How to set up parental controls for free

Android: two free options

Both start on your son's or daughter's device: the first setup happens there, and only then on yours.

The built-in settings section. It arrived with Android 17 and needs no second app and no parent account. You choose a PIN, and without it the restrictions cannot be changed. You also change the rules on the child's phone, with the PIN at hand.

Family Link. It works on older models too, from Android 6.0, and does more: a daily limit and bedtime, approval for new apps, and where the device is right now. You change the rules from your own phone, even while your child is at school. Your child confirms the connection on their screen. Google accounts for parent and child are free to create.

When your child turns 13, or the age that applies in your country, Google emails both of you to say the account can be updated. Your child can choose to stop Family Link supervision, but according to Google's help page, until 18 that needs your approval. Once supervision stops, you and your child both get a notification. What else changes on that birthday, and how to loosen the rules step by step, is covered in your child turned 13.

The menu paths and the order of steps are in our step-by-step setup guide.

iPhone and iPad: Screen Time

Screen Time is already part of iOS. You add your child to Family Sharing and then manage their iPhone from yours. You can set which apps open at which hours and how many minutes a day go to games and social media. The same place covers allowed content from Apple's stores, privacy settings, and who can message and call your child.

Give Screen Time its own passcode, different from the one that unlocks the phone. If the two match, the limit comes off with the code your child types every day. We cover each section in our guide to parental controls on iPhone.

A Windows computer: a child account and Family Safety

Family Link does not supervise a Windows computer: according to Google's help page, the only computer it supports is a Chromebook. On Windows the free route comes from Microsoft, in two steps.

First, create a separate child account without administrator rights. While a child has admin rights, they can remove any program and undo any setting.

Then add that account to a Microsoft Family Safety family group. There you set a screen time limit for the computer and for individual games, age limits for apps, and a filter for websites and search. The filter works in Microsoft Edge, and while it is on, Microsoft blocks other common browsers so they cannot be used to get around it. If you have an Xbox, the same family group covers it too: Microsoft sets device screen time limits on both Windows and Xbox. More in our guide to parental controls on Windows.

The router: one schedule for the whole home

A home router can switch the internet off on a schedule and block chosen sites. The rule applies to every device on your home Wi-Fi at once and stops working as soon as a teenager turns on mobile data. Where to find these settings on different brands is in our router guide.

When free stops being enough

With one device and a younger child, the built-in tools do the job: they have a daily limit, bedtime and age ratings.

Families usually start looking for a paid app in one of two cases. In the first, there is a PC at home as well as the phone, so the rules have to be set up twice, in one service for the phone and in another for Windows, with two apps and two reports on the parent's side.

In the second, someone has already tried to remove the restrictions: signed out of the account, installed a game from another store, changed the clock. How children do this and what helps is in our guide to how kids bypass parental controls.

What to check before paying for any app

Before you buy any paid parental control, find out four things. How many devices and children the plan covers. Whether payment renews by itself every month or year. Whether there is a Windows version, if your child has a PC. And whether you can try everything without adding a card.

The answers are usually on the pricing page and in the terms of service. Also check what happens when the trial ends: some services move you to a paid plan and charge automatically, others simply switch off some features. If you cannot find the answers, ask support before you pay. Kids360's terms of use, for example, say a trial turns into a paid subscription unless you cancel it; our Kids360 alternative guide shows how to leave.

What is free in Gardion

Gardion runs on Android and Windows. For the first 14 days everything is open: up to five devices, phone and PC, schedules, per-app limits, uninstall protection and one dashboard for all your children. No card needed; an email address is enough to sign up.

After the trial, we keep one Windows PC and one child free for good. On that PC you get a shared daily limit, Windows locks when time runs out, you choose apps that stay open while the computer is locked, and you see today's screen time.

A phone is not part of the free plan; it needs the Family plan at $25 a year, about $2 a month, for two devices and two children. Premium at $35 a year covers five devices and five children. Both are a single payment once a year. The card is not saved after payment, so nothing is charged automatically a year later.

Step-by-step setup for a phone and a PC is on one page: install Gardion.

What to set up today

For a younger child with one Android phone, we would start with Family Link: it will last a long time.

If the phone already runs Android 17 and you are fine changing rules on the phone itself, the built-in settings section is enough, with no second app.

If your son or daughter has an iPhone, turn on Screen Time through Family Sharing.

When the main issue is the PC and games, Family Safety or our free one-PC plan will do at no cost.

And if there are two devices and the restrictions have already been tested, start with 14 days of Gardion, no card needed: install Gardion.