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Google Family Link
Google's free family device management and controls
As of 30 August 2026, Google Family Link is free to use. Google Family Link is Google's free parental control solution that helps parents manage their children's Google accounts and Android devices. Softwr lists it under Parenting. Google Family Link is made by Google LLC, launched in 2019, available on Android, Web.
Overview
What Google Family Link does
Google Family Link is Google's free parental control solution that helps parents manage their children's Google accounts and Android devices. It allows screen time limits, app approval, location tracking, and device locking. Family Link integrates seamlessly with Google services and provides a simple, intuitive interface.
What people use it for
- Setting screen time limits and app approvals on a child's Android device
- Creating and managing a Google Account for a child under 13
- Seeing which apps a child uses and where their device is
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about Google Family Link.
- Google documents that iPhones, iPads and computers other than Chromebooks cannot be supervised with Family Link
- Supervision is built around a Google Account, so activity outside Google accounts and Android devices is not covered
- Parent controlled account creation applies to children under 13 or the applicable age in the country
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Google Family Link
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- Google Family LinkvsGohenry
Gohenry: The debit card for kids, managed by you
- Google Family LinkvsGreenlight
Greenlight: The family finance app for modern families
- Google Family LinkvsApple Screen Time
Apple Screen Time: Apple's built-in parental controls for iOS and Mac
Pricing
What Google Family Link costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Free
Free
- Screen time limits
- App approval
- Device locking
- Location tracking
- Password protection
Capabilities
Features
Screen time management
App approval system
Device locking
Location tracking
Settings management
Password controls
Google Play filtering
Account monitoring
Google services
Integration with Google services
Google Play
Integration with Google Play
YouTube
Integration with YouTube
Google security
Google security security feature
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
Is Google Family Link free?
Yes, Google Family Link is completely free. Creating or joining a family group does not require any paid membership or subscription.
SourceDo any Family Link features require payment?
Family Link itself is free, but some Google products that integrate with it like YouTube Premium for families or Google One require separate paid subscriptions if you want premium features.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Google Family Link
- Company
- Google LLC
- Based in
- Mountain View, CA
Keep looking
Where to go from Google Family Link
- Google Family Link alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Google Family Link pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Google Family Link badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Parenting softwareThe full category
- Best Parenting softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Parenting software for
Compare Google Family Link with
- Apple Screen Time
- Greenlight
- Circle
- Gohenry
- Kidslox
- Bark
- Net Nanny
- Qustodio
- FamiSafe
- Kaspersky Safe Kids
- S'moresUp
- Canopy
- Care.com
- FamilyAlbum
- FamiSafe Location
- Find My Kids
- Glow Baby
- FamiSafe
Other Parenting software
Kaspersky's parental control for digital safety
Free, then $14.99/mo9 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Google Family Link, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Google Family Link
Google Family Link alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Google Family Link pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Google Family Link
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Google Family Link badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
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