Google Family Link is the ultimate punishment for your kids

Google is doubling down on Android's parental controls with a new app called Family Link, which ostensibly lets parents completely lock down their kids' smartphones.

In what is certainly every tween's worst nightmare, Family Link will let parents:  

• approve or deny any app their kids try to download, 
• track the amount of time an app is open,
• lock down the phone at a certain time each day, like bedtime, or on ad hoc basis when kids have been particularly naughty.

The kid version of Family Link is compatible with Android Nougat devices, as well as a few Android Marshmallow handsets and tablets, including the LG X Power, the Sony Xperia X, and the Samsung Galaxy Tab A. On the other hand, the parent Family Link control suite can be run on any Android device powered by KitKat or better.

At the moment, Family Link is an early access product only available in the United States. You can however sign-up for updates through Google's invite request page.

Alex Choros

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Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

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