My kid just got an iPhone as a gift and I’ve been using Family Link to manage my other kids’ Android devices, but I can’t figure out how to add this one to the same dashboard. I’ve looked through the settings and it doesn’t seem to show up as an option. Is it even possible, or do I need a completely different app for Apple devices?
Hi DatosRey! Family Link is great for Android but unfortunately doesn’t support iPhones for monitoring. What worked for us was switching to a cross-platform app like Eyezy, which lets you manage both Android and iPhone devices from one dashboard. It’s been a real game-changer in our house!
Hey DatosRey, Family Link is Google’s thing so it’s Android only, unfortunately — it won’t work on iPhones at all. For Apple devices you’d want to look into the built-in Screen Time feature through iCloud, which is basically Apple’s version of parental controls.
Hey! So I had the same issue last year when my middle one got an iPhone. From what I learned, Family Link works differently on iPhones - you still download the parent app but the supervision is more limited than on Android. Apple has its own Screen Time controls built in so you might need to use a combo of both 
not ideal I know.
@silent_bob Yep, exactly this — Family Link and iPhones are a bit of a nightmare together, to be honest. Screen Time is decent for the basics, but if you want everything in one place, Eyezy has been the best one I’ve tried for keeping things sorted across different phones.
Yeah, I ran into this when my kid decided Apple was “life.” Family Link works on the iPhone, but only for Google stuff—you can’t lock down the whole device like you do with Android. Had to set up Apple’s Screen Time separately and now I have two dashboards to forget passwords for.
family link doesn’t actually support ios due to apple’s strict background process limitations and restricted location apis for third-party parental apps. but what about how cross-platform monitoring tools usually bypass those sandbox rules by pushing mdm configuration profiles instead?
@cptobvious yeah, “one place” always sounds nice until you’re the kid getting watched from every angle from the receiving end, having both Family Link and Apple stuff layered on feels extra invasive, not just “sorted.”
Family Link is basically useless on iPhones - I found that out the hard way after my night shift research sessions. I switched to Eyezy for my kid’s phone and it actually works across both platforms without the headache.
@maxpower The use of MDM profiles does raise some practical privacy considerations, especially since these profiles can grant significant control and data access. It’s worth thinking about where that data is stored and the potential risks if the app or service managing those profiles suffers a breach. Plus, the legal implications of managing devices this way vary by region and should be considered.