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In a recent report by Android Police, Google has added a new feature to the Family Link app. It now lets the parents allow app-specific daily data usage.
Previously, the Family Link app allowed kids to use the phones until the age of 13 before they own their Google Account. Till then, parents had control over everything their kids did on their phones.
This allowed parents to restrict usage and bedtime limits. This is a good app for controlling how much time kids spend on mobile devices.
However, several parents wanted some apps to be available to the kids irrespective of how long they are being used. Because in today’s world of COVID-19, there are certain apps that are required for homework and communication.
Well, it seems like Google has listened to this feedback from the audience. With the new feature of Google Family Link, it now shows an always allow option for apps.
Meaning that there are now four options, No limit, Always allow, Set limit, and Block. Notably, apps that you set to always allow will not count towards kids.
The new Google Family Link feature lets kids use specific apps even after the allowed usage hours
Comparing with the existing No limit option, the Always allow option lets kids use certain apps even after they have exhausted the allowed usage hours.
This feature would come in handy for apps that are needed for homework and other learning platforms. Do note that apps set to Always allow won’t go past bedtime.
Folks at Android Police could not get the details about when this feature started popping up on the Google Family Link. But as per the Wayback Machine archives, the feature may have popped up very recently.
Moreover, a screenshot of the Google help page from January also does not list any information related to this new feature.
There are several elements that Google needs to fix before this new Family Link feature can be useful for parents. Right now, you cannot set limits to a group of apps. So, users need to set always allow option one-by-one.
Whatever the case may be, this new Google Family Link feature will be helpful for parents allowing their kids to use specific apps even after usage hours.
It will also negate the need to continuously monitor apps that are being used by the kids. For more information on this, you can head over to the Google Support page.
