Google Family Link vs Safe Lagoon

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.

Safe Lagoon is an Android parental-control service with web filtering, screen-time controls, app blocking, activity reports, and location tracking. Parents can set daily limits and access schedules, pause internet or apps, and review daily internet use and 30 days of browsing history. Web filtering has age-based levels and information on more than 80 million websites; the service blocks harmful sites, supports safe search, and protects against phishing and scams. GPS features include real-time location updates, alerts, geofencing, and movement history. Monitoring options include AI alerts about threats in chats, call history and text-message viewing, and an instant-messaging monitor with real-time conversations, unknown-contact alerts, and daily reports. Parents can use the Safe Lagoon Parental app or WebCenter. Screen Mirror adds visibility into direct messages and texts, visual activity records, and saved screens; AI Shield scans the device for danger and sends alerts with screen captures. Web filtering is free. Premium is $6.99 a month, Premium Screen Mirror is $14.99 a month, and Premium AI Shield is $19.99 a month; each listed paid plan includes five profiles.