messaging, and struggles with location tracking accuracy. Parents also face frustrations as restrictions can mistakenly apply to their own accounts and the app offers limited moderation for app requests and YouTube content. Multi-device management needs improvement as screen time is device-specific rather than cumulative.

Pros

Easy to establish schedules and time limits on apps.
Simple, convenient to control multiple children’s devices from a single phone.
Good for app blocking/approval and setting screen time restrictions.
Helpful for tracking children’s location and setting safe zones (though with some limitations).
Solid for parental controls like downtime and locking device usage except calls.

Cons

Inaccurate or delayed tracking/location updates causing confusion and arguments.
App glitches causing outdated display of screen time and failure to reflect unlock/lock changes.
Lack of flexibility in controls: cannot schedule or customize downtime locks fully, cannot allow calling/texting during downtime.
No effective way to lock/unlock phone calling or messaging options specifically.
Parental controls sometimes mistakenly restrict parents' own accounts or applying restrictions to multiple devices incompletely.
Requests and app permissions can’t be effectively moderated or denied remotely.
Limited control over third-party apps and inability to remotely uninstall apps.
Poor YouTube control without keyword blocking or content filtering.
Multiple device management lacks aggregate screen time control (controls are per device).

Recent reviews

Update: this app keeps getting worse by the day. I unlocked my daughters computer and turned off downtime completely and what does it do? It STILL locked her computer! Hate this app! App was perfect until a few days ago and all of a sudden when I unlock a device the app won't reflect the change and it still shows as locked even after the device is unlocked. So frustrating!!! So changing the app!!! If this continues I'll be looking for another app because I'm losing trust in this app.

Ca*****, 2025-01-15

I really like the app. My only problem with it is the screen time function. Locking down the whole device aside from calls after screen time is up is a pain and my kid can't even turn on the flashlight without me unlocking it. I think that it would be better if it at least had the option to just keep them from getting on certain apps after screen time is up.