How to Disable Parental Controls on Android

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: April 25, 2024 Fact Checked

This wikiHow teaches you how to disable parental restrictions on an Android phone or tablet. If you've set up Parental Controls in the Google Play Store, you can edit or disable them at any time directly from that phone or tablet. If you're using Google Family Link to manage a child's account, you can end account supervision once the child turns 13—until then, you can only adjust the child's Play Store restrictions in the Family Link app.^{[1]
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How to Turn of Parental Controls on Google Play

Open the Play Store, tap the three horizontal lines at the top left corner of the screen and click “Settings.”
Tap “Parental Controls,” toggle the switch to “Off,” and put in your PIN.
If you don’t have a pin, go to Google Play in your device’s settings, then clear the data.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Disabling Parental Controls in the Play Store

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Open the Play Store
. You'll find the Play Store's briefcase icon in the app drawer..
It's the three horizontal lines at the top-left corner of the screen.

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It's about halfway down the menu.^{[2]
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It's under the "User controls" header toward the middle of the menu.^{[3]
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Slide the "Parental controls are on" switch to Off
position. It's the switch at the top-right corner of the screen.^{[4]
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- If you just want to remove restrictions on one category, tap that category instead, select your desired rating, and then tap SAVE.
Use the same PIN you used to set up Parental Controls on this Android. Once your PIN is accepted, all Play Store downloads will be permitted.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Disabling Supervision in Family Link

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Open the Family Link app on the parent's phone or tablet. If you manage your child's account with Google Family link and wish to stop supervising their account, use this method. The Family Link app is the white icon with blue, yellow, and green flag.
- If the child is not yet 13, you won't be able to completely disable supervision.^{[5]
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  Research source} You can, however, disable Parental Controls for their Google Play Store downloads.
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Tap Controls on Google Play to manage Play Store Parental Controls. If the child is over 13 and you want to disable all supervision, skip to the next step. To remove parental controls in the Play Store:^{[6]
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- Tap the type of content you want to allow.
- Choose how much access you'd like the child to have to the specified content.
- Tap SAVE to save your changes.
Information about the child's account will appear.^{[7]
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A warning message will appear.^{[8]
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The remaining on-screen steps will walk you through the process of removing Family Link services from your child's Android phone or tablet.^{[9]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Disabling Parental Controls in the Play Store Without a PIN

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Open your Android's Settings
. You can do this quickly by dragging down the notification panel from the top of the home screen and tapping the gear at the top-right corner.^{[10]
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- This method requires you to delete your Google Play Store settings and create a brand new PIN to replace the old one.^{[11]
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This section may be called Applications or Apps on some Androids.
You may have to scroll down to find it.
If you see Clear storage you can tap that instead.^{[12]
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This deletes your saved Play Store data, including all parental control settings.^{[13]
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Community Q&A

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Question

I put parental controls on my grandson's phone, and I want to turn them off, but I don't remember the PIN. What do I do?

James Allen

Community Answer

You can do a "factory reset" on the phone, which will remove all settings, including parental controls. The exact steps depend on what the make/model of your phone.

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Question

How can I get my tablet out of retail mode?

Community Answer

If it's in retail mode, the easiest fix is to factory reset your phone. In your settings, scroll to "Backup/reset" and choose "Factory reset." When the device turns back on, it will let you set up as a personal device. Ensure you have the password for the linked Google account on hand.

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Question

How do I remove parental controls that were previously set up on my Android phone?

Arapu Alexandru

Community Answer

You can factory reset your device using recovery mode. First, search online for your specific phone model to find the correct key combination to enter recovery mode. Power off your device, then hold the specified keys while powering it back on. In recovery mode, use the volume keys to select "Erase data/factory reset" and confirm your choice to reset the device, allowing you to set it up as new.

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