Google Debuts Parental Controls For Chrome

Google is officially beginning to roll out parental controls in its Chrome web browser in the form of a new “Supervised Users” feature that is live now in the beta channel for early testing ahead of its expected public release. The option allows a user, most likely a parent, to lock down the Chrome browser running on their device in order to allow and block access to certain websites, enable SafeSearch for filtering Google search results, and maintain a history of the websites visited, among other things.

The “Supervised Users” option has been in testing for some time. It was first spotted in the wild this past December when developers found an option called “Managed User Settings” in Chrome’s Canary/Chromium build. Then this summer, the feature became more broadly accessible to users of the Canary build, as it was able to be switched on and off using a couple of flags.