Family Link is in the App Store, so it is natural to assume it can manage a child's iPhone. It cannot, at least not the way it manages an Android phone. Google's own help pages say iPhones and iPads cannot be supervised with Family Link.
What causes the confusion is that Family Link does work on an iPhone in one role: as the parent's app. Here is the difference, and what to use if your child has an iPhone.
The Short Answer
- Your phone is an iPhone, your child's is Android: Family Link works. Install the Family Link app from the App Store and manage your child's Android phone from your iPhone.
- Your child's phone is an iPhone: Family Link cannot set screen time limits, schedule bedtime, approve or block apps, lock the phone, or show the phone's location. It can only manage your child's Google Account, such as the content filter for Chrome, and let your child sign in to some Google apps.
What Family Link Can Do on Each Phone
| Control | Child on Android | Child on iPhone |
|---|---|---|
| Daily screen time limit | Yes | No |
| Bedtime schedule | Yes | No |
| Approve or block apps | Yes | No |
| Lock the phone | Yes | No |
| Phone's location | Yes | No |
| Chrome content filter | Yes | Yes |
The reason is Apple's, not Google's: iOS does not let an outside app take over a device the way Android supervision does. Apple offers its own tools for that, which is why iPhone parental controls look so different.
Why It Looks Like It Should Work
Parents often install Family Link on a child's iPhone, sign in with the child's Google Account, and see settings that seem to apply. They apply to the Google Account, meaning Google apps and services where your child is signed in, not to the iPhone. The phone itself stays unmanaged, which is why limits you set appear to do nothing.
If Your Child Has an iPhone: Your Options
Apple Screen Time with Family Sharing. The built-in route. Your child needs their own Apple Account in your Family Sharing group, and you manage limits, Downtime and app approvals from your own iPhone. Our iPhone parental controls setup guide walks through it. The catch is that it only manages Apple devices, and parents often run into problems like Downtime not working or App Limits being ignored.
An app that does not need Family Sharing. Some parental control apps manage an iPhone without Family Sharing or a child Apple Account. See iPhone parental controls without Family Sharing for how that works.
If You Have Kids on Both iPhone and Android
Mixed families end up running two systems: Family Link for the Android child, Screen Time for the iPhone child, two apps, two sets of rules that never quite match. A single cross-platform app avoids that.
Tap Guardian manages iPhone and Android children from one parent app. On iPhone it uses Apple's Screen Time permission for the device itself, so it needs no Family Sharing and no child Apple Account. You set daily limits, bedtime and school schedules, and your child earns extra time by finishing tasks you approve, all from the same parent app on both platforms.
Final Thoughts
Family Link is a good tool for Android phones, and it works fine from a parent's iPhone. It is not a way to manage a child's iPhone. For that, use Apple's Screen Time or an app built for iPhone. And if Family Link is misbehaving on your child's Android phone, start with Google Family Link not working.