How to Set Up Parental Controls in Google Chrome

There are actually several ways to establish some form of parental controls within Google Chrome. Depending on the specifics of your situation, you can create a custom profile for your child, enable Google Family Link, turn on SafeSearch, or enable safe browsing.

1. Create a Profile for Your Child in Chrome

If your child will simply be using your laptop or desktop to access the Internet, you can create a custom profile for them so to check on their browsing history from time to time and make sure they aren’t accessing inappropriate content. To create a profile for your child within Google Chrome, follow these steps: The new profile will now be an option in the top-right corner of your browser. If you’d like Chrome to sync data across multiple devices, though, you will need to either log in to a Google account or create a new Google account for your child.

If your child will be using his or her own device to access the Internet or logging in on multiple devices, then you may just want to set up Google Family Link so that you can monitor their activity and keep them safe. This is especially beneficial if your child will be using a handheld device, like a tablet or smartphone. To set up Google Family Link, follow these steps: From here, just follow a few more prompts to agree to the supervision and have your child’s Google account “Join” the Family Link profile. Once your child’s Google account is linked, you will be able to see their activity both on their mobile device and on any computers where your child logs in with their Google account.

3. Enable SafeSearch

Although setting up a profile or Google account for your child will let you monitor their online activity, enabling SafeSearch is actually the easiest way to make your child’s browsing experience safe. If you aren’t familiar with SafeSearch, it’s a baked in feature that essentially blocks inappropriate or explicit results from Google searches. While this obviously won’t disable everything your child may get into, it can go a long way toward preventing them from clicking on something they shouldn’t. To enable SafeSearch on Google Chrome, follow these steps:

4. Enable Safe Browsing in Chrome

While SafeSearch helps disable inappropriate content from appearing in your child’s Google searches, it doesn’t protect against hacking or malicious sites. Luckily, you can also enable “Safe Browsing” to help with these issues. To enable “Safe Browsing.”

Monitoring Your Child’s Online Activity

Obviously, the biggest reason to set up any of these parental controls or enhanced security settings is to keep an eye on your child’s online activity and keep them safe. Therefore, it’s important to know how to check your child’s browsing history and block potentially dangerous websites.

Checking Your Child’s Browsing History

If you’ve set up a profile for your child in Chrome, you can easily check their browsing history by following these steps:

1. Can I block websites in Chrome?

While there aren’t any settings within Chrome that easily allow parents to block websites, you can download extensions to Chrome (like BlockSite and Simple Blocker) that allow you to block websites. You can also block websites by using Google Family Link (if enabled).

2. Can I prevent my child from deleting their browser history in Chrome?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to disable a user from deleting their browser history directly from Chrome. If you’re using a third party parental control app or Google Family Link, though, you can create settings to prevent browser history deletion.

3. Can I see what my child does in incognito mode?

Unless you install software that records keystrokes or screen activity, you cannot monitor anything in incognito mode. Image Credit: Shutterstock