How to Set Up Parental Controls on Every Device (2026 Guide)

The most reliable way to keep adult content off your kids’ screens is to layer your protection: a web filter on each device, a family filter on your home network and regular, honest conversations. This guide walks through the built-in parental controls on iPhone and iPad, Android, Windows, Mac, Chromebook and game consoles, with menu paths current as of 2026. Menu names change between versions, so if a label doesn’t match exactly, look for the closest equivalent.

Start with accounts and a passcode

Parental controls work best when each child has their own account, because the settings follow that account from device to device:

• Apple: a Child Account in your Family Sharing group.
• Google: a Google Account supervised with Family Link.
• Microsoft: a child account in your Microsoft family group.

Protect the settings with a passcode or PIN your child doesn’t know, such as the Screen Time passcode on Apple devices. After every change, test from your child’s device by opening a site that should be blocked.

iPhone, iPad and Mac: Screen Time

Screen Time filters websites in Safari and other supported browsers. Apple reorganized these settings in iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27, so the steps depend on your version.

iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27

If you’re the family organizer or a parent in the group, you can manage everything from your own device:

1. Open Settings (System Settings on a Mac), select Family, then your child’s name.
2. Select Apps & Websites and enter your Screen Time passcode if asked.
3. Select Restrictions, then Filtering under Websites.
4. Choose Limit Adult Websites, or Approved Websites Only for the tightest control.

Apple now turns Limit Adult Websites on by default for Child Accounts under 18, and Approved Websites Only for those under 13, though the ages can vary by country or region. It’s still worth checking. The new layout needs every device in your family group on version 27; until then, use the steps below.

Earlier versions

On iOS 26 and earlier, go to Settings → Screen Time, choose your child and tap Content & Privacy Restrictions. Turn restrictions on, open App Store, Media, Web & Games (Content Restrictions on older versions), tap Web Content and choose Limit Adult Websites. On macOS Tahoe 26 and earlier, open System Settings → Screen Time and pick your child from the Family Member menu. Then choose Content & Privacy → App Store, Media, Web & Games and set web access to Limit Adult Websites.

On a Mac, also give your child a standard user account rather than an administrator account, so they can’t create new users or change system settings.

Android and Chromebook: Google Family Link

Install the Family Link app on your phone and supervise your child’s Google Account. The same controls apply on Android phones, tablets and Chromebooks.

Chrome and Google Play

1. In Family Link, select your child and tap Controls.
2. Tap Google Chrome and Web and choose Try to block explicit sites, or Only allow approved sites for the tightest control.
3. Add individual sites under Approved sites and Blocked sites if you need to.
4. Back in Controls, open Google Play and, under Purchases & download approvals, require approval for all content, so a new browser can’t be installed without you knowing.

Incognito mode is turned off for supervised children. The filter applies in Chrome and some Android apps, not in other browsers, so block any extra browsers already on the device from the App limits list.

Chromebooks

Add your child’s supervised account to the Chromebook and your Family Link choices apply automatically. Once your child is signed in, a parent’s password is needed to add new users. If you’re the Chromebook’s owner, also turn off guest browsing and limit who can sign in, because a guest session or a new account wouldn’t carry your Family Link settings.

Android’s own parental controls

On Android 17 and later, you can also filter on the device itself. Open Settings → Parental controls, create a parental controls PIN, then turn on Block explicit sites and Filter explicit search results under Web content filters. The exact wording can vary by manufacturer.

Windows, Xbox and PlayStation

Windows: Microsoft Family Safety

Your child needs to sign in to Windows with their own Microsoft account from your family group. Then:

1. Open the Microsoft Family Safety app, or Family Safety in your Microsoft account online.
2. Select your child, then Content filters.
3. Turn on Filter inappropriate websites and searches, and add sites to block or allow. Only use allowed websites gives the tightest control.

Filtering works in Microsoft Edge, and Bing searches are filtered by default. While the filter is on, other browsers are blocked so they can’t be used to get around it, and InPrivate browsing isn’t available to your child.

Game consoles

On Xbox, web filtering in Microsoft Edge follows the same Family Safety settings. On PlayStation, open Family Management on the console (Settings → Family and Parental Controls → Family Management) or in the PlayStation Family app, choose your child and restrict Web Browsing. Smart TVs and streaming sticks usually have their own PIN-protected restrictions.

Filter your whole home network

A filter on your router covers every device on your Wi-Fi at once, including consoles, smart TVs and visitors’ phones.

Use a family DNS service

Cloudflare for Families is a free DNS service whose 1.1.1.3 option blocks known malware and adult content. To set it up:

1. Open your router’s app or admin page. Its address is often printed on a label on the router.
2. Find the DNS settings, often under Internet, WAN or DHCP. Names vary by brand.
3. Replace the existing servers with 1.1.1.3 and 1.0.0.3. If there are IPv6 fields, use 2606:4700:4700::1113 and 2606:4700:4700::1003.
4. Save, restart the router and test from your child’s device.

Add your router’s own controls

Many routers also offer parental controls of their own, such as profiles for each family member, bedtime schedules and a pause button for each device. Look for a parental controls or family section in your router’s app.

How the RTA label helps filters

Adult websites can add a free label called RTA, short for Restricted To Adults, to the code of every page. Filters that look for it can block a labeled page straight away, even on a brand-new site that isn’t on any blocklist yet.

Every GIGAXXX page carries the RTA label, and our server sends a matching Rating HTTP header, so parental controls that read the label can block the whole site. The label isn’t age verification and only works when a filter is switched on, which is why the device and network settings above matter. Our explainer on what the RTA label is goes deeper, the RTA website has the technical details, and our parental controls page sums up your options.

Talk with your kids

Settings work best alongside conversations. A few principles help at any age:

• Explain the why. In words that fit their age, tell them that some parts of the internet are made for adults only, just like some movies and games.
• Expect mistakes both ways. Filters sometimes block a homework site and miss something else. Show them how to ask you to approve a site, with Ask to Browse on Apple devices or a request in Family Link.
• Make it safe to tell you. Promise they won’t be in trouble for telling you about something upsetting they saw, and stay calm when they do.
• Revisit the rules. Loosen settings gradually as they show they can handle more, and agree on changes together.

If someone pressures your child for images or threatens to share one, Take It Down from NCMEC can help get images of people under 18 removed from participating platforms, and you can report exploitation to the NCMEC CyberTipline. Our guide to removing non-consensual images covers what to do next. To flag anything on GIGAXXX, use the Report button under any video or our contact form; our team prioritizes reports involving minors or non-consensual content.

The bottom line

No single setting catches everything, but a few layers come close. Give each child their own supervised account, switch on the website filter on each of their devices, add a family DNS on your router and close the obvious loopholes. Then keep talking, so your kids know they can come to you when a filter misses something.