Can I Put Parental Controls On A Chromebook

How to prepare a Chromebook for your child with family unit link controls

How to prepare a Chromebook for your child with family link controls

(Epitome credit: Laptop Magazine)

Chromebooks are ideal starter computers for kids. They're easy to prepare up, affordable, durable enough to survive messy use, and the no-frills web experience ways there'south no learning curve whether your kid wants to watch YouTube videos or do schoolwork.

More importantly, Chrome Os's parental controls let you to precisely manage what your kid does on their computer, for how long they do it, and monitor their activities remotely. If you've just bought a Chromebook or already have one, here's how to prepare it for your child.

Set Parental Controls on a Chromebook

If your kid already has a dedicated contour on a Chromebook, visit the Settings > People department and click the "Set Up" push side by side to "Parental controls." Follow the on-screen instructions to configure parental controls for your child's Google business relationship. Hither, yous volition exist asked to enter your (the parent's) email address for supervision access. One time you're through this process, the Chromebook will restart, and when your child logs back in, parental controls will be agile.

In case you lot oasis't configured your kid's profile yet, go ahead and add a new person to the Chromebook from the login screen. Pick the "Kid" option on the adjacent page and enter the required details to set parental controls in motility.

Personalize and Monitor Your Child'due south Chromebook Access

At present that your child'southward Chromebook business relationship is under supervision, your next step is to personalize and monitor their experience with Google'due south Family unit Link app. It'due south bachelor for both Android and iOS devices. Since it's compatible with Android, yous can install it on your Chromebook as well.

Think of the Family Link app as a dashboard for managing all your kid's activities on their Chromebook. From here, y'all tin can approve or refuse any new app install requests your kid sends, monitor for how long they've been on an app, and more.

Censor the Content Your Kid Can Browse on a Chromebook

Family unit Link'due south highlight is the series of controls it lets you apply remotely on your child's Chromebook account. This includes the ability to censor what they can search and view on the Chrome browser.

At the tiptop of this app, y'all'll find a section called "Settings." Tap the "Manage" button underneath it. With these preferences, you can restrict the content your kid sees on services like the Google Play Shop, YouTube, Google Chrome, and more.

For instance, nether "Filters on Google Chrome," you tin either allow your child to visit all sites, only a handful of web addresses y'all have pre-approved, or go out information technology upwards to Google'due south algorithms to block mature content. Alternatively, you can maintain separate "Allowed" and "Blocked" lists by selecting "Manage sites."

Similarly, "Controls for Google Play" lets you decide whether your child's Google Play transfers, like downloading a new game, would need your approval. Plus, y'all tin can edit content restrictions for other Google Play items, like movies, books, music, and more than. Furthermore, Family unit Link allows you to regulate your kid'south YouTube and Google searches.

Limit Your Kid'due south Screen Fourth dimension on Their Chromebook

In addition, Family unit Link enables you to restrict how much time your kid tin spend on an private app or on their Chromebook in full general. You fifty-fifty have the option to define a bedtime, at which point your kid volition be automatically locked out of their computer.

Below the content filters, you lot'll have an option to ready upward screen fourth dimension limits. Inside, you tin can schedule daily limits from the start tab and prepare a bedtime routine from the other section. Hit the "Save" button on the top-right corner once you're done.

For app limits, you will visit the "Manage Settings" page once more and navigate to "Android apps." Tap the hourglass icon beside any app to restrict or block its access. You can also check each app'due south activity in upwards to the last 30 days.

Choose Which App Permissions Your Child Needs Approving For

Family Link lets you pick which app permissions your child can grant on their own and for which ones they need your approval. This can come handy to ensure your child doesn't accidentally grant a suspicious app access to sensitive data like their reckoner's camera or microphone.

You tin adjust these preferences from the Settings button below the Chromebook's model name on Family unit Link. When yous tap "app permissions," y'all'll get a list of all the permissions you can take control of.

How to Stop Supervising Your Child's Chromebook Account

If your child reaches a certain age or y'all no longer feel it'due south necessary to supervise their activities, yous tin easily interruption parental controls from the Family Link app. All yous need to do is tap the iii-dots push at the peak correct corner and touch "Account Supervision." Bank check the box below "Stopping supervision" and so tap the "Stop supervision" button.

Tip: Disable the Guest Mode on Your Kid's Chromebook

1 of the loopholes of Chrome Os's parental controls is the guest mode. Despite restrictions, your child tin can however easily go to the login folio, add together a new person, and scan without whatsoever supervision.

Therefore, before you hand the Chromebook over to your kid, make sure to switch off the guest mode. Head over to Settings > People > Manage Other People and toggle the "Enable guest browsing" pick.

Shubham Agarwal is a freelance applied science journalist from Ahmedabad, India. His piece of work has previously appeared in Business Insider, Fast Company, HuffPost, and more. You can reach out to him on Twitter (opens in new tab).