Parental Control Apps for Android

All parents know that healthy boundaries are good for growing kids. Parents put limits on all kinds of things--curfews, how much food your kid needs to eat before they can have dessert, a time-out for fighting with a sibling. Boundaries help kids feel safe while giving them the freedom to flourish. That’s why boundaries for device use are just as important as any other kind.

But setting kids up for success with good screen time boundaries can be easier said than done. As a parent, it can be hard to be consistent with enforcing healthy screen time habits. Kids are smart and will often find creative ways around the restrictions you set up. Password protected phone—they’re cracking the code. Take the device away completely—total meltdown for toddlers, growing resentment for teenagers. There has to be a better way!

Luckily for parents, tech companies and app developers alike saw a need and delivered solutions! From setting limits on screen time, blocking access to inappropriate content, and building healthy digital habits, parental controls Android apps are a no-brainer!

Android Parental Controls Apps

When it comes to digital safety, parents need to be on higher alert than ever--there are too many hidden dangers lurking around in the dark corners of the internet. To make it easy for parents to prioritize their kids’ safety online, Android phones come ready-to-use with a variety of parental control options built right in.

Android’s built-in parental controls can be accessed through Google Family Link. Family Link allows parents to get right to it and manage restrictions and limitations on their child’s device. Family Link features parental controls such as screen time limits, monitoring and approving app purchases and downloads, account security, and location tracking to name a few. But the question remains, how do kids feel about being “locked down” on their phones? Maybe you can have the best of both worlds.

Parental Controls Apps Should be for Kids Too

In 2024, it’s no secret that keeping your kids safe online is one of the cornerstones of modern parenting. Books, blogs, and podcasts are full of advice on how to raise digitally responsible children. It’s a big task—and its uncharted territory—the same parents who have been charged with raising those digitally responsible adults are the first generation to it, ever!

Having grown up in a time where the internet wasn’t available 24/7 or at their fingertips, today’s parents face unique challenges in bringing up the next generation and stewarding them towards becoming good cyber citizens. Android Parental Controls are a fantastic built-in feature to keep tabs on your kids’ digital activity and a great first line of defense for keeping your children safe online.

But, in the age of “there’s an app for that,” it feels like parental control apps could do more for you and your child. What if there was a way to keep your kids safe, build trust between you and your child, and keep them motivated as they navigate the digital world? An app your kids actually like to engage with?

That’s where third-party parental control Android apps come in.

Third-party parental control apps give parents a little more freedom, flexibility, and more options for keeping tabs on their kids’ online activity while keeping the kids themselves in mind.

Kids360, the Parental Controls App Your Kids Will Love

Kids360 is a parental control app that prioritizes kids’ safety while at the same time considering what kids actually like! Parents can keep tabs on screen time, location, and set limits on what apps can be used and when. But kids love what’s in it for them, too. Parents can create fun tasks to help motivate kids to get their chores done, encourage them to take a little exercise break, or complete an educational or developmental game to earn more screen time.

Not only does Kids360 engage kids with fun and challenging activities to potentially earn more screen time, it encourages healthy screen time habits—a skill that will last a lifetime. By giving children a sense of autonomy in managing their own screen time, they can learn valuable time management skills, develop a sense of independence, and cultivate healthy digital habits that will follow them for the rest of their lives.

Kids can see the limits you’ve set, receive alerts about how much time they have left on each app, and have access to their own usage statistics. With all of this information is available to them they are empowered to take responsibility for their own digital habits and learn to use screens responsibly as they grow up.

With over 1 million downloads and over 100 thousand 4-star+ reviews, it’s clear that Kids360 is a staple in many parents’ toolkits. With Kids360 parents can:

• Block apps and devices or set time limits on apps

• Block apps during certain times of the day such as bedtime or during school hours

• Ensure safe internet use and block accidental exposure to adult site and videos with YouTube and browser content restrictions

• Receive app usage statistics

• See real-time geolocation of your child’s device and view their location history with a secure map

• Send a loud signal to your child’s device

• Enable smart notifications about your child’s device usage

Setting Up Parental Controls in Family Link

Now, let’s set up the Android Parental Controls app on your child’s device. Your child must be signed into their Google Account on their Android device.

On your child’s phone, go to “Settings,” scroll down and select “Google” and ensure your child is signed into their account with their unique email addressNext, scroll down and select “Children and family”Then, select “Parental Controls” and the “Get Started”For who will be using this device select “Child or teenager”Select “Get Started.” From here you will have the option to:
Link your child’s Google Account with your own in a Google Family GroupChoose apps for this device and set filtersFrom your own device, set controls such as bedtime and screen time limits
Select, “Next,” choose the account you want to supervise and then click “Continue”Enter the email address associated with the parent’s account and click “Next”Enter the password of the parent’s account and click “Next”On the “About supervision” page, scroll to the bottom and select “More”Enter your password one more time to finish linking the accounts and select “Allow”
Congratulations, your accounts are successfully linked!