Create or supervise the child’s Google Account, sign it into the device, connect it to Family Link, lock access to unsupervised users or profiles, and verify each control on the actual phone.
Why this decision matters
Parents often finish the visible Family Link setup and miss a second browser, guest profile, manufacturer app store, or device-specific permission. Those are not reasons to avoid Android; they are reasons to audit the whole device rather than one app.
A practical starting sequence
Use the child’s account
Complete supervision with the child’s Google Account rather than lending the parent account or creating an untracked local profile.
Configure the main decisions
Choose app approval, time, Chrome access, location expectations, permissions, and notification behavior in Family Link.
Audit the handset
Check guest or additional users, alternate browsers and stores, preinstalled apps, battery settings, and the manufacturer’s own child or privacy features.
What the child experiences
The child may request apps, extra time, or a blocked site. Show them where those requests appear and explain that some limits come from Google while others come from the phone maker or school account.
Family Link does not supervise every device type, every account, or every activity outside supported Google services. Manufacturer differences and additional profiles can change the effective setup.
When to review it
Review after every major Android update, when a new browser or app store is installed, and at the 30-day point. Re-test instead of assuming a dashboard setting still produces the same experience.
Use one ordered Android setup
The paid guide combines Family Link with the device-level checks that generic instructions often miss.
Current official sources
Interfaces and defaults change. These first-party sources were checked for this page; verify the live device before publishing or relying on an exact menu path.
- Google: Set up parental controls with Family Link
- Google: Sign a child into an Android device
- Google: Manage a child's Google Play apps
- Google: Manage Chrome with Family Link
- Google: Devices that can be supervised