Family Link's Website Blocking Only Works in One Browser, and It Is Not the Only One on the Phone

Family Link lets a parent block specific sites, turn on SafeSearch, and approve or deny websites one by one. All of it works, and works well, inside Chrome. Google's own support page for Family Link says plainly that a child "may also have access to other browsers where Family Link settings for Chrome won't apply." That is not a bug report from a frustrated parent, it is Google describing its own product's actual boundary.

What exactly does Family Link block, and where

Explicit-site blocking, SafeSearch enforcement, and the approve-or-block list for individual sites all live inside the Chrome app, tied to the child's signed-in managed account. Turn any of these on and Chrome behaves exactly as expected: blocked sites stay blocked, explicit content gets filtered, SafeSearch stays locked on.

So what happens if my child opens a different browser

Nothing from Family Link follows them there. Samsung Internet, Firefox, Edge, a second copy of Chrome under a different profile, whatever else happens to be on the phone, none of it is aware that Family Link exists. The child does not need to disable anything or find a workaround. They just tap a different icon.

Is this only a problem on Android, or does it happen on a computer too

Google's own documentation says the same limitation applies on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers as well: a child can switch to another browser or another profile there too, and Family Link's Chrome settings simply do not apply outside Chrome. This is not an Android quirk. It is how Family Link's website controls work everywhere they exist.

Does a second browser usually appear on purpose, or is it already there

Often it is already on the phone before anyone thinks about it. Many Android phones ship with a second browser preinstalled by the manufacturer, alongside Chrome, out of the box. A child does not need to go looking for a workaround if one is already sitting on the home screen next to the one that is actually being managed.

What actually closes this gap on a shared phone

Blocking the browser app itself, not just the sites inside it. A block on the app means it does not open at all during the hours you choose, so it does not matter which browser your child taps, because none of them get the chance to load a page in the first place. That sidesteps the whole question of which browser has which setting turned on.

Family Link's website controls do exactly what they say they do, inside Chrome. The gap is not a flaw in that promise, it is what happens the moment a phone has more than one way to reach the internet.