Google has given its Family Link toolkit for parents a comprehensive update, making it easier for parents to manage phones and wearables belonging to their children. The redesign has introduced a Screen Time tab, while features seen on wearables for kids, such as School Time and contact approval, are coming to Android.
Family Time’s new look makes it easier to manage linked accounts, add content filters, and set privacy restrictions. A new tab called Screen Time has joined the workflow, showing usage times and app information, along with historical data much like Google’s Digital Wellbeing layout and features in Android. Parents managing more than one child’s profile can easily swipe between them, and multiple devices are managed on a single page.
School Time lets parents set up a schedule to minimize distractions and interruptions during school hours, and was recently introduced on the Samsung Galaxy Watch for Kids and the Fitbit Ace LTE smartwatch. Now it’s coming to Android phones and tablets. Parents will have granular control over which apps are restricted, ensuring school-relevant ones stay accessible, and can add in break times and vacations too.
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Another feature taken from the Galaxy Watch for Kids is contact approval. Parents will be able to add and approve new contacts on an Android phone in the Family Link menu, limiting calls and texts to them. Kids can also make requests to add new contacts, ready for parental agreement. One point to note on this is, Family Link’s contact limit feature only works with Google Messages and the dialer on Android, and won’t stop communication through apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, or other similar apps.
Google’s updated Family Link feature arrives when there’s increased attention on keeping children safe online, and ensuring smartphone use doesn’t interrupt school. Interest in minimizing smartphone usage is a larger topic too, with phone brands like HMD selling feature phones and introducing features like Digital Detox to ensure we’re all more mindful of the amount of time we spend on our phones.
The updated Family Link should be available now, with some features arriving over the next few months.