Workarounds kids use, and how to close them

Watch for the VPN symbol disappearing

On your phone · about 6 min

On an iPhone that isn't supervised, apps like Bark and Norton can't lock their VPN, so a child can turn it off. Bark says Apple doesn't let you lock down the Bark Kids app VPN settings. Norton says if you do not see the VPN symbol, your child might have turned it off. Apple's Screen Time tools for app makers include account, passcode, date-and-time, app, and web settings, but no VPN setting. The exception is an iPhone under Apple device supervision: Always On VPN can then stay on, and Qustodio's cabled Qustodio Advance uses supervision so your child can't remove Qustodio. Without supervision, assume the VPN can be switched off. Android VPN-indicator wording from Norton wasn't found, so look for the VPN symbol generally and for the app's own alert. Proxy websites aren't apps. Home-router filters can't see inside a VPN. Norton says some events on its iPhone setup send no alert, so tamper alerts can be delayed or missed. Check the app's status regularly. Apple's delete protection applies to apps that use Family Controls, approved by a parent. Apple says authorizing an app prevents the child user from deleting the app that provides parental controls. Aura's Screen Time permissions prevent deletion. Bark still tells iPhone parents to set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow.

1. Warning signs: the VPN symbol missing while the app should be running, Bark's protection-disrupted or manually-disabled notices, or web reports that go empty.
2. App approval is the main defense against a new VPN app. Block VPN apps by name if you've seen them.
3. On a supervised iPhone, Always On VPN and Qustodio Advance are the documented locks. On a regular iPhone, check the symbol and the app status.
4. Android with Bark: keep Bark's setup checklist as Bark describes it, including its Always-on VPN.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Require approval for new apps, and block deleting apps

On your phone · about 5 min · Ask to Buy is on by default under 13 in the US.

Almost every workaround starts with installing something or deleting the monitoring app. In the US, Ask to Buy is turned on by default for children under 13, and in some scenarios for teens under 18, so check it's still on. Apple says if a child redownloads their own purchase, installs an update, or uses a redemption code, you won't receive a request. Re-downloading a family-shared app does still send a request. To keep an app off, block it by name.

1. iPhone: Settings > Family > your child > Ask to Buy. Confirm it's still on.
2. Then Apps & Websites > Restrictions, and block deleting apps. You can also block App Clips there. Apple lists installing or deleting apps, making purchases, and using App Clips among the restrictions.
3. Android: in Family Link, set Google Play so your child has to ask before downloading.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Block account and settings changes

On your phone · about 4 min

This stops your child from signing into a different account or turning off location, passcode, and similar settings. On iOS 27, Apple's list includes Face ID & Passcode, Location Services, Share My Location, and more. Whether the parent-facing Allow Changes list covers VPN or Date & Time is still unconfirmed. Apple's developer docs show that apps using Screen Time can prevent the user from changing the device's date and time, and that there is no VPN setting in those tools.

1. iPhone or iPad: Settings > Family > your child > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allow Changes to Settings. Set Accounts, and others you care about, to Don't Allow.
2. Android: Family Link > your child > Controls > Signed-in devices > the device > turn Add/Remove user off.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Set a Screen Time passcode or parent PIN only you know

On your phone · about 5 min

Without it, a child can change or turn off every other setting. Apple says the passcode locks your child's Screen Time settings so they can't change them on their own. You can also check when it was last used, which can help you know if your child has been trying to change their settings. On Android, Family Link uses your Google password or Parent access code. Samsung Kids uses its own PIN, or the phone's screen lock if you choose that. If Samsung Kids uses the phone's screen lock, anyone who knows the unlock code can leave Samsung Kids. On a child's own phone, keep a separate Samsung Kids PIN. PIN resets go by email to the registered email address, so make sure that's yours.

1. iPhone or iPad: Settings > Family > your child > Manage Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings. Enter a 4-digit code and set up passcode recovery with your Apple Account.
2. Avoid birthdays, phone numbers, and patterns like 1234.
3. If you think your child knows it: Manage Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode. Check the Last used date now and then.
4. Android: keep the Family Link parent password or Parent access code to yourself.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Finish monitoring-app setup and watch its alerts

Both of you together · about 10 min

Monitoring apps depend on permissions and settings you grant during setup. If any of them changes, filtering or monitoring can stop. The warning sign is the app's device-health screen showing a permission or protection off, or the device stopping its reports. Finish every setup prompt and check the health page weekly. Bark on Android: keep the app updated, leave Accessibility on for Bark, and wait 5 minutes after install before you test. Bark's device code protects important settings. After you enter that code, settings re-lock automatically after 5 minutes. Don't enter the code where your child can see it. Bark on iPhone: set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow. On a regular iPhone that isn't supervised, Bark says Apple doesn't let it lock its VPN settings, so watch for the VPN symbol disappearing. Norton Family on Android: activate Device Administrator during setup to prevent uninstall without your permission. Aura on iPhone: approve the Screen Time access prompt. Aura says those permissions prevent the app from being deleted. Qustodio: watch for the Tampering detected email or dashboard alert. Qustodio blocks split-screen and pop-up views to prevent bypasses.

1. Finish every permission prompt during setup, including the Allow restricted settings step Bark describes for Accessibility on Android 13 and later.
2. On iPhone, set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow for any app you rely on.
3. Turn on email or push alerts in the parent app, and check the device-health page weekly.
4. Watch for Protection at risk, Action Required, manually disabled, or Tampering detected. A device that stops reporting is a warning sign.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Keep web controls on the signed-in browser

On your phone · about 8 min

Family Link's Chrome settings apply only while your child is signed in to Chrome on iPhone, iPad, or a computer, so block other browsers and check that Chrome is still signed in. Google's Chrome help page describes this limit. Qustodio on Android works with Chrome and Firefox and offers Block Unsupported Browsers. Norton Family on iPhone only watches its own browser and tells you to delete the others. Bark lists network settings that need to stay as its setup guide says. Follow Bark's setup checklist, and re-check it when Bark reports protection disrupted. Proxy websites aren't apps, so app approval won't catch them. Use a web filter or a DNS filter.

1. Warning signs: a new browser app, Chrome no longer signed in to your child's account, web reports that go quiet, or a private-browsing icon.
2. On iPhone, turn on Ask to Browse or Limit Adult Websites, and block other browser apps by name.
3. On computers, only allow the supervised Chrome profile, or add a router or DNS filter.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Review Messages, Always Allowed, and Siri

On your phone · about 8 min

By default, essentials like FaceTime, Maps, Phone, and Messages stay available so your child can reach you. Messages keeps working after limits hit. Siri can send messages and get answers using web content, and can connect to ChatGPT if Extensions are allowed. Apple says Siri AI (Beta) isn't available to children under 13. For Siri AI on 13 and up, also block Broad World Knowledge. Apple: allow or block Web Content Search or Broad World Knowledge.

1. Set Allowed Contacts, including a separate setting for When Device Paused or Unavailable.
2. Review Always Allowed and remove anything that isn't needed.
3. Content & Privacy Restrictions > Siri: choose Siri Classic or Don't Allow Siri, and block Web Content Search. For ages 13 and up, also block Broad World Knowledge.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Set the real birthday, and agree the rules

Both of you together · about 10 min

Apple, Google, Meta, Snap, and Discord use the birthday to switch on teen protections. A fake adult birthday switches them off. No setting survives a child who is determined and unsupervised.

1. Check the birthday on your child's Apple Account or Google Account.
2. Agree the rules together: monitoring stays on, no second accounts, no borrowed phones for apps you've said no to, and what happens if a workaround turns up.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Turn off extra user profiles and guest mode

On your phone · about 8 min

Google says Family Link settings won't apply to new user profiles. Bark says a kid could switch to a new user profile with no protections. Qustodio doesn't support multiple users on Android devices. School-issued Chromebooks may not let you change these settings. Bark says to contact the school's IT administrator. Google's Family Link FAQ says supervised children generally can't add other Google Accounts (only a Google Workspace for Education account), because another account could be used to download apps without approval. Extra device profiles are a separate switch.

1. Family Link > your child > Controls > Signed-in devices > the device > Add/Remove user off.
2. If any adult profile exists, give it a PIN or password.
3. Chromebook, signed in as the owner: Settings > People > Manage other people. Turn off Enable Guest browsing, and turn on Restrict sign-in to your child's account. Keep the owner password to yourself.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch for a factory reset or a new account

On your phone · about 6 min

Erasing the phone and setting it up with an unsupervised account drops your settings, because supervision follows the account. Google says that after a reset you must enter security info for the Google Account that was on the phone. When a child account signs back in, setup asks you to verify that you're a parent. For a lost or taken phone, if the child is under 13 or your country's age, Family Link has Reset device & delete data, then Device is lost or stolen: Keep device protection on. Google says that option is for children under 13 or the applicable age in your country. The Keep device protection on wording is on Google's Family Link guidebook. On iPhone, set Accounts to Don't Allow. Apple's developer documentation says that while an app authorized for parental controls is on the device, the user can't sign out of iCloud. Whether Screen Time blocks Erase All Content and Settings isn't stated on the Apple pages checked.

1. Warning signs: the phone looks brand new, the device is gone or not checking in, or an account you don't recognize is signed in.
2. Keep your child's Google password something you can reset through Family Link.
3. If the phone is lost and your child is under 13 or the applicable age: Family Link > your child > Controls > Signed-in devices > the device > Reset device & delete data, then Keep device protection on.
4. On iPhone, leave Accounts set to Don't Allow.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Ask what school devices filter, at school and at home

Both of you together · about 10 min

Google says Google Workspace for Education accounts can't be managed by Family Link. Supervised children can add a school account to their own device. Bark says that on a school-issued Chromebook you may be unable to adjust settings, and to contact the school's IT administrator. You can't control a device you don't own.

1. Ask the school what filtering and monitoring its devices have, on campus and at home, and what hours they work.
2. Your home Wi-Fi filter covers school laptops and friends' phones while they're on your network, not on cellular data.
3. Talk with the parents of close friends about house rules for sleepovers.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Block specific apps by name

On your phone · about 5 min

Deleting an app doesn't stop a re-download. Blocking does. On iOS 27, blocked apps are hidden until you allow them again. On earlier versions Apple says a blocked app is dimmed on the Home Screen. Google warns that some apps can't be blocked because they're required for supervision or for the device to work.

1. iPhone: Settings > Family > your child > Apps & Websites > Add. Type the app's name and block it. Check the Blocked tab.
2. Android: in Family Link, find the app under your child's app settings and Block it. That applies on their Android devices and Chromebooks.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Check for extra users and a Samsung Secure Folder

On your kid's device · about 6 min

Extra Android users, guest mode, and Samsung Secure Folder each have their own apps, so controls on your child's profile don't carry over. Google says files, messages, and apps aren't shared between users, the guest profile, or the owner. Samsung Secure Folder is a separate locked space. Setting one up needs a Samsung Account. It can be hidden from the home screen, so check Settings rather than the home screen. No Google or Samsung page was found saying Family Link can block Secure Folder. Check for it in person, and check Samsung's page for how the folder is shown on your model.

1. Warning signs: an extra user in Settings > Multiple users, storage used by Other users, or much less activity than you'd expect.
2. On Samsung: look for a Secure Folder entry in Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings, or a tile in the Quick Panel.
3. Leave Add/Remove user off in Family Link, PIN-lock other profiles, and turn off guest browsing on a Chromebook you own.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Expect platforms to check some fake birthdays

On your phone · about 6 min

Meta uses technology to find people it believes are teens, even if they list an adult birthday, and places them in Teen Account settings. If a teen tries to change a birthday from under 18 to over 18, Meta requires an ID or Yoti facial age estimation. Meta says the teen-detection technology launched on Instagram in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. It is expanding to Instagram in the 27 EU countries and Brazil, and to Facebook in the US, followed by the UK and the EU in June. Snapchat doesn't allow Snapchatters who already set their age as 13–17 to change their birth year to 18 or above. Discord on Sep 22, 2026 began rolling out automatic age-group estimation, adult 18+ or teen 13–17, over the course of that week. Discord says the model is not currently available in the UK and Australia. Teens can check in User Settings > Account Status. Apple Age Range for Apps shares an age range, not a birthday. You choose Always, Ask First, or Don't Share. It isn't available in all countries, and only works with apps whose developers support it. Google's consumer pages don't describe an equivalent.

1. Set the real birthday on the Apple or Google account.
2. Use Ask to Buy or Family Link approvals plus age ratings.
3. Turn on Apple's Age Range for Apps if it's available in your country.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

List every device your child can use

On your phone · about 15 min

An old phone in a drawer is the easiest workaround. Old phones can still get online over Wi-Fi, so erase them or lock them away. Controls follow the account: if an old device is signed in as your child, Apple and Family Link limits can cover it. If it isn't signed in, it isn't covered. A device on someone else's Wi-Fi or its own cellular plan is outside the controls on this card.

1. List every phone, tablet, laptop, game console, and smart TV, including retired ones.
2. Compare that list with Family Link (Controls > Signed-in devices), Apple Family Sharing, and your monitoring dashboard.
3. Devices you're keeping: sign your child out, or add them to supervision. Devices you're done with: erase and recycle.
4. Use the router's device list to spot anything unknown on your Wi-Fi.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Notice a Developer options menu

On your kid's device · about 3 min

Developer options is a hidden settings menu for app makers, and a computer can be used to change a phone over a USB cable. Google documents a switch to block developer options for business-managed phones, and doesn't say on a consumer page whether Family Link blocks them. No documented consumer setting in Family Link, Bark, Qustodio, Aura, or Norton was found that blocks developer options. Check with Google for your child's account.

1. Warning signs: a Developer options menu in Settings, usually under System, or long sessions with the phone plugged into a computer.
2. Keep Family Link supervision on, keep your parent password private, and keep computers in shared spaces.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Notice a second account inside an app

Both of you together · about 5 min

Supervision tools only cover the account you linked. Device-level time limits and blocks on the app still cover every account inside it. No Apple or Google page was found that shows which accounts are signed in inside a third-party app. Whether Instagram, Snapchat, or Discord supervision flags a teen's other accounts isn't documented on the pages checked.

1. Warning signs: the linked account shows very little activity while Screen Time or Family Link shows a lot of time in the app, or friends mention a name you don't recognize.
2. Talk about it. A second account is often a sign they want more privacy. The app-level time limit still applies.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Treat Android Safe Mode gaps as a warning sign

On your phone · about 4 min

Google's business device-management page says that in safe mode the device runs only standard, preinstalled apps and deactivates third-party apps. Monitoring apps such as Bark, Qustodio, Aura, and Norton are third-party apps, so they stop while the phone is in that mode. Family Link is not a downloaded app. Google doesn't say on a consumer page how supervision behaves in Safe Mode. No documented Family Link setting for parents was found that blocks Safe Mode. Businesses can switch Safe Mode off on managed devices. That option is for organizations, not Family Link. Bark says its phone locks important settings by default. Whether that includes Safe Mode isn't stated.

1. Warning signs: a gap in the monitoring report, or a device hasn't checked in, while you know the phone was in use. The home screen can look reset for a while.
2. Use Family Link alongside a monitoring app so the built-in layer stays on.
3. Qustodio's older article says an encrypted phone lets Safe Mode be entered only from a password-protected administrator account. Qustodio marks that article as no longer updated. Treat it as background, not a current fix. Check with Google whether Family Link blocks Safe Mode on your phone.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch for a rooted or jailbroken phone

On your kid's device · about 5 min

Changing the phone's operating system can switch off parental controls and monitoring apps together. Apple says jailbreaking removes security layers designed to protect personal information, can let hackers steal information or introduce malware, and breaks services like iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and Apple Pay. Apple may deny service for a jailbroken iPhone. There is no parent setting that makes this impossible. No official page from Bark, Qustodio, Aura, or Norton was found saying they detect it.

1. Warning signs: apps that didn't come from the App Store or Google Play, a phone that can't install updates, frequent crashes, faster battery drain, dropped calls, or iMessage, FaceTime, or Apple Pay not working.
2. Keep the device on the latest system version with automatic updates on, and keep the Screen Time passcode or Family Link password private.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch the clock setting

On your kid's device · about 3 min

Screen Time limits depend on the device clock. Apple says that if the device has a Screen Time passcode, the date and time setting might be dimmed, and that Set Automatically might not be available with all carriers or in all countries. Apple says might, not will, so check the device yourself. Developer docs show apps can require automatic date and time. Apple's parent-facing pages don't say the built-in controls do that. Google doesn't document how Family Link handles clock changes.

1. Warning sign: Set Automatically turned off, the phone showing the wrong time, or activity reports with odd hours.
2. Keep the Screen Time passcode private, then look at Date & Time on your child's iPhone.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Block App Clips if you don't want short app sessions

On your phone · about 2 min

App Clips are small pieces of apps that open from a link, QR code, or tag without a full install. Apple doesn't say whether App Clips go through Ask to Buy, so block them if you're unsure.

1. Apps & Websites > Restrictions lists App Clips among the things you can block.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch for the VPN symbol disappearing

On your phone · about 6 min

On an iPhone that isn't supervised, apps like Bark and Norton can't lock their VPN, so a child can turn it off. Bark says Apple doesn't let you lock down the Bark Kids app VPN settings. Norton says if you do not see the VPN symbol, your child might have turned it off. Apple's Screen Time tools for app makers include account, passcode, date-and-time, app, and web settings, but no VPN setting. The exception is an iPhone under Apple device supervision: Always On VPN can then stay on, and Qustodio's cabled Qustodio Advance uses supervision so your child can't remove Qustodio. Without supervision, assume the VPN can be switched off. Android VPN-indicator wording from Norton wasn't found, so look for the VPN symbol generally and for the app's own alert. Proxy websites aren't apps. Home-router filters can't see inside a VPN. Norton says some events on its iPhone setup send no alert, so tamper alerts can be delayed or missed. Check the app's status regularly. Apple's delete protection applies to apps that use Family Controls, approved by a parent. Apple says authorizing an app prevents the child user from deleting the app that provides parental controls. Aura's Screen Time permissions prevent deletion. Bark still tells iPhone parents to set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow.

1. Warning signs: the VPN symbol missing while the app should be running, Bark's protection-disrupted or manually-disabled notices, or web reports that go empty.
2. App approval is the main defense against a new VPN app. Block VPN apps by name if you've seen them.
3. On a supervised iPhone, Always On VPN and Qustodio Advance are the documented locks. On a regular iPhone, check the symbol and the app status.
4. Android with Bark: keep Bark's setup checklist as Bark describes it, including its Always-on VPN.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Require approval for new apps, and block deleting apps

On your phone · about 5 min · Ask to Buy is on by default under 13 in the US.

Almost every workaround starts with installing something or deleting the monitoring app. In the US, Ask to Buy is turned on by default for children under 13, and in some scenarios for teens under 18, so check it's still on. Apple says if a child redownloads their own purchase, installs an update, or uses a redemption code, you won't receive a request. Re-downloading a family-shared app does still send a request. To keep an app off, block it by name.

1. iPhone: Settings > Family > your child > Ask to Buy. Confirm it's still on.
2. Then Apps & Websites > Restrictions, and block deleting apps. You can also block App Clips there. Apple lists installing or deleting apps, making purchases, and using App Clips among the restrictions.
3. Android: in Family Link, set Google Play so your child has to ask before downloading.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Block account and settings changes

On your phone · about 4 min

This stops your child from signing into a different account or turning off location, passcode, and similar settings. On iOS 27, Apple's list includes Face ID & Passcode, Location Services, Share My Location, and more. Whether the parent-facing Allow Changes list covers VPN or Date & Time is still unconfirmed. Apple's developer docs show that apps using Screen Time can prevent the user from changing the device's date and time, and that there is no VPN setting in those tools.

1. iPhone or iPad: Settings > Family > your child > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Allow Changes to Settings. Set Accounts, and others you care about, to Don't Allow.
2. Android: Family Link > your child > Controls > Signed-in devices > the device > turn Add/Remove user off.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Set a Screen Time passcode or parent PIN only you know

On your phone · about 5 min

Without it, a child can change or turn off every other setting. Apple says the passcode locks your child's Screen Time settings so they can't change them on their own. You can also check when it was last used, which can help you know if your child has been trying to change their settings. On Android, Family Link uses your Google password or Parent access code. Samsung Kids uses its own PIN, or the phone's screen lock if you choose that. If Samsung Kids uses the phone's screen lock, anyone who knows the unlock code can leave Samsung Kids. On a child's own phone, keep a separate Samsung Kids PIN. PIN resets go by email to the registered email address, so make sure that's yours.

1. iPhone or iPad: Settings > Family > your child > Manage Screen Time > Lock Screen Time Settings. Enter a 4-digit code and set up passcode recovery with your Apple Account.
2. Avoid birthdays, phone numbers, and patterns like 1234.
3. If you think your child knows it: Manage Screen Time > Change Screen Time Passcode. Check the Last used date now and then.
4. Android: keep the Family Link parent password or Parent access code to yourself.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Expect a teen to need your approval to stop Family Link

On your phone · about 4 min

This isn't a trick, but parents are often surprised. Google says your child won't be able to stop supervision until they reach the applicable age to manage their own Google Account, and a child under 18 will need a parent's approval to stop supervision. You'll both get notified when supervision is stopped. The same page's can't-do list includes Block your child from stopping supervision for accounts that had supervision added. Read together: from 13, or the local age, a teen can ask to stop, and under 18 they need your approval. Check the Family Link app if your child's account was an existing one.

1. Before a 13th birthday, talk about what stays supervised.
2. If a notification says supervision stopped, open Family Link and confirm what you approved.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Finish monitoring-app setup and watch its alerts

Both of you together · about 10 min

Monitoring apps depend on permissions and settings you grant during setup. If any of them changes, filtering or monitoring can stop. The warning sign is the app's device-health screen showing a permission or protection off, or the device stopping its reports. Finish every setup prompt and check the health page weekly. Bark on Android: keep the app updated, leave Accessibility on for Bark, and wait 5 minutes after install before you test. Bark's device code protects important settings. After you enter that code, settings re-lock automatically after 5 minutes. Don't enter the code where your child can see it. Bark on iPhone: set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow. On a regular iPhone that isn't supervised, Bark says Apple doesn't let it lock its VPN settings, so watch for the VPN symbol disappearing. Norton Family on Android: activate Device Administrator during setup to prevent uninstall without your permission. Aura on iPhone: approve the Screen Time access prompt. Aura says those permissions prevent the app from being deleted. Qustodio: watch for the Tampering detected email or dashboard alert. Qustodio blocks split-screen and pop-up views to prevent bypasses.

1. Finish every permission prompt during setup, including the Allow restricted settings step Bark describes for Accessibility on Android 13 and later.
2. On iPhone, set Deleting Apps to Don't Allow for any app you rely on.
3. Turn on email or push alerts in the parent app, and check the device-health page weekly.
4. Watch for Protection at risk, Action Required, manually disabled, or Tampering detected. A device that stops reporting is a warning sign.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Keep web controls on the signed-in browser

On your phone · about 8 min

Family Link's Chrome settings apply only while your child is signed in to Chrome on iPhone, iPad, or a computer, so block other browsers and check that Chrome is still signed in. Google's Chrome help page describes this limit. Qustodio on Android works with Chrome and Firefox and offers Block Unsupported Browsers. Norton Family on iPhone only watches its own browser and tells you to delete the others. Bark lists network settings that need to stay as its setup guide says. Follow Bark's setup checklist, and re-check it when Bark reports protection disrupted. Proxy websites aren't apps, so app approval won't catch them. Use a web filter or a DNS filter.

1. Warning signs: a new browser app, Chrome no longer signed in to your child's account, web reports that go quiet, or a private-browsing icon.
2. On iPhone, turn on Ask to Browse or Limit Adult Websites, and block other browser apps by name.
3. On computers, only allow the supervised Chrome profile, or add a router or DNS filter.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Review Messages, Always Allowed, and Siri

On your phone · about 8 min

By default, essentials like FaceTime, Maps, Phone, and Messages stay available so your child can reach you. Messages keeps working after limits hit. Siri can send messages and get answers using web content, and can connect to ChatGPT if Extensions are allowed. Apple says Siri AI (Beta) isn't available to children under 13. For Siri AI on 13 and up, also block Broad World Knowledge. Apple: allow or block Web Content Search or Broad World Knowledge.

Siri AI is for 13 and up. Block Broad World Knowledge as well as Web Content Search.

1. Set Allowed Contacts, including a separate setting for When Device Paused or Unavailable.
2. Review Always Allowed and remove anything that isn't needed.
3. Content & Privacy Restrictions > Siri: choose Siri Classic or Don't Allow Siri, and block Web Content Search. For ages 13 and up, also block Broad World Knowledge.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Set the real birthday, and agree the rules

Both of you together · about 10 min

Apple, Google, Meta, Snap, and Discord use the birthday to switch on teen protections. A fake adult birthday switches them off. No setting survives a child who is determined and unsupervised.

1. Check the birthday on your child's Apple Account or Google Account.
2. Agree the rules together: monitoring stays on, no second accounts, no borrowed phones for apps you've said no to, and what happens if a workaround turns up.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Turn off extra user profiles and guest mode

On your phone · about 8 min

Google says Family Link settings won't apply to new user profiles. Bark says a kid could switch to a new user profile with no protections. Qustodio doesn't support multiple users on Android devices. School-issued Chromebooks may not let you change these settings. Bark says to contact the school's IT administrator. Google's Family Link FAQ says supervised children generally can't add other Google Accounts (only a Google Workspace for Education account), because another account could be used to download apps without approval. Extra device profiles are a separate switch.

1. Family Link > your child > Controls > Signed-in devices > the device > Add/Remove user off.
2. If any adult profile exists, give it a PIN or password.
3. Chromebook, signed in as the owner: Settings > People > Manage other people. Turn off Enable Guest browsing, and turn on Restrict sign-in to your child's account. Keep the owner password to yourself.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch for a factory reset or a new account

On your phone · about 6 min

Erasing the phone and setting it up with an unsupervised account drops your settings, because supervision follows the account. Google says that after a reset you must enter security info for the Google Account that was on the phone. When a child account signs back in, setup asks you to verify that you're a parent. For a lost or taken phone, if the child is under 13 or your country's age, Family Link has Reset device & delete data, then Device is lost or stolen: Keep device protection on. Google says that option is for children under 13 or the applicable age in your country. The Keep device protection on wording is on Google's Family Link guidebook. On iPhone, set Accounts to Don't Allow. Apple's developer documentation says that while an app authorized for parental controls is on the device, the user can't sign out of iCloud. Whether Screen Time blocks Erase All Content and Settings isn't stated on the Apple pages checked.

1. Warning signs: the phone looks brand new, the device is gone or not checking in, or an account you don't recognize is signed in.
2. Keep your child's Google password something you can reset through Family Link.
3. If the phone is lost and your child is under 13 or the applicable age: Family Link > your child > Controls > Signed-in devices > the device > Reset device & delete data, then Keep device protection on.
4. On iPhone, leave Accounts set to Don't Allow.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Ask what school devices filter, at school and at home

Both of you together · about 10 min

Google says Google Workspace for Education accounts can't be managed by Family Link. Supervised children can add a school account to their own device. Bark says that on a school-issued Chromebook you may be unable to adjust settings, and to contact the school's IT administrator. You can't control a device you don't own.

1. Ask the school what filtering and monitoring its devices have, on campus and at home, and what hours they work.
2. Your home Wi-Fi filter covers school laptops and friends' phones while they're on your network, not on cellular data.
3. Talk with the parents of close friends about house rules for sleepovers.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Block specific apps by name

On your phone · about 5 min

Deleting an app doesn't stop a re-download. Blocking does. On iOS 27, blocked apps are hidden until you allow them again. On earlier versions Apple says a blocked app is dimmed on the Home Screen. Google warns that some apps can't be blocked because they're required for supervision or for the device to work.

1. iPhone: Settings > Family > your child > Apps & Websites > Add. Type the app's name and block it. Check the Blocked tab.
2. Android: in Family Link, find the app under your child's app settings and Block it. That applies on their Android devices and Chromebooks.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Check for extra users and a Samsung Secure Folder

On your kid's device · about 6 min

Extra Android users, guest mode, and Samsung Secure Folder each have their own apps, so controls on your child's profile don't carry over. Google says files, messages, and apps aren't shared between users, the guest profile, or the owner. Samsung Secure Folder is a separate locked space. Setting one up needs a Samsung Account. It can be hidden from the home screen, so check Settings rather than the home screen. No Google or Samsung page was found saying Family Link can block Secure Folder. Check for it in person, and check Samsung's page for how the folder is shown on your model.

1. Warning signs: an extra user in Settings > Multiple users, storage used by Other users, or much less activity than you'd expect.
2. On Samsung: look for a Secure Folder entry in Settings > Security and privacy > More security settings, or a tile in the Quick Panel.
3. Leave Add/Remove user off in Family Link, PIN-lock other profiles, and turn off guest browsing on a Chromebook you own.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Expect platforms to check some fake birthdays

On your phone · about 6 min

Meta uses technology to find people it believes are teens, even if they list an adult birthday, and places them in Teen Account settings. If a teen tries to change a birthday from under 18 to over 18, Meta requires an ID or Yoti facial age estimation. Meta says the teen-detection technology launched on Instagram in the US, Australia, Canada, and the UK. It is expanding to Instagram in the 27 EU countries and Brazil, and to Facebook in the US, followed by the UK and the EU in June. Snapchat doesn't allow Snapchatters who already set their age as 13–17 to change their birth year to 18 or above. Discord on Sep 22, 2026 began rolling out automatic age-group estimation, adult 18+ or teen 13–17, over the course of that week. Discord says the model is not currently available in the UK and Australia. Teens can check in User Settings > Account Status. Apple Age Range for Apps shares an age range, not a birthday. You choose Always, Ask First, or Don't Share. It isn't available in all countries, and only works with apps whose developers support it. Google's consumer pages don't describe an equivalent.

1. Set the real birthday on the Apple or Google account.
2. Use Ask to Buy or Family Link approvals plus age ratings.
3. Turn on Apple's Age Range for Apps if it's available in your country.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

List every device your child can use

On your phone · about 15 min

An old phone in a drawer is the easiest workaround. Old phones can still get online over Wi-Fi, so erase them or lock them away. Controls follow the account: if an old device is signed in as your child, Apple and Family Link limits can cover it. If it isn't signed in, it isn't covered. A device on someone else's Wi-Fi or its own cellular plan is outside the controls on this card.

1. List every phone, tablet, laptop, game console, and smart TV, including retired ones.
2. Compare that list with Family Link (Controls > Signed-in devices), Apple Family Sharing, and your monitoring dashboard.
3. Devices you're keeping: sign your child out, or add them to supervision. Devices you're done with: erase and recycle.
4. Use the router's device list to spot anything unknown on your Wi-Fi.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Look for hidden apps on a teen iPhone

On your phone · about 4 min

iPhones can hide an app in a locked Hidden folder. Apple says children under 13 in a Family Sharing group can't lock or hide apps. Ages 13–17 can, but a parent or guardian can see that the app was downloaded and how much time is spent in it. Blocking the app by name works whether it's hidden or not.

1. Ages 13–17: warning sign is an app in the Screen Time report that you can't find on the home screen. There is also a Hidden Apps list under Settings > Apps.
2. Block the app by name instead of only looking on the home screen.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Notice a Developer options menu

On your kid's device · about 3 min

Developer options is a hidden settings menu for app makers, and a computer can be used to change a phone over a USB cable. Google documents a switch to block developer options for business-managed phones, and doesn't say on a consumer page whether Family Link blocks them. No documented consumer setting in Family Link, Bark, Qustodio, Aura, or Norton was found that blocks developer options. Check with Google for your child's account.

1. Warning signs: a Developer options menu in Settings, usually under System, or long sessions with the phone plugged into a computer.
2. Keep Family Link supervision on, keep your parent password private, and keep computers in shared spaces.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Notice a second account inside an app

Both of you together · about 5 min

Supervision tools only cover the account you linked. Device-level time limits and blocks on the app still cover every account inside it. No Apple or Google page was found that shows which accounts are signed in inside a third-party app. Whether Instagram, Snapchat, or Discord supervision flags a teen's other accounts isn't documented on the pages checked.

1. Warning signs: the linked account shows very little activity while Screen Time or Family Link shows a lot of time in the app, or friends mention a name you don't recognize.
2. Talk about it. A second account is often a sign they want more privacy. The app-level time limit still applies.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Treat Android Safe Mode gaps as a warning sign

On your phone · about 4 min

Google's business device-management page says that in safe mode the device runs only standard, preinstalled apps and deactivates third-party apps. Monitoring apps such as Bark, Qustodio, Aura, and Norton are third-party apps, so they stop while the phone is in that mode. Family Link is not a downloaded app. Google doesn't say on a consumer page how supervision behaves in Safe Mode. No documented Family Link setting for parents was found that blocks Safe Mode. Businesses can switch Safe Mode off on managed devices. That option is for organizations, not Family Link. Bark says its phone locks important settings by default. Whether that includes Safe Mode isn't stated.

1. Warning signs: a gap in the monitoring report, or a device hasn't checked in, while you know the phone was in use. The home screen can look reset for a while.
2. Use Family Link alongside a monitoring app so the built-in layer stays on.
3. Qustodio's older article says an encrypted phone lets Safe Mode be entered only from a password-protected administrator account. Qustodio marks that article as no longer updated. Treat it as background, not a current fix. Check with Google whether Family Link blocks Safe Mode on your phone.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch for a rooted or jailbroken phone

On your kid's device · about 5 min

Changing the phone's operating system can switch off parental controls and monitoring apps together. Apple says jailbreaking removes security layers designed to protect personal information, can let hackers steal information or introduce malware, and breaks services like iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime, and Apple Pay. Apple may deny service for a jailbroken iPhone. There is no parent setting that makes this impossible. No official page from Bark, Qustodio, Aura, or Norton was found saying they detect it.

1. Warning signs: apps that didn't come from the App Store or Google Play, a phone that can't install updates, frequent crashes, faster battery drain, dropped calls, or iMessage, FaceTime, or Apple Pay not working.
2. Keep the device on the latest system version with automatic updates on, and keep the Screen Time passcode or Family Link password private.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Watch the clock setting

On your kid's device · about 3 min

Screen Time limits depend on the device clock. Apple says that if the device has a Screen Time passcode, the date and time setting might be dimmed, and that Set Automatically might not be available with all carriers or in all countries. Apple says might, not will, so check the device yourself. Developer docs show apps can require automatic date and time. Apple's parent-facing pages don't say the built-in controls do that. Google doesn't document how Family Link handles clock changes.

1. Warning sign: Set Automatically turned off, the phone showing the wrong time, or activity reports with odd hours.
2. Keep the Screen Time passcode private, then look at Date & Time on your child's iPhone.

Checked 30 Sep 2026

Block App Clips if you don't want short app sessions

On your phone · about 2 min

App Clips are small pieces of apps that open from a link, QR code, or tag without a full install. Apple doesn't say whether App Clips go through Ask to Buy, so block them if you're unsure.

1. Apps & Websites > Restrictions lists App Clips among the things you can block.

Checked 30 Sep 2026