Parental Controls on iPhone and Android: Setup Guide

Parental controls on iPhone are called Screen Time, and on Android they live inside Google Family Link. Both are free, both take about 20 minutes to set up, and both let you limit apps, filter content, approve purchases, and see where your child's phone is. Below is a step-by-step setup for each, plus a short section on how the Getshure app adds family location sharing and scam protection on top.

We are Getshure, a small American publisher and family-safety company. We write these guides so you can do the setup yourself, then decide if you want our app and books to make the ongoing work easier.

Before you start: three decisions to make with your child

Parental controls work better when the child knows they exist and understands the rules. Sit down for ten minutes first and agree on:

1. Which apps are okay. Social media, games, messaging, and browsers each carry different risks.
2. When the phone sleeps. Most families pick a nightly cutoff (for example 9:00 PM on school nights) and a morning wake time.
3. What you will do if something goes wrong. Tell your child that if a stranger messages them or they see something scary, they can come to you without losing the phone. Fear of losing the phone is the main reason kids hide problems.

Write this down. A one-page family agreement taped inside a kitchen cabinet works better than a long speech.

iPhone: how to set up Screen Time (step by step)

Screen Time is built into every iPhone and iPad. You will set it up on your child's phone, then link it to your Apple ID so you can manage it from your own device.

Step 1: Create a child Apple ID with Family Sharing

1. On your iPhone, open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap Family (or Family Sharing). If you have never used it, tap Set Up Your Family.
3. Tap Add Member → Create Child Account and follow the prompts. Use your child's real birthday — Apple uses it to turn on age-appropriate restrictions automatically.
4. Sign in to that child Apple ID on your child's iPhone.

Family Sharing is what makes remote parental controls possible. Without it, you can still set Screen Time on the phone itself, but you cannot approve requests or see reports from your own device.

Step 2: Turn on Screen Time and set a parent passcode

1. On the child's phone, open Settings → Screen Time.
2. Tap Turn On Screen Time, then choose This is My Child's iPhone.
3. Set a Screen Time Passcode that your child does not know. Do not reuse the phone's unlock code.
4. Enter your Apple ID and password on the recovery screen. This lets you reset the Screen Time passcode later if you forget it.

Step 3: Set Downtime, App Limits, and Communication Limits

1. Downtime: Settings → Screen Time → Downtime. Pick the hours the phone is asleep (for example 9:00 PM to 7:00 AM). Only apps you allow will work during those hours — usually Phone and Messages.
2. App Limits: tap App Limits → Add Limit. Pick a category like Social or Games and set a daily cap. When the limit is hit, your child can send you a request for more time, which pops up on your phone.
3. Communication Limits: tap Communication Limits and restrict who can contact your child during the day and during Downtime (contacts only is a good default).

Step 4: Content & Privacy Restrictions

This is the most important screen on the whole phone. Tap Settings → Screen Time → Content & Privacy Restrictions, turn it on, and walk through:

• iTunes & App Store Purchases: set Installing Apps, Deleting Apps, and In-app Purchases to Don't Allow or Require Password Always.
• Allowed Apps: hide anything you don't want on the phone (for example Safari, if you prefer a filtered browser).
• Content Restrictions: set age ratings for movies, TV shows, apps, and books. Under Web Content, choose Limit Adult Websites.
• Game Center: turn off Multiplayer Games with strangers for younger kids.

Step 5: Ask to Buy and purchase approval

Back in Family settings on your phone, tap your child's name and turn on Ask to Buy. Every app download or in-app purchase will now ping your phone for approval. This single setting prevents most "my kid spent $400 on a game" phone calls we see parents make.

Android: how to set up Google Family Link (step by step)

Family Link is Google's free app for managing a child's Android phone, tablet, or Chromebook. You install it on both phones.

Step 1: Install Family Link on your phone

1. On your phone, open the Play Store and install Google Family Link.
2. Open it and tap Get Started. Choose Parent.
3. If you do not already have a Family Group, create one.

Step 2: Create or link your child's Google Account

1. In Family Link, tap the + button and choose Add child.
2. If your child is under 13, create a supervised Google Account for them using their real birthday. If they already have an account, you can invite it into supervision.
3. On your child's Android phone, sign out of any adult Google Account and sign in with the child account. The phone will walk you through linking it to Family Link.

Step 3: Set screen time, bedtime, and app approvals

Open Family Link on your phone and tap your child's name. You will see cards for:

• Daily limit: total screen time per day, with different limits for school days and weekends.
• Bedtime: locks the phone during sleep hours. Only calls to approved contacts work.
• App limits: cap individual apps (one hour of TikTok, 30 minutes of a game, and so on).
• Apps installed: see everything on the phone and block or uninstall remotely.
• Controls → App approvals: require your approval for new installs from the Play Store.

Step 4: Content filters

1. In your child's profile, tap Controls → Content restrictions.
2. Under Google Play, set age ratings for apps, games, movies, TV, and books.
3. Under Google Search, turn on SafeSearch.
4. Under Google Chrome, choose Try to block explicit sites, or Only allow approved sites for younger kids.
5. Under YouTube, use YouTube Kids for younger children, or turn on Supervised experience for older ones.

Step 5: Location and lost-phone settings

In Family Link, tap Location and turn on location sharing for your child's device. You can also set up Find My Device in the child's Google Account settings so a lost phone can be rung, locked, or wiped remotely.

Both phones: things people forget

• Turn off AirDrop / Nearby Share from "Everyone." This is how strangers send inappropriate images to kids on public transit. Set to Contacts Only.
• Lock the camera roll backup account. Make sure your child's photos back up to their account, not to a shared family cloud where siblings can see everything.
• Review app permissions every few months. See our guide: Check App Permissions on Your Phone.
• Talk about messages from strangers. Controls won't catch everything. See Sextortion and Teens and How to Talk to Kids About Online Safety.

Family location sharing with the Getshure app

Built-in controls handle the phone. But most parents also want a simple, always-on way to see where their family is — not in a creepy way, just a "made it to school" way. That is what the Getshure app does, and it is one reason we wrote it.

Family location sharing is included with every Getshure protection plan. Install the app on each family member's phone, sign in with the same plan email, and everyone sees each other on a shared map. No ads, no social feed, no "friends of friends." Just your family.

The same app also includes Scam Shield to flag likely scam callers (useful if your teen's number ends up on a marketing list), a breach check that tells you if your kid's email shows up in known data leaks, a private vault locked with Face ID for photos they don't want siblings to see, and a tracker blocker for safer browsing on school and cafe Wi-Fi. No app can block every scam or tracker, but it catches a lot that built-in settings miss.

Read what the app does: The Getshure App: What It Does and What It Can't Do. Android families can grab it on Google Play: Getshure on Google Play. iPhone families get the download link in their Getshure order email.

Related reads: How to Share Your Location With Family Safely and Getshure App Sign In: How to Activate After Your Order.

The book: Keep Your Family Safe from AI

Phone settings are step one. Step two is the harder stuff: AI chatbots your kid talks to, deepfakes in group chats, voice-clone scam calls pretending to be a family member, and the new tricks that show up every few months.

Our hardcover Keep Your FamiIy Safe from AI ($29) walks parents and grandparents through all of it in plain English — what to say to your kids, what to turn off, what to do when something happens. It pairs well with this guide because the phone settings close the easy doors, and the book prepares you for the harder conversations. Free US shipping on orders of $40+, and the 30-day return window applies.

You may also want AI Chatbots and Kids: Risks, Rules and Settings and Family Safe Word: Your Best Defense Against AI Voice Scams.

Why order from Getshure

We are a real, small American company — MetaWise Enterprises, LLC in Coral Springs, Florida (Delaware file number 10336625). Here is what you can verify before you spend a dollar:

• Clear pricing. Books are $29. Protection plans start at $9.99, $29.99, or $79.99 today depending on the plan, then $29.99 every 30 days. You get an email reminder about 3 days before each renewal.
• One-step cancel. Use the link in your order email, go to getshure.com/cancel, or email us. No phone call, no retention script. See How to Cancel a Getshure Plan.
• 30-day money-back guarantee on every plan charge, renewal, and add-on. Details: Getshure Refund Policy.
• Real phone support. (754) 812-1679, Monday–Friday, 9 AM–6 PM Eastern. Or email contact@getshure.com.

Your 20-minute setup checklist

• Agree on rules with your child (10 min).
• iPhone: turn on Family Sharing + Screen Time with a parent passcode.
• Android: install Family Link on both phones and link your child's account.
• Set bedtime, daily limits, and app limits.
• Turn on content filters and SafeSearch / Limit Adult Websites.
• Require approval for app installs and in-app purchases.
• Turn off AirDrop / Nearby Share from "Everyone."
• Install the Getshure app on each family phone for location sharing, Scam Shield, and the breach check.
• Order Keep Your Family Safe from AI for the conversations settings can't have for you.

Ready to add the app and the book? Start with the family book or browse who we are. Questions first? Call us at (754) 812-1679 or email contact@getshure.com.