How to block apps on your child's phone
The easiest way to block an app on your child's phone is Kite: you pick the app on your phone, it locks on theirs, and it opens only with time they earn through chores or when you allow it. Here are the steps.
The easiest way: Kite
In Kite you choose from your phone which apps wait for earned time; everything else stays open. You can give each app a price in points, so your child spends chore points on time for the app they want. Calls and settings are never blocked.
Which apps to block?
Start with what causes the longest sessions: games, short videos and social media. Keep essentials open: calls, messages with parents and school apps.
Other ways, and their limits
Open Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls → Dashboard and set an app timer. When time runs out, the app pauses until the next day.
The catch: your child can change the timer, because it is built for the phone's owner.
Install Family Link on your phone and create or add your child's Google account under your supervision. In the app, pick the app and choose Block, or give it a daily limit. You can also require your approval before any new app is installed.
You choose from your phone which apps lock on your child's phone, and a pause screen appears in their place. Some apps let your child unlock a blocked app with something you agree on, such as finishing a chore.
Make and print a free chore chart for your child →
Quick answers
Can I block an app without my child knowing?
It is better not to hide it: an open rule is respected more, and most tools show the child that the app is blocked.
Can I block apps from the router?
You can block sites and services on the home network, but it does not work when your child uses mobile data, and it cannot easily vary by time of day.
Source: Google — Family Link Help · Google — Digital Wellbeing on Android
Last updated: · The Kite team
