Parental controls arrive on all Android devices

Just in time for summer break.
 By 
Rebecca Ruiz
 on 
Android logo on a smartphone.
All Android devices are getting parental controls. Credit: SOPA Images / Contributor / Getty Images

With summer screen time in full swing, Google has announced Android parental controls are now available on all Android devices.

These on-device settings first launched on the Pixel in late 2025. Now any Android device updated with Android 17 will have them too.

The controls allow parents to set screen time limits on the device — plus a downtime schedule that locks a device at night, and filters for Google Play downloads.


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Parents can also block specific apps or limit time spent on them. Changes can only be made via a PIN.

Android parental controls also help connect caregivers to Google Family Link, a tool for managing a child's Google account and related screen time activity.

Along with the parental controls update, Google announced increased support for its digital well-being fund in order to "introduce new interventions focused on best practices for healthy technology interactions and supports that combat social isolation."

Rebecca Ruiz
Rebecca Ruiz
Senior Reporter

Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable. She frequently covers mental health, digital culture, and technology. Her areas of expertise include suicide prevention, screen use and mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and meditation and mindfulness. Rebecca's experience prior to Mashable includes working as a staff writer, reporter, and editor at NBC News Digital and as a staff writer at Forbes. Rebecca has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a masters degree from U.C. Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism.

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