Google Family Link and Sheepdog Filter: what each one does

Family Link is free, built into Android and Chromebooks, and worth turning on. It just isn't a complete filter on its own.

Updated November 12, 2026·2 min read

Short answer

Google Family Link is great for approving app downloads, setting screen time and seeing location on Android phones and Chromebooks. Its website filter mainly covers Chrome, and it doesn't reach iPhones, game consoles or your home Wi‑Fi. Sheepdog Filter adds category and app blocking across every browser and device, bedtimes, VPN blocking and a weekly report. Use both together.

  • Approve apps before your child installs them from Google Play.
  • Screen time: daily limits and a device bedtime.
  • Location of your child's Android phone.
  • Free, and built into Android and Chromebooks.

What it leaves out

  • Website filtering mostly applies in Chrome. Other browsers and in-app browsers aren't covered the same way.
  • No categories for apps on the web. It can block the TikTok app, but not TikTok's website in every browser.
  • It stops at Google devices. iPhones, iPads, Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and smart TVs aren't covered.
  • No VPN blocking or alerts when someone tries one.

How Sheepdog Filter fills the gaps

  • One switch blocks a category or app (TikTok, Roblox, adult content, gambling) in every browser and app on the device.
  • The same child's rules follow them across Android, iPhone, Chromebook and Windows, and your router covers the rest of the house.
  • Bedtime, Homework mode and a weekly email for the whole family in one place.

Setting them up together

Keep Family Link for app approvals and screen time, then add Sheepdog Filter on the same phone: see Android parental controls or Chromebook parental controls.

On Chromebooks supervised by Family Link, Google doesn't let a child's account change secure DNS. Set Sheepdog Filter on your home router instead, and the Chromebook is filtered whenever it's on your Wi‑Fi.

Sheepdog Filter

The internet, childproofed in five minutes.

One switch per worry, every device in the house, and a plain-English report each week. Free to start, no app to install.

Start free

Questions parents ask

Does Family Link block adult websites?

Family Link can block explicit sites in Chrome and turn on SafeSearch. It doesn't cover every browser or app on the device, which is where a DNS filter helps.

Can I use Sheepdog Filter on a Family Link phone?

Yes. On Android, add your Sheepdog Filter address under Settings › Private DNS. It works alongside Family Link's app approvals and screen time.

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