3Taps

Guides › Updated 10 November 2026

Setting up a child's first Android phone without Family Link

Short answerGoogle Family Link is the main built-in option, but it needs a supervised Google account and is managed from the parent's phone. Without it, you can use Android's Digital Wellbeing timers on the child's phone, or a home screen app that shows only chosen apps, gives games a few minutes a day, and lets the child ask you for more time. 3Taps' Guardian Mode works this way, with codes you send by call or message.

First, decide what you actually want

Parental control tools do different jobs. Pick the one that matches your worry:

Many families use both.

Option 1: Digital Wellbeing on the child's phone

Free and built in. Settings › Digital Wellbeing and parental controls › Dashboard, then set an app timer for each app. When time is up, the app pauses for the rest of the day. It's easy for a child to change, though, unless the phone is supervised.

Option 2: Guardian Mode in 3Taps

3Taps replaces the home screen. In Guardian Mode, the child sees:

When they ask, a ready-made text comes to you ("Can I have 15 more minutes on Minecraft, please?"). You open 3Taps on your Android phone, pick 5 to 60 minutes, and send back a short code. They type it in, and the app opens for exactly that long. In person, your PIN works too.

Setting it up

  1. On the child's phone, install 3Taps and finish the short setup.
  2. Settings › Guardian Mode › A child. Set your PIN; keep the recovery code safe.
  3. Choose their home-screen apps and give a few apps daily minutes.
  4. On your phone, open Settings › Guardian Mode › I'm a helper and scan the QR code once.
  5. Practise asking for more time together before handing the phone over.

Agree the rules out loud first: which apps, how many minutes, and what happens when they ask. A limit they helped set is one they argue with less.

What Guardian Mode can't do

Questions

Can I set parental controls on Android without Family Link?

Yes. Digital Wellbeing on the phone has app timers, Samsung phones have their own family tools, and apps like 3Taps limit apps on the phone itself. None of these need a supervised Google account.

Can my child just switch 3Taps off?

In Guardian Mode, Guardian settings, Android Settings and uninstalling need your PIN, and uninstall protection also needs the "Turn the screen off" permission. A determined child can restart the phone into Android's Safe mode, which gets round any app, so talk about the agreement too.

Can I see what my child does on the phone?

Not with 3Taps. It doesn't send activity, messages or location anywhere. If you need activity reports or content filtering, Family Link or a dedicated parental control app does that.

Do I need Premium?

Guardian Mode is part of 3Taps Premium on the child's phone, and the first month is free, so you can try it first. The helper's phone, for sending codes, only needs the free app.

Guardian Mode in 3Taps

3Taps turns an Android phone into a simpler one: chosen apps within easy reach, a few minutes a day for others, and a code from you for more time. Guardian Mode is part of Premium: the first month is free on every phone, and free for life for everyone who joins the Google Play test. Android 8 and newer.

Test it on Google Play   How Guardian Mode works