Parental controls on your child's Android phone
The easiest parental control for your child's Android phone is Kite: you block the apps you choose from your own phone, and your child earns time by finishing chores you approve, so there is no nightly fight over "five more minutes". This guide shows how to start and what to set first.
The easiest way: Kite
Kite is a parental control app for Android: you block the apps you choose, and your child earns time by completing chores you approve. You can set a price for each app, approve your child's phone before it links, and get an alert if the app is removed so you can re-link it in one tap. The free plan is permanent for one child.
Start with the rule, not the tool
Agree on three things with your child first: which apps are allowed, when, and how they can earn extra time. The tool enforces the rule; it cannot make it. Rules your child agreed to get worked around less.
What to set first
Block the apps that cause the most arguments, then a sensible daily limit for their age, then screen-free times such as bedtime and study. Do not switch everything on at once; add one rule a week.
When the controls break
Children test limits: changing the clock, stopping the app, or deleting it. Choose a tool that tells you right away and lets you restore things quickly, and talk with your child about why instead of only punishing.
Other ways, and their limits
Built-in settings ("Digital Wellbeing & parental controls") offer app timers and bedtime mode, designed mainly for the phone's own user.
Google Family Link is free; it offers daily limits and approving new apps, and needs a Google account for your child that you supervise.
Other parental control apps add different approaches, such as letting kids earn their time with chores.
Make and print a free chore chart for your child →
Quick answers
Are there free parental controls on Android?
Yes: Google Family Link is free, the built-in settings are free, and Kite has a permanent free plan for one child.
Do I need an app on both my phone and my child's?
With most parental control tools, yes: a parent app sets the rules and an app on the child's phone enforces them.
Source: Google — Family Link Help · Google — Digital Wellbeing on Android · WHO — To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more (2019)
Last updated: · The Kite team
