Parent Guide to Google Play

Explore the topics below to learn about features for families in Google Play.


Find family-friendly content

  1. Open the Play Store app on your device Google Play.
  2. Choose Apps & Games or Entertainment. If you selected Entertainment, choose Movies & TV or Books.
  3. Select Family. In the Books section, select Children's Books instead.
  4. From here, you can also browse content by age, family categories, or popular characters.

Tip: You can also spot family-friendly content across Google Play by looking for the family star . The star tells you what age the content was designed for.

Learn more


Turn on password protection

To help prevent accidental or unwanted purchases on your device, you can require authentication for Google Play purchases.

Note: For apps and games that are labeled for ages 0-12 on the star badge, a password is required for in-app purchases, even if you don't usually require one.

Learn more


Ads in Family apps

When apps and games show ads inside the app, you'll see an "Ad-supported family app" label.

Ads are expected to be consistent with the maturity rating of the app or game.

If you see ads that aren't appropriate for the age group the app was designed for, you can report the ad to Google.


Use parental controls to restrict mature content

If you share your device with others, you can turn on parental controls on your Android phone or tablet to block downloads or purchases of content by maturity level. You can choose different parental control settings for each type of content, and for each device.

Learn more


Set up a family on Google Play

When you subscribe to the Google Play Music family plan, you'll create a family on Google Play, and invite up to 5 family members to join.

With a family on Google Play, you can:

  • See the purchases your family members make using the family payment method.
  • Require purchase approval for in-app purchases, like virtual currencies or unlockable purchases.

Note: Subscribing to the Google Play Music family plan and creating a family on Google Play is only available in certain countries.

Learn more

Dan is a Google Play expert and author of this help page. Leave him feedback below about the page.

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