FamilyTime vs Google Family Link

FamilyTime is a parental-control service for managing children’s device use, activity, and location. Listed tools include content filtering, screen-time schedules, app blocking, activity reports, live location, visited places, geofences, and teen speed-limit alerts. Parents connect the FamilyTime Jr app on a child’s device by scanning a QR code; settings can prevent the app from being uninstalled. Parent access is available through Windows or Mac dashboards and mobile and web apps. FamilyTime supports Android, iOS, Windows, and Mac, though calls and text-message monitoring are Android-only. Social monitoring covers chats on WhatsApp, WhatsApp Business, BiP, Instagram, TikTok, imo, Twitch, and Signal. The service provides 30-day activity reports and says it uses end-to-end encryption for children’s data and is GDPR-compliant. A three-day free trial is listed. MyFamily is $2.41 a month, billed annually at $29 after the trial, for one child device; MyFamily3 is $4.08 a month, billed annually at $49, for three devices; MyFamily5 is $5.75 a month, billed annually at $69, for five devices. Yearly subscriptions renew after 365 calendar days.

Google Family Link helps parents guide a child’s online experience and build digital habits. Parents can set daily screen-time limits and School Time or Downtime schedules, set individual app limits, allow unlimited time for selected apps, or block apps. Controls cover Chrome, Google Play, YouTube, and Search, including site blocking and app approval. Activity reports and location tools add visibility: a child’s location appears when the device is powered on, recently active, and connected to the internet. Family Link can alert parents when a child arrives at or leaves a location, ring devices, and show remaining battery life. Parents can install the app on Android or iOS, and some settings are available on the web. Child supervision supports Android 6.0 or later, Chromebook with Chrome OS 71 or later, and compatible Fitbit devices. It cannot supervise iPhones, iPads, or computers other than Chromebooks, and it cannot manage Google Workspace for Education accounts. Purchase approvals apply only to purchases through Google Play billing. The service is free; some features require a compatible device.