Parental control apps vs built-in controls: what to use for your kids

Parental controls differ in the details, but most help you do the same things, the US FTC says: manage how long your kid is online, restrict content, see which apps and websites they use, limit who they can contact and control purchases. Every major platform now builds these in for free. The catch is that they need to be set up on every device your kid uses.

iPhone, iPad and Mac: Screen Time and Family Sharing

Apple's controls run through Family Sharing, and your child should have their own Apple Account rather than sharing yours. With iOS 27, you manage everything from your own iPhone: open Settings, tap Family, then your child's name. The new controls appear once every device in the family group is updated; until then the previous version keeps working.

• Time Allowances set a daily budget across categories of apps; a Screen Time Schedule decides which apps are available at different times of day.
• Allowed Contacts limits who your child can talk to during screen time — contacts only, groups with at least one contact, or everyone. Messages from new people wait until a parent approves them.
• Ask to Buy and Ask to Browse send app purchases and new websites to you for approval. Both are on by default for children under 13.
• Website filtering: Limit Adult Websites (on by default under 18) or Approved Websites Only.
• Communication Safety helps protect your child from viewing or sharing photos and videos with detected nudity, gore or violence in Messages and FaceTime.
• Content & Privacy Restrictions set age ratings for apps, movies and other content; many are applied automatically based on your child's age.

On iOS 26 and earlier, the controls live under Settings > Screen Time > [child's name], with Downtime, App Limits and Always Allowed. On a Mac, go to Apple menu > System Settings > Family. Apple notes that defaults vary by region, and in some places settings such as Ask to Buy can't be turned off for under-18s.

Android and Chromebook: Google Family Link

• Family Link can create a Google Account for a child under 13 or add supervision to an existing account. The parent must be 18 or older.
• You can approve or block apps and change app permissions, set a bedtime and daily limits (in the Family Link app: your child > Screen time > Time limits), see the location of your child's Android device and restrict mature content on Google Play.
• Purchase approvals cover only purchases made through Google Play's billing system.
• Family Link supervises Android phones and tablets, Chromebooks and compatible Fitbit devices — not iPhones, iPads or other computers.
• When your child turns 13, Google emails you both; supervision stays the same until the account is updated, and a child needs a parent's approval to stop supervision until they turn 18.

Windows and Xbox: Microsoft Family Safety

• Web filtering that limits browsing to kid-friendly websites in Microsoft Edge on Windows, Xbox and Android; Bing filters searches and blocks mature sites by default.
• Approval requests before your child gets mature apps from the Microsoft Store.
• Weekly activity reports, screen time limits on Windows and Xbox, and app limits on Windows, Xbox and Android.
• Filters work only in a supported browser, which means Edge. With Only use allowed websites switched on, other browsers are blocked so filtering can't be bypassed.

When a parental control app is worth adding

The US FTC suggests comparing a phone's built-in controls with what third-party apps offer. Built-in tools are free and deeply integrated, but each covers its own platform: Family Link can't supervise an iPhone, and Apple's tools only manage Apple devices. A third-party app — or the parental controls in a security suite — earns its place when your kids use a mix of platforms and you want one place to manage them, or when you need a feature your platform doesn't offer.

What parental controls can't do

• Kids may try to find ways around them or turn them off completely, the US FTC warns.
• They only work on devices where they're set up — including a friend's phone or a school laptop, which you don't control.
• Purchase and web filters have edges: Family Link's approvals cover Google Play billing only, and Microsoft's web filters work in Edge only.
• There's no substitute for talking with your kid about your family's rules and expectations — the US FTC's words, and the best advice here.

A simple setup plan

1. Give each child their own account on each platform they use — an Apple Child Account, a supervised Google Account, a Microsoft family member.
2. Turn on content filters and purchase approvals first.
3. Agree screen-time limits and a schedule together, so the rules make sense to them.
4. Repeat the setup on every device, including tablets and game consoles.
5. Revisit the settings as your kids grow — and know the age rules, such as Family Link's at 13.

Parental controls make kids safer, not safe. Set them up on every device, then keep talking.