Guides

Guides on supervising a child's phone. The legal ones cite the specific articles and link to the official source, so you can check them yourself. None of them is legal advice.

Is supervision legal?

What the law allows depending on who you supervise and how old they are. The difference between a minor in your care and an adult decides almost everything.

Is it legal to monitor my child?Find out when it is legal to monitor your underage children's phones, what the law says, and how to do it responsibly and transparently.
Is it illegal to check your child's phone without them knowing?For a child under 18, usually not — but the law is only half the answer. When secret checking is justified, when it backfires, and how to move to an agreement, by age.
Can I read my child's WhatsApp messages legally?Yes, for a minor child in your care — with limits. What the law allows, what WhatsApp's encryption means for parents, what you can actually see, and where the line is with other people's messages.
Is it legal to monitor an employee's company phone?Usually yes, on a company-owned device, with a written policy the employee has signed and monitoring limited to work. What US, Latin American and EU rules require, and what is never allowed.

The law in your country

The specific framework for each country, with the code, the act and the article number linked to their official source.

How to set it up

Step-by-step setup, covering what Android offers out of the box and what a supervision app adds.

Set up Android parental controlsComplete guide to setting up parental controls on Android: Family Link, Google Play restrictions, screen time and advanced monitoring apps.

Risks and digital parenting

What to look for and how to respond: signs of grooming and cyberbullying, and how much screen time is reasonable by age.

How we write these guides