Start with the person in front of you. A parent, a grandparent, and a teen do not need the same settings on the same day. This page is the short list. Each link goes to a guide that names the real setting and the date it was checked.
The full set of family guides is in Kids Online Safety. Company policy reviews are in Privacy Policies Watch. This page is not legal advice, and it is not a monitoring tool.
If you are setting up a child’s phone
Do these before you hand the phone over. Tell the child what you turned on. A surprise lock causes a fight, and a second phone.
- iPhone Screen Time, or Google Family Link if the phone is Android. Family Link cannot supervise an iPhone.
- YouTube Kids or a supervised YouTube account. Restricted Mode is not the same thing.
- The app they already use: Roblox, TikTok Family Pairing, Instagram Teen Accounts, Snapchat Family Center, or Discord Family Center.
- Location sharing: who can see the dot, and how each person turns it off.
- Shared photos: leave the public website and the open link off.
- School apps: ask before a form gets a Social Security number.
- A free credit freeze if the child is under 16.
If you are helping an older adult
Do not turn a parent’s phone into a child’s phone. The useful jobs are fewer scam calls, a rule for gift cards, and a password they can still open after you leave.
- Stop scam calls on a parent’s phone. Silence is not the same setting on Android as on iPhone.
- Gift cards are only for gifts. Agree on the callback before anyone is scared.
- A pop-up with a phone number is a scam. Close it. Do not call the number.
- A password manager for email and the bank, plus a second lock. Show them how to open it the same day.
- Location sharing only with the people they named, and show the off switch.
If you are a teen
You can make most of these stricter yourself. A parent link, where it exists, cannot be loosened by you, and you can usually remove the link. Read that before you accept it.
- Keep the account private. Instagram’s teen settings and TikTok’s private-account switch are the two to check first.
- Do not read a gift-card PIN, a login code, or a password to someone who called or texted. Hang up and tell an adult in the house.
- A shared album link can be forwarded. Do not put a friend’s face on a link you do not control.
- At 16 or 17, the FTC says you may be able to place or remove your own credit freeze. Ask before you apply for a card or a loan if a parent froze it earlier.
One week, not one afternoon
Pick three items. Do those. The rest can wait until next weekend. A finished Screen Time passcode beats a half-finished tour of every app.
- Day one: the phone lock, Screen Time or Family Link, and the passphrase for a password manager.
- Day two: the one app the child uses most, and the gift-card rule said out loud.
- Day three: location or photos, whichever is already shared. Turn off the public link.
All family guides
New guides are added to Kids Online Safety. Scam guides for calls, pop-ups, and gift cards are in Scam Protection.
A Password Manager for a Household
A password manager makes a different long password for every account. You remember one passphrase. Here is how a family sets that up without sharing the bank login with a child.
School Apps: What Parents Can Ask
A school app can ask for more than a login. Here are the FERPA and Social Security questions parents can ask before they type a child’s information.
How to Freeze a Child’s Credit
A free credit freeze makes it harder for someone to open a new account in a child’s name. For a child under 16, a parent requests it at all three credit bureaus.
Who Can See a Shared Photo Album
Shared albums, public links, and Apple’s Shared Library are not the same. Here is who can see the photos, and how to close the link. Checked September 24, 2026.
TikTok Family Pairing: What Parents Can Control
TikTok Family Pairing lets a parent set screen time, a private account, messages, and Restricted Mode. A teen can make limits stricter, but cannot loosen yours.
Family Location Sharing: What It Shows and How to Turn It Off
Family location sharing shows a dot, and often a battery level or a place name. It is useful when everyone knows it is on, and a problem when nobody can turn it off.
YouTube Kids and Supervised Accounts for Parents
YouTube Kids, a supervised YouTube account, and Restricted Mode are three different tools. Most families need one of the first two, not a normal login.
Roblox Parental Controls Parents Should Turn On
Roblox parental controls can limit games, chat, spending, and screen time. None of that works until a parent account is linked to the child’s account.
Instagram Teen Accounts and Parent Supervision
Instagram Teen Accounts start private and limit who can message a teen. Parent supervision is optional, both people must agree, and you still cannot read their chats.
How to Set Up Google Family Link for a Child
Google Family Link manages a child’s Google Account and a supervised Android phone. It can approve apps, set time limits, and show location. It cannot supervise an iPhone.
Snapchat Family Center: What Parents Can See
Snapchat Family Center lets a parent see who a teen is friends with and who they have talked to. It does not let you read the chats. The teen must accept an invite.
How to Set Parental Controls on an iPhone
Parental controls on an iPhone live inside Screen Time. They work if the child is in your Family Sharing group and you keep a Screen Time passcode the child does not know.
Discord Family Center: A Parent’s Setup Guide
Discord Family Center shows new friends, servers, and who a teen messaged or called. It does not show the messages. The teen has to accept the link first.
Settings menus move. If a step in a linked guide does not match the phone, use the company or FTC page cited at the bottom of that guide. This page is not legal, medical, or financial advice.