Manage use of your Google Assistant device

Important: This feature isn't yet available in some languages and countries or regions.

You can use Digital Wellbeing to control when and how people, like guests or your family, use your speaker, Assistant-enabled device, or Smart Clock.

Tip: If you manage your child's Google Account in Family Link, you can set up parental controls on Google Assistant devices.

Home members can set up and manage filters and Downtime.

Control which features people can use

Important: No filter is 100% effective, but these filters can help you manage access to mature content.

You can choose whether filters affect everyone using your device, or just guests and children with a Family Link account. You can apply filters to a specific device or to all supported devices.

Set up Digital Wellbeing filters

Important: When you set up filters, they’ll restrict or block music, video services, and other actions that are part of a routine.

Open the Google Home app .
At the bottom, tap Home .
Touch and hold your device.
At the top right, tap Device settings Notifications & Digital wellbeing Digital wellbeing Set up.

How Digital Wellbeing filters work

Important: Even if you turn on video and other content filters, you can still open videos and other content through news, podcasts, and websites. For example, if you block videos but allow websites, people may be able to still open videos through websites.

You can apply most Digital Wellbeing filters below to speakers, Assistant-enabled devices, and Smart Clocks. The Websites filter is only available on Assistant-enabled devices.

Tip: For Digital Wellbeing to work correctly, your devices and apps must be up to date.

Video filters

Allow any video: Your device will play all supported videos.
Only allow filtered videos: Your device will only play videos from the video services you choose.
Block all videos: Your device won’t play any videos.

Music filters

Important: Regardless of your music filter setting, audiobooks and radio stations from services like iHeartRadio and TuneIn are always available.

Allow any music: Your device will play all music.
Only allow non-explicit music: Your device will allow you to choose from music services that can play non-explicit songs.
Block all music: Your device won’t play any music.

News

Allow news: Your device will play all supported news.
Block news: Your device won’t play any news.

Podcasts

Allow any podcasts: Your device will play all podcasts.
Only allow non-explicit podcasts: Your device will play non-explicit podcasts.
Block all podcasts: Your device won’t play any podcasts.

Calls

Allow calls: Your device can make any voice and video calls that it supports.
Block all calls: Your device won’t make voice or video calls. This doesn't block voice messages you broadcast to your family or in your home.

Google Assistant answers

Allow answers: Your device can respond with any supported answer.
Restrict answers: Your device only responds to basic questions like weather, math, definitions, and other simple facts.
- Tip: Examples of simple facts are the number of days until a holiday or the location of a city.

Actions on Google

Allow all actions: Your device can perform any supported Action.
Only allow family friendly actions: Your device can only perform Actions for Families, which are appropriate for family members of all ages.

Websites

Important:

This filter is only available on Assistant-enabled devices. If you link a supervised account for a child under 13 or the applicable age in your country to your Assistant-enabled device, the web may be blocked unless you allow websites.
Google’s Assistant-enabled devices can open the web through SafeSearch technology, which may block explicit websites. Certain third-party devices don’t support SafeSearch. If you allow websites on these third-party devices, people who use third-party Assistant-enabled devices will not be able to view the web with SafeSearch.

Allow websites: Your Assistant-enabled device will open websites.
Block websites: Your Assistant-enabled device won’t open websites.

Tip: Allow Websites setting is on by default for Assistant-enabled devices with SafeSearch, and off by default for Assistant-enabled devices without SafeSearch. In the Digital Wellbeing settings menu, you can manage website settings.

Manage filters for YouTube, YouTube Music & YouTube TV

Open the Google Home app .
At the bottom, tap Home .
Touch and hold your device.
At the top right, tap Device settings Notifications & digital wellbeing YouTube settings.

YouTube Music & YouTube video search filters

You can filter potential mature music and videos on YouTube for yourself and unrecognized users on the device. Learn more about YouTube Restricted Mode.

Under “Use Restricted Mode:”

Turn Restrict for me on this device on or off.
Turn Restrict for unrecognized users on this device on or off.

YouTube TV filters

Important: YouTube TV is only available in the US. Learn more about available locations and networks.

You can choose to only allow programs rated YT-Y, YT-G, G and PG to play for yourself on the device.

Under “Filter content for YouTube TV,” turn Filter for me on or off.

Temporarily turn off Google Assistant

You can turn on Downtime to temporarily limit what your speaker, Assistant-enabled device, or Smart Clock can do.

Set up Downtime

Open the Google Home app .
At the bottom, tap Home .
Touch and hold your device.
At the top right, tap Device settings Notifications & digital wellbeing Digital wellbeing New schedule.

Change Downtime schedule

Open the Google Home app .
At the bottom, tap Home .
Touch and hold your device.
At the top right, tap Device settings Notifications & digital wellbeing Digital wellbeing.
Tap the schedule that you want to change.
- To choose days you want Downtime to turn on:
  1. Choose which days. You can use a premade schedule or create a customer schedule.
  2. Tap Save.
- To choose the times for Downtime to start and end:
  1. Choose the times for Downtime to start and end.
  2. Tap Save.

What happens when Downtime is on

Your device won’t respond to most commands or questions. Commands to stop or cancel activities will still work.
You won’t receive notifications on your device.
Routines won’t work unless you started one before you turned on Downtime.
Activities that started before Downtime begins will continue. For example, you can play music before Downtime starts, and it'll continue to play until you stop it.
You can set an alarm or timer, or ask for the time.
You can use commands to control your smart devices for home automation, like when you ask your Assistant to turn the lights on or off.

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