Google’s School Time Expands to Phones and More for Improved Parent Controls

Back in May, Google briefly mentioned a new “School Time” feature for Wear OS devices that would allow parents to “limit the apps your child can use” during school and other select times. There was no announcement for the feature and they didn’t even bother to tell us how we could access this feature. However, as it turns out, this was a preview of a feature that would be embedded in the Fitbit Ace LTE, a kid-focused smartwatch that does indeed have School Time.

Now, Google says it has plans to expand School Time to other devices, like phones, tablets, and other watches. They aren’t doing this today, but the goal is to bring it to more devices “over the next year.”

What exactly is Google’s School Time? It’s a group of settings that let you limit your kids’ devices during school hours (or during other times where a kid needs to focus). It lets you decide which apps are allowed, as well as calls and texts to/from specific contacts. This will live within Family Link once launched, which is sort of what we predicted.

And yeah, that’s pretty much what School Time is. Once it rolls out to devices we’ll let you know which ones.

In related news, Google also announced other family-related controls they are working on or have recently released:

• New supervision controls for teens on YouTube: Later this summer, parents will be able to link accounts with teens to better supervise the content they are viewing. That’s great, because YouTube is filled with some truly awful stuff.
• Family Link supervision for all ages: Family Link supervision doesn’t have to just be for 10 year olds. Google wants you to have control over what your teen can see and do on smart devices too.

Go parents!

// Google