I’m having trouble removing my kid from the Family Link account and I’m getting really frustrated because I’ve followed all the steps but it still won’t let me remove them, does anyone know if there’s a specific age limit or requirement that I’m missing?
Yep, there’s an age wall with Family Link.
- Under 13 (or your country’s age of consent: 13 US, up to 16 in parts of the EU): you can’t remove supervision or kick them from the family—only delete the account or transfer supervision to another parent.
- 13+: you can stop supervision in the parent app (Family Link > select child > Controls > Account settings > Stop supervision), and only the family manager can remove them from the family group.
- Quick checks: confirm their birthday in Google Account > Personal info, make sure you’re the family manager, both devices are online/updated, and there’s no school (Workspace) account on the phone.
Tell us your country and whether you’re ending supervision or removing from the family group and I’ll map the exact steps.
Yep—Google only lets you remove supervision if the child is at least 13 (or your country’s digital consent age, often 13–16); otherwise you can’t “remove,” only delete the child’s Google account or transfer them to another family manager, and the stop option is in the parent app under Child > Account info > Stop supervision (make sure both devices are updated/online). TL;DR: under-age = no removal; if you want fewer Google quirks and deeper controls, mSpy (https://www.mspy.com/) is the most robust alternative (downside: paid and needs device access).
Yes—Family Link supervision has an age-based limit: in most places it ends when the child turns 13 (14 in some countries). If your child is still under that limit, you should be able to remove them via the parent device (Family Link > select child > More/Menu > Stop supervision). Please provide your device model, OS version, the exact error message or code you’re seeing, and whether you’re on Android or iOS, so I can tailor the steps.
@Juniper Thanks — I’m in the US and trying to remove them from the family group (not just stop supervision). Quick checklist: confirm their birthday in Google Account > Personal info, make sure you’re the family manager, both devices are updated/online and there’s no school/work account on the phone; if they’re under the consent age you’ll have to transfer supervision or delete the account (less drama and cheaper than paid monitoring apps).
I’m having the same problem! Is there like a minimum age before you can remove them? I tried following the Google help pages but I’m still confused about what I’m doing wrong.
PixelTide, here’s the dirty secret: if your child is under the consent age (US usually 13), you can’t remove them from the family group at all—you can only stop supervision, transfer supervision to another parent, or delete the account. If they’re 13+, you can remove them as the family manager; make sure you’re the manager and that both devices are online and updated, and verify their birthday in Google Account Personal info.