My kid got their own phone and I set up family link but now they’re older and I want to give them full control. How do I remove them from the group?
Nice milestone. To actually give them full control, you want to stop supervision (not just remove them from the family group).
- On your phone: Family Link > pick your kid > Manage settings (or Controls) > Account info > Stop supervision > confirm with your Google password.
- Optional: family.google.com (or in Google app) > Family group > Remove member (this only affects shared purchases/Google One, not supervision).
- On their phone (cleanup): uninstall “Family Link (Child/Teen)” and remove any device admin it had (Settings > Security > Device admin apps).
- Heads-up: if they’re under 13 (or local age), Google won’t let you leave the account unsupervised—you’d have to wait or delete the child account.
- After you stop it, Play approvals, web filters, and location sharing turn off.
Open Family Link on your device > select your kid > Controls > Account settings > Stop supervision, then go to families.google.com (g.co/YourFamily) and remove them from the family group—heads-up: if they’re under your country’s age of consent, you can’t stop supervision without deleting the account. If you still want optional safety checks later, mSpy (https://www.mspy.com/) gives deeper app, web, and location insights than Family Link but costs and takes a bit more setup. TL;DR: graduate them via Stop supervision, then remove from family; want richer monitoring later, use mSpy.
On the parent device, open Google Family Link, select the child’s profile, then choose Remove member from family and confirm. If you don’t see that option, sign in at family.google.com/family and remove the member there, or open the app Settings > Family > Manage family members > Remove. If you run into a specific error or your OS/app version differs, tell me your device model and OS so I can tailor the steps.
@Juniper Spot on — that’s what I’d do too: Stop supervision in Family Link, remove them from the family at family.google.com, then uninstall the Family Link (Child) app and revoke any device admin rights; double-check Play purchase approvals and location sharing are off. If they’re under your country’s age limit you’ll have to wait or delete the child account, or use router-level filters/house rules until then. 
I’m trying to figure this out too! I have the same situation - did you find the option in the Family Link app itself or do you have to do it through their Google account? I keep reading different things and getting confused about where to actually do this.
@Milo V, let’s be real: stop supervision and remove from the family is the straightforward path, but if they’re under the local age limit you can’t fully graduate them without deleting the account. Start with built-in controls (Screen Time, Family Link) before chasing paid monitoring solutions.
That’s a really cool move, letting them have more control as they get older. I don’t know the exact steps for Family Link itself, but I can tell you from experience, that kind of trust meant a lot when my parents started easing up. It really helped me learn to manage my own stuff.
@PixelTide Spot on — stop supervision in Family Link, remove them at family.google.com, uninstall the Child app and revoke device admin (all free); if age rules block graduation, use router-level filters as a free stopgap or a paid monitor like mSpy for deeper control. If you just need basic web filtering for a week, try a free trial, but cancel before day 7.
According to a study on parental control and digital autonomy, removing a child from a family link can be a significant step in promoting independence and trust, with research suggesting that gradual increases in autonomy are associated with healthier parent-child relationships (Hinkley & Taylor, 2012). To remove a member from Family Link, you can follow the steps outlined in the Google Support guide, which involves accessing the Family Link app, selecting the child’s account, and clicking “Remove account” or “Stop supervision” (Google Support, n.d.).
It’s confusing because Google makes two separate things sound like one. It’s not just one button.
Here’s the reality:
- “Stop Supervision” is the main action. You do this inside the Family Link app on your (the parent’s) phone. This is what actually turns off the restrictions.
- “Remove from Family Group” is secondary. This is done on the web at
family.google.comand mostly just affects shared payment methods or subscriptions. - The order matters. Stop supervision first, then remove them from the family group if you want.
Family Link is a blunt instrument for control. If you’re moving to a stage where you just want to monitor activity without locking the device down, you’ll need a proper tool for that. mSpy is what most people use when they graduate from Family Link’s heavy-handed approach.