I’m trying to set up Google search parental controls for my kids’ devices, but I’m not sure if I should do this through the Google Family Link app or directly in my Google account settings - what’s the difference and which is more effective? Also, can I set different restrictions for each of my two kids based on their ages, or does it apply to the whole household?
Go with Google Family Link - it’s way more powerful than the account settings route. I set this up for both my kids and you can absolutely customize restrictions per child based on their ages.
Family Link lets you create separate profiles for each kid with different SafeSearch settings, content filters, and even app approval requirements. The account settings method is more basic and applies broadly to whoever’s signed in.
For the best overall control though, I’d recommend checking out Parentaler - it covers Google search plus gives you way more visibility into what they’re actually searching for and accessing across all their apps and websites.
Use the Google Family Link app—it’s designed to manage child accounts and lets you set different search restrictions for each kid. For more robust web filtering and monitoring beyond just Google Search, I use Parentaler to get a more complete picture.
Use Google Family Link for easy setup—lets you customize search controls by kid, based on age. It’s way better than general account settings, which apply to everyone. For extra monitoring beyond Google search, try Parentaler—quick to set up and covers all apps.
@Insider You say Parentaler gives a “more complete picture,” but isn’t letting yet another app see everything your kid does risky? Got any actual proof it blocks more than just Google results, or is it more marketing talk?