What you need to know
- School is out, and Google’s rolling out a parental control update for parents with kids who have phones, as we prepare to download Android 17.
- In the Settings menu, these controls bring a daily limit, app limits, and downtime schedule.
- Parents can also select a rating limit for apps on the Play Store, so if you want the highest restriction, “E” for everyone is ideal.
Amid Google’s already packed Tuesday with a Pixel Drop and Android 17, now the company is detailing new parental controls.
This afternoon (June 16), Google highlighted a series of parental control updates for parents managing the summer with kids who have phones. As Android 17 makes its rounds to Pixels, Google says users will find an updated selection of Android Parental Controls on phones that receive this upgrade. Located in the Settings menu, parents can “set the amount of screen time your child can spend on a device each day to help establish healthy habits.”
Outside of this screen time, parents will have access to “downtime schedules.” This puts a limiter on your child’s device, ensuring they’re not watching YouTube videos all night. Google states downtime schedules will “automatically lock the device.” Google Play Store gets in on these parental controls. Parents will find age ratings similar to those for a game (remember “E” for Everyone?).
Similarly, the “Everyone” setting is the Play Store’s “most restrictive” setting. Controls include “Everyone 10 Plus,” “Teen,” “Mature 17 Plus,” “Adult only 18 Plus,” and “Allow all, including unrated.” As you’d imagine, this final option is the least restrictive, allowing users to see anything and everything on the Play Store.
With so many apps, parents can set limits on app usage on their child’s device. Moreover, parents can block apps entirely to ensure they’re never opened.
Android’s parental controls advance
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Android Central’s Take
Managing your kids doing anything is part of the job as a parent. It’s not different than telling them when to stop playing on their PlayStation or Xbox. Nowadays, though, that probably extends to PCs. Either way, parents have a multitude of options with Google’s new update. What works for some won’t work for others. It’s you and your kid at the end of the day. Decide what works for you.
Google gives parents a heads-up, stating that their controls can be protected by a PIN. What’s more, these controls can directly tie into Android’s Family Link. This opens a new series of options, such as School Time, which helps make sure your child is focusing on their studies and not scrolling in class. Family Link also brings purchase approvals from the Play Store, location alerts, and more.
These updates should begin rolling out soon.
It’s interesting to hear a reference to School Time, as it’s a bit of an older feature Google introduced for parents. This gives parents the ability to control when their child’s phone should lock down and for how long. Considering school is five days a week, you can decide to activate it Monday through Friday from, say, 8 AM to 2:15 PM. Through Family Link, parents can see the apps their child uses during school. Kids have the ability to see a list of what apps they can use, which parents decide beforehand.
Parents can even curate a list of contacts their kid is allowed to text or call during school hours.