What Android already gives you
Family Link1
- What it does
- Google's parental supervision tool. It lets you set screen time limits and downtime, set limits for individual apps, approve or block apps, set controls for Google Play, Chrome, YouTube and Search, and see where your child is on a map.
- Good when
- You want to supervise from your own phone: approve downloads, filter sites and know where your child is.
- Take care
- It works through a Google Account for your child. Location only works while the child's device is powered on, recently active and connected to the internet.
Screen pinning2
- What it does
- Pins one app's screen. If you hand the phone over, the person can use only that app until you unpin it.
- Good when
- A young child wants to watch one video or play one game for a few minutes.
- Take care
- It is one app at a time. With app pinning on, you need your PIN, pattern or password to unpin. Steps vary by phone and some need a recent Android version.
Digital Wellbeing timers3
- What it does
- Shows how long each app is used and lets you set a daily timer per app. An App limits PIN stops others changing the limits, and a limit of zero blocks an app.
- Good when
- You hold the phone and want a daily limit on one or two apps.
- Take care
- Google says it is available on some phones and that steps vary by device.
User profiles4
- What it does
- Shares one device with separate profiles. Each profile has its own Home screens, accounts, apps and settings, and files and messages are not shared between them.
- Good when
- The phone is shared by the whole family and you want your own space kept apart from your child's.
- Take care
- Google says some steps only work on Android 14 and up, and restricted profiles are for tablets only.
Where a kids mode app fits
A kids mode app replaces the home screen with a place made for children. Because the child's first view of the phone is theirs, you are not relying on them to avoid the adult screens.
KidSafe is one. It becomes the phone's Home app, opens only the apps you approve, and closes anything else within about a second. Leaving Kids Mode needs your parent PIN. You set a daily time budget that ends with a calm wind-down, and the rest of the screen time goes to more than 200 offline games, stories and creative tools, plus a Safety Gym that practises online safety.
It also works differently from Family Link. KidSafe needs no account and no internet, shows no ads, and sends nothing anywhere. It does not track location or filter the web, so if you need those, use a tool built for them, such as Family Link.
Every tool has limits
KidSafe is a supervision aid and cannot promise to block every action on every Android version. Do not rely on any app as your only way to reach a child in an emergency: KidSafe is designed to let calls ring through.
How to choose
- Handing over the phone for ten minutes: use screen pinning.
- You want to see where your child is, filter sites or approve downloads from your own phone: use Family Link.
- You want a calm, offline place on the phone with no account and nothing leaving the device: use a kids mode app such as KidSafe.
- You share one phone with the family: look at user profiles first.
Test whatever you choose on your own phone before you hand it over, and try to get out of it as a child would.