Can I install a parental control app on my child's Chromebook?
Question
Can I install a parental control or content-blocker app (like Qustodio or Net Nanny) on my child's Chromebook? Does it cause issues logging in at school?
Answer
Yes. If you're the owner of the Chromebook, you're welcome to install any safety or parental control app you feel is necessary — UPrep doesn't endorse a specific product, and the choice is entirely up to your family.
If you're not sure whether you're the device owner, or need to become the owner, see Chromebook Access Control for how ownership works and how to set it.
A few things worth knowing before you install one:
- Our tech team can't troubleshoot conflicts these apps cause at school. If a parental control app blocks something your child needs for class or interferes with logging in, that's something to resolve at home, not something IT can fix on their end.
- What gets affected depends on which account is active. If your child signs in with their personal account (with their UPrep account added as secondary), a parental control app tied to the personal account can affect the whole device session, including while they're using their UPrep account for schoolwork. If they sign in directly with their UPrep account instead, most third-party parental control apps have much less reach, since UPrep's own Workspace policies govern that session.
- Google Family Link works similarly, with real limits. If you use Family Link instead of (or alongside) a third-party app, it's worth knowing exactly what does and doesn't carry over to your child's UPrep account — see Does adding my child's UPrep account to Family Link give me control over it? for the details.