How to Set up Parental Controls on Android

Wondering why your child remains engaged on phone all the time? As a parent, this always comes to your mind, isn’t it? It’s time to act now. Providing smart phones to kids is something that can be delayed, not denied. Smart Phones have become a part of our life and Android phones, predominantly, have conquered the market of smart phones. While smart phones, or to be precise, Android phones find ways to make our lives easy, there still remains a definite requirement of parental controls. Android Phones being smart enough, provide opportunity for parental controls. There can be basic level of interventions when it comes to parental controls to check the way Android device is being used. This article will guide you through some of the best ways of setting up Android parental control on Android devices.

Part 1. How to Set up Restricted User Profile

Setting up restricted user profile is one of the simple ways to set up parental controls Android. Let’s now understand how we can set up restricted user profile in Android.

Step 1:

Go to “Settings” or you can even drag down the notification bar and tap on the cog-shaped icon which is present in the top right corner.

Step 2:

After you tap on “Settings”, you will be presented with various options. Tap on “Users”.

Step 3:

You will see the list of current users including the Guest which is designed for users who don’t have access to your data when they use your device and then, your account. Now, tap on the “Add user or profile” option.

Step 4:

You will now be asked to specify the type of account you would like to create. Your account is a fully featured account but for your child, you would definitely wish to have some restrictions. So, tap on the “Restricted profile” option. You will also be asked to create a passcode here. This ensures that the settings cannot be altered.

Enter the passcode and once you are done with setting the passcode, various settings will show up for you to apply to the new account. You can change the name of the account by clicking on the round icon present next to New Profile followed by typing in the preferred title.

Step 5:

Take a look at the list of features that would like to offer to the child’s account. Enable the features or applications you wish them to have an access to.

Step 6:

When you are done with setting up, you can go back to your home screen. Now, when you drag down the notification bar and tap on the User icon, you will find the newly created child’s account with limited features. To switch to the child’s account, just tap on the icon.

Part 2. How to Set up Parental Controls on Google Play

You can easily set up parental controls on Google Play. Setting up parental controls in Google Play restricts download or purchase of Play Store application on the device. Here’s how you can set up parental controls.

Here are the steps how to set up parental controls directly from the Play Store app.

Step 1:

Open the Play Store application on the Android device.

Step 2:

In the top right corner, tap on Menu and then tap on “Settings” and tap on Parental Controls.

Enable Parental Controls by tapping on the toggle button and you will be asked to set up a PIN code.

Step 3:

Once you have tapped on the button to enable Parental Controls at the top right corner, You will asked to feed a PIN code as shown below.

If you forget the PIN later, parental controls can still be removed by clearing the Play Store data.

Step 4:

Now it's time to choose filters.

For apps, games, movies and TV, choose the maturity level and set it to highest. Similarly, for music and books, choose if you would like to restrict downloads or even purchase of explicit content.

Once the parental control is set up, it can be turned on and off whenever required.

Part 3: How to Restrict In-App Purchase on Google Play

There are chances that your kid, a smart phone gamer, is tempted to spend few dollars on an application. You can easily restrict in-app purchase in the Google Play Store and here’s how you do it.

Step 1:

Open Google Play Store on the Android device and tap on the Menu button present at the top left corner of the window.

Step 2:

Scroll down and tap on “Settings” and then tap on “Require authentication for purchases” on the next screen.

Now, ensure that the first option, “For all purchases through Google Play on this device”, is enabled.

This way will block in-app purchases for Android applications.

Part 4. How to Set up Android Parental Controls Time Limits

You can set up Android Parental Controls Time Limits to reduce and manage the time spent by kids on their Android tablets and smart phones. While there are newer tablets already equipped with parental control settings, there also are some great applications which can be used if the phone or tablet is not equipped with parental control settings. One of the applications that can be used is Screen Time Parental Control App. Install screen time on to child’s device and set it up and then install Screen Time on your device to make manage child’s settings remotely.

Here's what you can do with Screen Time Parental Control App.

Create Reward System

In this system, you can have a maximum screen time reward set for your child which they get by doing something good around the house. There has to be a maximum screen time per day, say 2 hours which is suitable. Using Screen Time Parental Control App, you can set the reward system.

Limit kids daily screen time

Screen Time Parental Control App can also be used to set time limit for usage of applications per day. You choose which application is to be limited in terms of usage time and which is to remain unlimited. Applications that are limited are blocked once the limit is reached.

You can also set bedtime and school time restrictions when required.

You can block applications as well to restrict the use of applications which are inappropriate for your kids.

Part 5. How to Restrict Certain Apps on Android

You can restrict certain apps which you don't want to have your kids to have an access to. If there are many applications which are open to access and some applications which you don’t want your kids to have access to, you can use certain parental control for android applications which serve the purpose. App Lock is one such application which can be used to restrict use of certain applications. This is a simple application which can be used to lock other applications using password or pattern lock.

Here's how you can use App Lock to restrict certain apps.

Step 1:

Install App Lock from Google Play and open the application. This will ask you to draw lock pattern or type password.

Step 2:

There are number lock and pattern lock system. Once done with this, a list of all the applications present in the device will show up, which can be locked by clicking on the toggle button. Under “Application Lock”, choose the application and toggle on the lock to lock the application. You can even use the quick search option by tapping on the magnifying glass button at the top.

Step 3:

If you prefer pattern lock, you can use pattern lock by tapping on “Unlock Setting” which is present at the bottom of the screen. Select Pattern Lock tab, draw pattern and tap on “Continue”.

Step 4:

You can now move on to “System Lock” and lock “Install/Uninstall”. This prevents bypassing system settings and uninstalling the application.

That's it. You can now restrict certain applications using App Lock very easily and prevents your kids from accessing any inappropriate app while having access to applications which are required for them on the device.

These are some of the parental control android settings and ways to restrict the usage of applications and content on Android device. While they work well in isolation, they can also work in conjunction is required that way.