Manage use of your Google Assistant device

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

Home members can set up and manage filters and Downtime.

Control which features that 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 and 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 still be able to 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 that 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 podcasts: Your device will play all supported podcasts.
Block 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 that 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 will only respond to basic queries like the time and the weather.

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: The 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 and 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 and Digital Wellbeing YouTube settings.

YouTube Music and YouTube video search filters

You can filter potential mature music and videos on YouTube for yourself and unrecognised 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 unrecognised 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, smart display 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 and 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 and Digital Wellbeing Digital Wellbeing.
Tap the schedule that you want to change.
- To choose days on which you want Downtime to turn on:
  1. Choose which days. You can use a pre-made schedule or create a custom 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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