Samsung's Galaxy Store is not monitored by the Family Link app. The problem is that you can download another browser like Firefox from the galaxy store and have unfettered access to the internet even with the Family Link app set up. Is there no way to allow the Family Link app to automatically link to the Galaxy Store and keep it from downloading apps without the same permissions as the Play Store? It completely undermines having Family Link and can't be turned off or deleted from the phone.
In Family link the Galaxy store is shown as "S Suggest", block access to S Suggest and your child will no longer have access to the Galaxy Store, it will not appear on their device.
This is a problem and a major oversight by samsung! I provide care for people that have mental disabilities and some need extra protection because their disabilities can make them a target to predators. This means that some people have their phones limited as to what apps they can use etc. This is decided by their teams (guardians, nurses, social workers, etc). My one resident has a samsung ao3s and despite having family link on her phone, she was able to install apps without asking staff for permission and they would not show up in family link.
Apps this resident would use to go online and meet strange people and then she would invite them to the facility (not telling them it was a facility) for, many all of these people were convicted offenders and domestic abuse convicts!
This posed a great threat to not just that resident but my other residents as well. On top of that I have been trying to figure out what staff was allowing her to install apps on her phone that she should not be installing. This is also bad for children and parents.
Hi, VanquishedAngel, and welcome to the Community. I can certainly see the concern of this particular service not limiting certain functionalities. Since Google is who Family Link is managed by, it would be best to contact them for a resolution.
Yes google makes the family link app, but Samsung is the one who built the Samsung Galaxy Store into the phone and did not make it disable-able or uninstallable. Google can not fix that issue so this is a Samsung problem, as google did not make that app, or build it into Samsung phones, or make it so that it can not be uninstalled or disabled. Samsung did that.
Yes I use parental controls, but since the galaxy store app is not visible on the Family link app, it can install anything in the store and anything it installs is also not visible by the family link app. Also if they can just tick a box in the settings on the phone, this would defeat the propose as most children would just change the setting. This almost seems intentional by Samsung.
I have parental controls set, yet the resident was able to download and install mature content through the app. And yes there is dangerous content on that app for children, like telegram x. It functions a bit like snapchat and people use it for nudes.
This is important for parents to know that on Samsung phones they can not see or control what that app installs through family link.
I found that you are able to block the app, so you were correct. However you can not block it or what it installs through Family link (probably because the app is built in). With the phone however I was able to block it in the settings and parental controls along side the family link app ones that were blocked. It is weird that the family link app can not block it. Anyway I double checked and the content rating was set to teen, yet the resident was able to install mature content. Now I have to deal with their team about all the nudes i did not consent to see.
