Setting up parental controls (iOS, Android, consoles)
8 min readReviewed October 2026 · Internet Safety Australia Editorial Team
In short
- Apple: Family Sharing + Screen Time. Android: Google Family Link.
- Consoles have their own family accounts — set spending limits first.
- Controls work best as guardrails alongside conversation, not instead of it.
Parental controls are guardrails, not a parenting strategy — tech-savvy kids route around silent surveillance, but they rarely resent limits they helped agree to. Set these up together where you can, explain what’s on and why, and review as they grow.
iPhone and iPad: Family Sharing + Screen Time
Create Family Sharing
Settings → your name → Family Sharing → add your child (they get their own Apple Account; for under-13s you create a child account).
Turn on Screen Time for their device
In Family Sharing, select your child → Screen Time. Set a Screen Time passcode they don’t know — this is the master key.
Set the four limits that matter
Downtime (device locks at bedtime), App Limits (per category), Communication Limits (who they can call/message during downtime), and Content & Privacy Restrictions (age ratings for apps, films, web content).
Lock purchases
Ask to Buy means every purchase or free download pings your phone for approval. Turn it on.
Android: Google Family Link
Install Family Link on both phones
Parent app on yours; link your child’s Google account (create one through the app if they don’t have it).
Set daily limits and bedtime
Controls → Daily limit and Downtime. Devices lock on schedule — no nightly negotiations.
Approve apps and purchases
Require approval for all downloads and in-app purchases in Google Play settings.
Filter content
Family Link manages Google SafeSearch, YouTube restricted mode/supervised experience, and Chrome site blocking.
Consoles: spending first, then chat
| Console | Set up | Priority settings |
|---|---|---|
| PlayStation | Family Management via your adult PSN account | Spending limit = $0 default; age level for games; restrict communication with strangers |
| Xbox | Microsoft Family Safety app + child accounts | Screen-time schedules; content filters; “ask a parent” for purchases; multiplayer permissions |
| Nintendo Switch | Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app | Daily play-time alarms; age-based restriction levels; restrict sharing screenshots/videos and communication |
The two settings parents most often miss
In-game chat with strangers and in-game purchases. Both live inside the games themselves, not just the console settings — check the settings of each game your child plays (especially massively multiplayer ones) for text/voice chat controls and spending locks.
Your home Wi‑Fi: the bonus layer
Most modern routers (and the apps from Telstra, Optus, TPG and others) let you pause the internet per device and filter adult content at the network level. It’s blunt — it can’t tell one app from another — but as a bedtime enforcement tool it’s excellent, and it covers smart TVs and devices without their own controls.
Common questions
Where to report this
Report to eSafety
Cyberbullying of children, adult cyber abuse, image-based abuse, and illegal or restricted online content.
Go to eSafety (leaves our site — official service)Official sources for this guide
- eSafety — parental controls (leaves our site — official service)
- eSafety — online safety for under 5s to teens (leaves our site — official service)
Reviewed October 2026 by Internet Safety Australia Editorial Team. Internet Safety Australia is independent and not a government website.