Summary

  • Google’s Android 16 Canary build has new parental controls for child safety.
  • The controls don’t work yet, but may include web filtering and app restrictions.
  • We could see enhanced child safety tools arrive in future updates to Android.

It’s no secret that the internet and social media apps aren’t the best places for kids to hang out. But in today’s digital world, exposure to those things is inevitable. While smartphones already have some safeguards or parental controls, Google’s latest developer preview build of Android 16 kicks things up a notch.

Last week, Google overhauled its confusing developer preview and beta testing process with new Canary builds of Android. These are early samples of future updates with potential new features, changes, bug fixes, and more for developers to test on Pixel devices before a global launch.

In the latest Android 16 Canary channel build, we’re seeing some powerful new parental controls to enhance child safety on devices. Right below all those Digital Wellbeing controls in the settings menu is an all-new option labeled “Parental Controls,” which mentions digital ground rules and screen time limits.


parental controls in Android 16 canary builds. Credit: Android Authority

From what we’re seeing, Google is working on ways to enhance child safety with easily accessible tools. Android already has screen time limits and such, and we’ve seen similar features being tested but labeled as “Supervision” tools.

Spotted by Android Authority, the publication mentioned that these controls don’t seem to work, at least not yet. Considering this is a very early Canary build of Android 16, things are still actively under development. However, Google could be figuring out a way to streamline all of its existing features while also adding new ones designed to keep kids safe online.


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If this new menu works the way the Supervision tools did in previous beta releases on Android 16, we expect a toggle to enable enhanced device protections for kids. This could include web content filtering, digital playground rules for apps and online services, and even the ability to block specific sites or explicit content in Google Search. Naturally, all of this is under lock and key, and should easily be enabled with a password or PIN.

As with any early Android release, we don’t know when (or if) these features will ever see the light of day. That said, there’s a good chance these new parental controls in a dedicated settings menu could arrive with the big September release of Android 16 or debut with Google’s new Pixel 10 this fall.

Again, Android already has a few different ways to manage content on a child’s device, but its parental controls certainly need an overhaul. The Family Link setup works ok, but having an entire menu dedicated to these controls on-device makes a lot of sense, and could be exactly what parents have been waiting for. I guess now we’ll just have to sit back and wait to see if this arrives in the near future.

Source: Android Authority