The Android Tax (In a Good Way)
If your kid has an Android phone or a Chromebook, Family Link is basically mandatory. Because it's baked into the operating system at the account level, it has permissions that third-party apps just can't touch. You can see exactly how many minutes they spent on TikTok versus Khan Academy, and you can remotely lock the device when it's time for dinner.
The Friction Points
It isn't perfect. The interface can feel clunky, and as recent reviews in 2025 and 2026 have noted, Google hasn't always been quick to fix the 'sync' bugs. Sometimes you'll grant a 15-minute extension and it just... won't happen. This leads to the 'Parent Tech Support' shuffle, which is nobody's favorite way to spend a Tuesday night.
"While Family Link helps you manage your child’s purchases and downloads... it does not make the internet safe."
That quote from Google's own documentation is the most important thing to remember. It’s a fence, not a bodyguard. It’s great for stopping a 7-year-old from accidentally downloading a gambling app, but it’s less effective at stopping a 12-year-old from seeing something they shouldn't on a browser.
The 13-Year-Old Problem
Google’s policy on the 'Age of Consent' for data is the biggest hurdle. At 13, the power dynamic shifts. Your kid gets the option to take over their own account. If they do, supervision is turned off, and you get a notification. This is a feature, not a bug, but it can feel like a betrayal if you aren't expecting it. Use the years between 8 and 12 to build the trust so that by 13, the 'supervision' is more of a shared agreement than a digital leash.