Parental Controls Guide: Set Up Screen Time, Family Link and Console Limits

Every major phone and games console now has free, built-in parental controls, but each one uses different names, works through a different app and stops at a different age, so many families never set them up properly. Parental controls are settings that let a parent or carer limit what a child can see, buy, play and who they can talk to on a device or account. This guide explains, in plain English, what the built-in controls on Apple iPhone and iPad, Google Android and Chromebook, Microsoft Windows and Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Sony PlayStation actually do, how to set them up, and where they fall short. It is for parents, carers, teachers and anyone who helps families with technology. Platforms are listed alphabetically, and the order is not a ranking. Feature names were checked against each company's own help pages in November 2026.

Key takeaways

• Controls belong to the child's account, not the device. On every platform here you first create a family group and a child account; the settings then follow the child to any device they sign in to.
• Spending limits are the quickest win. Approval for purchases or a spending limit of zero stops surprise bills, and some platforms set this by default for child accounts.
• Communication settings matter more than time limits. Who can message, voice chat or friend your child is where the most serious risks sit, including grooming and sextortion.
• Controls change as children age. Google lets a child choose whether to keep supervision at 13, and children under 18 still need a parent's approval to stop it.
• No control replaces a conversation. Children find workarounds; an agreed set of family rules, reviewed as they grow, makes the settings stick.

What it is

Built-in parental controls are free features provided by the company that makes the device or runs the account. They are different from paid parental control apps, which you install separately, and from filters on your home router, which cover every device on your Wi-Fi. Most families get the most value from the built-in controls first, because they are designed into the operating system and are harder for a child to remove.

The controls generally fall into five groups:

• Content: blocking apps, games, films and websites above an age rating.
• Time: daily limits, bedtimes and schedules.
• Spending: purchase approval, allowances and spending limits.
• Communication: who can contact the child, and whether they can chat, share pictures or see content other people have made.
• Activity and location: reports on what the child uses and, on some platforms, where their device is.

How it works

Each platform uses a family group managed by an adult. The table summarises where you manage controls and what each one is called.

What each platform offers

• Apple: Content & Privacy Restrictions set age ratings for apps such as Music, Apple TV and Books and can lock settings like Share My Location. Screen Time Schedules set which apps are available at different times, with separate weekday and weekend routines, and Time Allowances set a daily budget by app category. Allowed Contacts controls who the child can reach in Messages, FaceTime and Phone, with approval needed for new contacts. Ask to Buy sends purchase requests to a parent, Ask to Browse (on by default for under-13s) asks before a new website opens, and Limit Adult Websites is on by default for under-18s. Communication Safety helps protect children from sending or receiving images containing nudity, including on live FaceTime calls, without Apple seeing the images. A Screen Time passcode stops the child changing the settings.
• Google: Family Link lets a parent create or supervise a Google Account for a child under 13, or the applicable age in their country. Parents approve or block app downloads and purchases (approval covers purchases using Google Play billing), change app permissions, set daily limits, a bedtime and bonus time, block individual apps, restrict mature content on Google Play and see the location of the child's Android device. Supervision works on Android phones, Chromebooks and some Fitbit devices; Google states that iPhones, iPads and computers other than Chromebooks cannot be supervised.
• Microsoft: one family group covers Windows PCs and Xbox. Parents set screen time schedules for devices and time limits for individual apps and games, shared across consoles and Windows. Content filters allow or block games, apps and websites by age, and the child can request access. Ask a Parent emails the parent when a child wants to buy something, an allowance caps independent spending, and activity reports summarise use. On Xbox, parents also control multiplayer, clubs, broadcasting, friends and chat, and who can see the child's profile and activity.
• Nintendo: the free Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app sets daily play time and how late the console can be used, with an alarm or Suspend software to stop the game when time is up. Restricted Software uses age categories based on ESRB ratings, with an allow list for specific games. In-Game Communication with Others limits messages, images and user-generated content. Spending on the Nintendo eShop is restricted through Nintendo Account settings. On Switch 2, a parent sets up GameChat for players under 16: they can chat only with friends a parent has approved, and video chat needs approval each time.
• Sony: the family manager adds a child account, which must verify its email and sign in on the console. Age level for games and apps and a separate setting for Blu-ray Discs and DVDs restrict content by rating. Setting Communication and User-Generated Content to Restrict blocks text messages, voice chat and sharing or viewing content made by others. Playtime Settings set limits, and the Monthly Spending Limit defaults to zero, with purchases charged to the family manager's wallet. When a child requests a blocked game, the family manager gets a notification and can approve it.

Setting it up: a step-by-step approach

1. Create your own adult account first and secure it with a strong password and two-step verification, because whoever controls this account controls the child's settings.
2. Create a child account with the child's real date of birth. Age-based defaults depend on it.
3. Set spending to approval or zero before anything else.
4. Set communication controls: friends you approve only, no chat with strangers, and restricted user-generated content for younger children.
5. Set content age ratings to match the child, then allow specific games or apps you have checked.
6. Add time limits and a bedtime that you have agreed with the child.
7. Test it from the child's device: try to install an 18-rated game, make a purchase and open a blocked website. If anything gets through, recheck the settings.
8. Review every few months and at birthdays, loosening controls as the child shows they can manage.

Checking it is working

• Activity reports: look at the weekly report the platform provides (Microsoft activity reports, Nintendo's daily and monthly summaries, Apple and Google screen time views).
• Requests: a steady flow of purchase or access requests shows the controls are on; a sudden stop can mean a second account or a workaround.
• Bills: check card and app store statements for purchases you did not approve.
• Friends lists: look at who your child has added on consoles and messaging apps.

Why it matters

Children meet three kinds of risk online: content they are not ready for, contact with people who want to harm or exploit them, and conduct such as overspending or oversharing. Games consoles are easy to overlook because they feel like toys, but they include voice chat, messaging, friend requests and shops, just like a phone. Settings that restrict who can contact a child are the most important protection against grooming and sextortion; see the Sextortion guide for parents and carers.

Money is the second reason. Games sell in-game currency and items, and a saved card can be spent quickly. Every platform in this guide offers purchase approval or a spending cap. A child's gaming account is also valuable to criminals, so secure the parent account and the child's account together; see the Securing Online Gaming Accounts Guide.

Common misconceptions

• "Set it once and you are done": controls need reviewing as the child grows, as new games arrive and as platforms rename or change features.
• "One app covers everything": controls do not cross platforms. Family Link cannot supervise an iPhone, and Screen Time does not control a PlayStation. Each device needs its own set-up.
• "Controls stop all contact with strangers": they limit contact on that platform. Many games and social apps have their own chat and privacy settings that also need setting; see the TikTok and Snapchat Safety Guide for Families.
• "Children cannot get round them": common workarounds include creating a second account with a false age, using a friend's device, switching to mobile data to avoid home Wi-Fi filters, and resetting a device. Activity reports and conversation catch most of these.
• "Router filtering is enough": filters on the home router or network only apply on your Wi-Fi. A phone on mobile data or a laptop on another network is not covered. See the Securing Your Home Router Guide.
• "A false age just unlocks more games": the date of birth on the account also changes communication defaults and, on Google, when a child can choose to change supervision. Use the real one.

Related concepts

• Family rules: a written family agreement on screen time, spending and who to tell when something goes wrong. The Family Cyber Security Plan Template gives a starting point, and the Protecting Children Online: A Parent's Guide covers conversations, warning signs and the law.
• Teen supervision: when a Google-supervised child reaches 13, or the applicable age in their country, Google emails parent and child; settings stay in place until the child updates the account, children under 18 need parent approval to stop supervision, and both are notified if it stops.
• Device security: parental controls work best on a device that is updated and locked. See the iPhone Security and Privacy Settings Guide and the Android Security and Privacy Settings Guide.
• Children's privacy law: laws such as the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act shape what platforms may collect from children. See the COPPA and Children's Privacy Guide.

Practitioner checklist

• Use the platform's own family tools first: set up the built-in family or child account on each phone, tablet and console before adding any third-party app.
• Lock the settings: protect parental controls with a passcode or parent account the child does not know, and check it still works after every system update.
• Set limits by age: choose content ratings, purchase approval and screen time limits that match the child's age, and review them at least every few months.
• Block spending surprises: require approval for app, in-game and console store purchases, and remove saved payment cards from child profiles.
• Cover every device: list each device the child uses, including consoles and shared tablets, so one unmanaged device does not undo the rest.
• Talk as well as restrict: explain the rules, agree how the child can ask for changes and check together what the activity reports show.

Standards and references

• Apple Support: Parental controls and Screen Time for a child's iPhone or iPad
• Google: Family Link help, getting started
• Google: When your child turns 13 in Family Link
• Microsoft: Getting started with Microsoft Family Safety
• Microsoft: Xbox Family Hub
• Nintendo: Nintendo Switch Parental Controls
• Sony Interactive Entertainment: PS5 parental controls and spending limits

Related NHI Mgmt Group resources: Protecting Children Online: A Parent's Guide · Sextortion · Securing Online Gaming Accounts Guide · Family Cyber Security Plan Template