Android · Accounts & Family
Track Screen Time & Set Parental Controls on Android
Digital Wellbeing shows exactly how much time you spend on your phone and in each app, with tools like app timers, Focus mode, and Bedtime mode to help rebalance that. The same dashboard connects to Family Link, letting a parent set screen time limits, app approval, and content filters on a child's supervised device.
How to open Digital Wellbeing & Parental Controls
- Open Settings → Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
- Tap 'Dashboard' to review screen time by app for the day or week.
- Tap an app's timer icon to set a daily limit, or open 'Focus mode' / 'Bedtime mode' to configure those separately.
- For a child's device, tap 'Set up parental controls' to link Family Link and configure remote limits.
What you should know
- The dashboard breaks down daily and weekly screen time by app, with a running total right on the home screen widget if added.
- App timers pause a specific app for the rest of the day once its daily limit is reached, greying out its icon.
- Focus mode pauses distracting apps you choose, silencing their notifications until you turn it off or its schedule ends.
- Family Link extends these same tools to a child's account, adding daily screen time limits, app approval requests, and downtime schedules.
Parental controls through Family Link only work once a child's account is actually set up as supervised — Digital Wellbeing's own tools alone don't restrict a device the way Family Link's remote parental controls do.
Why it matters
Most people underestimate how much time they actually spend on their phone until they see it broken down by app, and that visibility alone tends to change habits more than any blocking tool could. App timers and Focus mode give a middle ground between doing nothing and deleting an app entirely, letting you rebalance use without losing access completely. For families, Family Link turns an abstract 'less screen time' goal into concrete, enforceable limits that don't depend on a child remembering to self-regulate. Bedtime mode in particular protects sleep, one of the more overlooked ways constant phone use affects daily life.
Best practices
- Check the weekly dashboard total at least once, since daily numbers alone can hide a habit that only shows up over several days.
- Set app timers on the two or three apps you actually want to cut back on rather than every app on your phone.
- Schedule Bedtime mode automatically instead of relying on remembering to enable Focus mode each night.
- Set up Family Link before handing a child their first device, rather than retrofitting supervision after habits have already formed.
- Revisit a child's app time limits periodically as their needs change, instead of setting them once and forgetting them.
Common problems and fixes
- An app timer doesn't actually stop the app from being used.
- Confirm the timer was set to the correct app and hasn't been reset by manually extending it earlier that day from the pop-up prompt.
- A child's device shows no parental controls despite installing Family Link.
- Confirm the child's Google Account is genuinely set up as supervised under Family Link, since Digital Wellbeing alone doesn't apply remote restrictions.
- Focus mode silences an app you actually needed notifications from.
- Remove that specific app from the Focus mode list rather than turning the whole feature off.
- Screen time totals look inaccurate compared to actual use.
- Restart the device, since a stuck usage-tracking service is a common (if uncommon) cause of totals not updating correctly.
Tips and tricks
- Add the Digital Wellbeing widget directly to your home screen for an always-visible reminder of the day's screen time so far.
- Use grayscale mode as part of Bedtime mode specifically — a colorless screen is measurably less engaging late at night.
Frequently asked questions
Does Digital Wellbeing work the same as Family Link?
No, Digital Wellbeing is a self-managed set of tools for your own phone, while Family Link is a separate app used to remotely supervise a child's account and device.
Can I override an app timer once it's paused the app for the day?
Yes, a prompt lets you extend the timer temporarily, though doing this often defeats the purpose of setting one in the first place.
Does Bedtime mode turn off my phone completely?
No, it just applies Dark theme, grayscale, and Do Not Disturb on a schedule — the phone remains fully usable if you choose to use it.
Related settings
- Multiple Users / Guest ModeMultiple users lets several people share one Android device while keeping separate apps, accounts, wallpapers, and settings in fully isolated profiles. Guest mode offers a lighter, temporary alternative for a one-off borrower, with everything discarded once that guest session ends.
- Do Not Disturb / Focus ModeDo Not Disturb silences calls, texts, and notifications while still letting you choose specific exceptions, like starred contacts or repeat callers. Android's broader Modes system extends this with presets like Bedtime and Driving, plus fully custom modes for work or focus time.
- NotificationsNotification settings let you decide which apps can alert you, how those alerts look, and where they show up — from the lock screen to the status bar. You can manage this globally or app by app, and choose which notifications are urgent enough to break through Do Not Disturb.
More Accounts & Family guides for Android
- Google Account SyncAccount sync keeps Gmail, Calendar, Contacts, Photos, and other Google app data updated automatically across your devices, tied to your signed-in Google Account.
- Add AccountThe Add Account flow lets you sign in to a new Google Account or other supported account type (Microsoft Exchange, personal IMAP email, corporate work profile) so its data can sync with apps on the device.
- Sync Individual Account DataBeyond the master account sync switch, each added account has granular toggles for what actually syncs, such as Contacts, Calendar, Gmail, Drive, or Photos, letting you keep some data local-only while syncing the rest.
- Family Link SupervisionFamily Link connects a child's supervised Google Account to a parent's device, allowing approval of app downloads, screen time limits, content filters, and location checks directly from Android Settings or the Family Link app.
- Emergency Information / Medical IDEmergency Information lets you store medical conditions, allergies, medications, and emergency contacts so they are visible from the lock screen without unlocking the device, giving first responders critical information quickly.
- Autofill ServiceThe Autofill Service setting selects which app, such as Google Password Manager or a third-party password manager, automatically fills in saved passwords, addresses, and payment details across apps and browsers.