Xiaomi’s modern smartphones have become an integral part of children’s lives, providing access to educational resources, games and video content. But the openness of the Android operating system and the shell of MIUI or HyperOS poses risks that parents face more often. Excessive gadget craze, occasional purchases in apps and access to unwanted content are just the tip of the iceberg of digital education problems.
Fortunately, Redmi and Poco have powerful security tools in their arsenal, and setting up parental controls allows you to not only limit your time online, but also build healthy digital habits in your child. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at native features, Google’s third-party solutions, and the specific shell settings that will help you secure your device.
It's important to understand that technical protection is not a total ban, but a safe environment. The right configuration of restrictions will help avoid conflicts and make using a smartphone a useful activity. We'll look at everything from basic account preparation to fine-tuning filters for specific applications.
Preparation for installation of protection systems
Before you start setting up, you need to do a series of preparatory steps to ensure that all the functions work correctly. First of all, make sure that the latest available system updates are installed on your child's phone and on your device. In MIUI, this is done through the Settings menu → About Phone → MIUI version, and in the new HyperOS, the path is similar, but the interface may be different.
The second critical step is to create or use a separate Google account for your child, and settings on an adult account are discouraged because it mixes search history, geolocation and service recommendations, and register a new profile with a real but controlled age so that the system can automatically apply age-appropriate filters to Google Play.
⚠️ Note: When registering a child account, be sure to link it to your parent profile via Family Link. Without this link, many remote management features will not be available.
Also check the stability of the Internet connection. For initial synchronization of rules and downloading the profiles of restrictions requires stable Wi-Fi or mobile Internet. If the child’s device is a SIM card with limited traffic, all initial settings are better done on the home network.
☑️ Ready to set up
Using Google Family Link on Xiaomi
The most efficient and versatile solution for the Android ecosystem, including Xiaomi smartphones, is the official Google Family Link app. It works at the operating system level, which allows you to control not only embedded features, but also third-party programs. To get started, download the Google Family Link app from the Play Market to your phone.
Once installed, launch the app and follow the instructions on the screen, you will be asked to select a child account. If you created it in advance, just enter the data. The system will suggest that you configure the child's device: this may require you to log into his account directly on a Redmi or Poco phone. During the setup, Family Link will request device administrator rights, which is a prerequisite for locking the screen and managing applications.
The main features that become available after setting up include:
- 📱 Time limits: setting daily screen usage limits and time off, after which the phone is locked.
- 🚫 Blocking apps: the ability to completely ban the launch of specific games or social networks.
- 📍 Geolocation: Real-time tracking of device location.
- 🔍 Search filters: Enable secure search in Google and block adult sites in Chrome.
One of the important features is purchasing management. You can set up confirmation of every transaction on Google Play on your device, which eliminates the accidental or deliberate spending of money from a tied card to a donate in games or buying subscriptions.
Built-in limitations of MIUI and HyperOS
MIUI and its successor HyperOS have their own set of digital well-being tools that don’t require any additional software installation, and can be found in Settings → Digital Well-Being and Parental Control, which provides basic functionality that is useful if you don’t want to use Google accounts to manage your business.
Focus Mode is available in this section, allowing you to temporarily turn off distracting apps and notifications. Although it is more of a productivity tool, it can be used to create temporary "phone-free zones" such as during homework, and use statistics are available to show how much time a child spends in each particular program.
| MIUI function | Description | Where to find out. |
|---|---|---|
| Locker | Banning calls and SMS from unknown numbers | Security → Blocking |
| Traffic restriction | Limits on mobile Internet for applications | Security → Traffic. |
| Safety of children | Comprehensive regime with protection against viruses and losses | Security → Parental control |
| Guest mode | Separate profile without access to personal data | Settings → Advanced settings |
The app Security, which is pre-installed on all Xiaomi phones, has a Child Safety module (or Parental Control depending on the version and region of the firmware) that allows you to remotely track location, take pictures from the front camera when you enter your password incorrectly, and lock the device.
⚠️ Note: In some global versions MIUI The built-in parental controls may be cut or eliminated, and Google’s decisions should be prioritized.
Control of access to YouTube and browser
A separate and most painful topic for many parents is video content. The standard YouTube app on a child's phone can stream content that is not age-appropriate without restrictions. Even with Safe Mode enabled, algorithms can skip questionable videos. The solution is to install YouTube Kids.
YouTube Kids is a separate app designed for children, and through your parent's account, you can:
- 🎈 Select age level: Content will be filtered according to age (up to age) 4 years, 5-8 years, 9-12 years).
- 🔒 Block search: Your child will only be able to watch approved videos without being able to search for new ones.
- ⏱️ Set a timer: the application will be blocked after the allotted time has expired.
As for browsers, it's more complicated. If a child uses Google Chrome, turn on_safe_search_ The child's account (via Family Link) will filter pornographic content in the SERPs, but this does not protect against clicking on direct links. SP Browser that have built-in whitelisting sites.
What if your child finds a way to get around the block?
Blocking Unsolicited Purchases and Advertising
Financial security is a key aspect: Free-to-play games often involve aggressive monetization; children may not realize the value of digital currencies and make thousands of roubles worth of purchases; and Google Play requires mandatory authorization for purchases.
To do this, open Play Market settings on your child’s phone (or remotely via Family Link), go to Settings → Authentication. Select Require password for all purchases through Google Play on this device. Now no transaction will pass without entering a password or confirming a parent’s fingerprint.
Advertising is another problem: in free apps, it can be intrusive and lead to sites with fraudulent content, and completely removing ads inside apps without root rights is difficult, but you can minimize the risks:
- Turn off ad personalization in Google settings (Settings → Google → Advertising).
- Use DNS with ad filtering (e.g. dns.adguard.com) by prescribing it in your Wi-Fi settings or using the Private DNS app on Android 9+.
- Disable the installation of applications from unknown sources in the MIUI security settings.
💡
Use virtual cards with a limit of 0 or 100 rubles to link to the child’s account. Even if he somehow learns the CVC code, more than this amount will not be deducted.
Frequent problems and their solution
While setting up and operating control systems on Xiaomi devices, users often face a number of technical difficulties. MIUI’s aggressive energy saving system can “kill” the background processes of parental control applications, which prevents geolocation from being updated and restrictions from working in time.
To fix this, you need to manually configure Autostart and Access Rights for the Family Link (or similar) application. Go to Settings → Apps → All apps, find the desired application and select “Start” (enable). Then go to “Battery” or “Energy Saving” and select “No Limits” mode.
Another common problem is that you can't unlock your phone if your parent's battery is dead, and in these cases, Google provides unlock codes that you can find in the Family Link app in the help section.
💡
The main reason for the failure of parental control on Xiaomi is the aggressive energy saving system. Be sure to set exceptions for the controller application.