You can control the features your child can use and content they can access on devices with parental controls. If you have more than one child, you can set up different parental controls for each child.
Important:
- Your devices and apps must be up to date and each child must be a member of the home for Digital Wellbeing and Parental controls to work correctly.
- This feature is only available in some countries and languages.
With Parental controls, you can:
- Set up media filters for music, video, or news & podcasts.
- Manage use of other voice assistant features like making & answering calls, and answers to questions.
- Schedule downtime.
- Add your child to voice assistant-enabled devices.
To set up Parental controls, you need to:
- Create a Family Group and add a supervised Google Account for each child to the Family Group.
- Invite each child to the home in the Google Home app.
Set up Parental controls
Follow these steps if you’ve switched to Gemini for Home voice assistant.
- Open the Google Home app
.
- At the top right, tap your Profile picture or Initial.
- Tap Home settings
Google Assistant or Gemini for Home voice assistant
- Tap Set up.
- If you have already created an account, tap your child’s name. Otherwise, select Create account for child. Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Open the Family Link app
.
- Select your child.
- Tap Controls
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Important: After adding your child’s account to Parental controls, invite them to be a Home member.
- Open the Google Home app
- At the top, tap Add
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- For child accounts, they can only be a Member not an Admin by default.
- Customize your child’s access by turning Activity and/or Settings access on or off.
- Review what your child can access and see. Tap Add.
Edit Parental control settings
Follow these steps if you've switched to Gemini for Home voice assistant.
- Open the Google Home app
- At the top right, tap your Profile picture or Initial.
- Tap Home settings
- Edit desired settings, then tap Save.
- Open the Family Link app
- Select your child.
- Tap Controls
- To edit parental control settings, follow the on-screen instructions..
How Parental controls work
Important: Your child might be able to play videos and other content you’ve restricted through:
- News.
- Podcasts.
- A phone or tablet cast to a voice assistant-enabled device.
You can block or allow content or features with parental controls. These parental controls apply to most devices set up with your child’s voice. You can set parental controls for these services:
- Music filters
- Video filters
- News
- Podcasts
- Calling
- Answers to questions
For some music, video, and podcast services, you can filter explicit content reported by third-parties. While these filters can help you manage your child’s access to mature content, they might not filter content that you might consider inappropriate.
If you created a Google Account for your child without a Gmail address and password on a new Pixel Tablet, you can't set up parental controls for:
- Music filters
- Video filters
- Calling
- Play any music: Play any available music for your child, without filters. Your child can play the same songs that anyone in your home can play.
- Play some music: Play non-explicit music for your child, from the services you choose. The listed services in this option can provide content filtering.
- You can choose which YouTube experience you want for your child. Next to “YouTube,” tap Content settings.
- Don’t play music: Devices don’t play any music for your child.
Important: If you choose to block videos for your child but allow music from YouTube Music, music videos might still play on devices and TVs.
- Play any videos: Play any available videos for your child, without filters. Your child can play the same videos that anyone in your home can play.
- Play some videos: Play videos for your child from the services you choose and based on the filters you set for those services.
- You can choose which YouTube experience you want for your child. Next to “YouTube,” tap Content settings.
- Don’t play videos: Devices don’t play any videos for your child.
Important: Your child might still be able to play news in other media services you allow. Some news might have mature content. You can manage your child’s news sources in their voice assistant settings.
- News is allowed: Play news when your child asks for it.
- News is off limits: Devices won’t play news when your child asks for it.
Important: Your child might still be able to play podcasts in other media services you allow. Some podcasts might have mature content. You can manage your child’s podcast services in their voice assistant settings.
- Play any podcasts: Play any available podcasts for your child, without filters. Your child can play the same podcasts that anyone in your home can play.
- Play non-explicit podcasts: Play non-explicit podcasts for your child.
- Don’t play podcasts: Devices won’t play any podcasts for your child.
- Can only answer calls: Your child can only answer phone and video calls on devices.
- Can make & answer calls: Your child can make and answer supported calls, such as phone and video calls, on devices.
Important: This setting doesn't affect how SafeSearch works, which is turned on by default.
- Family-friendly answers only: You can restrict voice assistant responses to:
- Basic requests like weather and math.
- Family-friendly answers like kids’ dictionary definitions.
- All answers: Allow answers with no family-friendly filters, including ones that aren't designed for kids.