How Do Parental Controls Work? Setting Up Devices at Home

Content filtering, screen time limits, and internet usage all fall under the parental controls umbrella. Here’s how to set these up across devices.

What Are Parental Controls?

Parental controls are features on apps, games, and devices that help manage children’s use of technology. Content filtering, screen time limits, and internet usage all fall under the parental controls umbrella.

As a parent, it’s tempting to exert as much control over your child’s online behavior as possible.

Adults are about twice as likely as teens to support setting limits on the amount of time minors spend on social media sites (69% vs. 34%) [ *****](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/10/31/81-of-us-adults-versus-46-of-teens-favor-parental-consent-for-minors-to-use-social-media/).

But constant monitoring can feel harsh, leading kids and teens to find other more potentially dangerous ways to access the internet.

How Do Parental Controls Work?

The first step in keeping your child safe is understanding what kinds of parental controls exist. Below, we’ll cover how to set practical guardrails on your child’s:

  1. Operating systems
  2. Mobile devices
  3. Web browsers
  4. Gaming consoles
  5. Social media accounts
  6. Smart TVs and streaming services
  7. Routers
  8. Smart home devices

1. On Operating Systems

Most personal computers (PCs) are built with parental controls that can restrict a child’s access to age-appropriate content and limit their screen time, but these features aren’t enabled by default.

Windows 10/Windows 11

Microsoft’s Family Safety features give you insight into how your children are using their computers, when they’ve shared their locations, and more.

  1. Go to Settings, and click on Accounts.
  2. Choose Family & Other Users.
  3. Click on Add Account, and then click on Create one for a child.

During the account creation process, Windows 11 will ask for the child’s birthday and auto-generate restrictions based on their age. To modify these controls:

  1. Go to Settings, and click on Accounts.
  2. Choose Family & Other Users.
  3. Click on Manage family settings online or remove an account.

macOS

To enable Mac parental controls, you’ll need an administrator account. Here’s how to create your kid’s account:

  1. Go to Apple’s system settings.
  2. Click on Users & Groups.
  3. Click on Add Account and enter your administrator password.

From here, you can configure Apple Screen Time which has features like:

  • Downtime: Periods when kids can only use apps that you’ve enabled.
  • App Limits: Time limits on specific apps or categories of apps.
  • Content & Privacy settings limit content and downloads.

2. On mobile devices

Research shows that children between 8–12 years of age spend an average of four hours and 44 minutes on smartphones. Without set boundaries, they could rack up in-game purchases, accidentally respond to phishing texts, or view violent or explicit content.

Android

Android has two options for enabling parental controls:

  1. Open Google Play.
  2. Tap on the profile icon.
  3. Tap on Settings, then Family, and then Parental Controls.
  4. Toggle on Parental Controls and create a PIN that your child cannot guess.

iOS

iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch all have Screen Time settings that you can control. Set them up by:

  1. Go to Settings.
  2. Tap on Screen Time.
  3. Tap on Turn on Screen Time, and tap again.
  4. Choose This is My Child’s Device.

3. On web browsers

Chrome

Chrome activity and access are managed through Google’s Family Link app. Select your child and tap on Controls, then Content Restrictions, and then Google Chrome.

To manually approve or block select sites in the Google Chrome Content restrictions settings under Manage sites.

Safari

Safari’s settings are dictated by the Screen Time settings that you choose on any device.

4. On gaming consoles

Roughly 76% of kids under the age of 18 play video games. Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo have added parental control features to disable specific games and manage your child’s in-game spending.

Xbox

  1. Navigate to the Profile & System tab.
  2. Select Settings > Account > Family settings.
  3. Enter your PIN or passkey and select My sign-in, security & PIN.

5. On social media

According to Pew Research, 35% of teens say they are using at least one social media platform “almost constantly,” and younger kids are quickly catching up.

Instagram

Instagram requires all of its users to be above the age of 13. Between the ages of 13 and 17, parents can enable teen supervision by sending their child a supervision invite.

6. On smart TVs and streaming services

Widely used streaming services like Hulu and Netflix let you set maturity levels for each of your children.

7. On routers

Router parental controls add yet another layer of protection, giving you even more control over what your child views.

8. On smart home devices

The Google Home app controls Google Nest speakers and displays. Tap on Settings, then tap on Digital Wellbeing to block explicit videos and music from YouTube or other radio services.

9. On third-party apps

While configuring native parental controls on your child’s apps and devices is a great starting point, it’s tough to track all of them manually. Third-party parental control software centralizes all parental controls into one app helping you keep a close eye on your child’s activity.

Aura

Aura is a leader in end-to-end online family safety — providing AI-powered fraud and identity theft protection in addition to robust parental controls. Aura has one of the highest ratings on the third-party review site Trustpilot.

Modulate What Your Child Can Do Online With Aura 66% of parents acknowledge that their children face consequences from using social media, including addiction. Apps like Aura can help you protect your child from inappropriate content, online predators, and cyberbullying.