Copilot Family Parental Controls: What It Was and What to Use Now
Copilot Family was a 2015 parental control app for iOS, Android and Chromebooks. It's not to be confused with Microsoft Copilot. What it did and today's alternatives.
If you search for "Copilot family" today, you'll mostly find results about Microsoft's AI assistant. But years before that, Copilot Family was a parental control service for phones and tablets. We reviewed it in 2015, when managing kids' mobile devices was much harder than it is now.
This page explains what Copilot Family was, what happened to it, and the tools that now do the same job. Because the names overlap, we've also included a short section on parental controls for Microsoft Copilot.
What Copilot Family was
Copilot Family came from a small app developer based in New Haven, Connecticut. It let parents and educators monitor and restrict children's mobile devices from a web dashboard, and it supported a wide range of platforms for the time: iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, Android phones and tablets, Chromebooks and Amazon Fire tablets.
Its main features were:
- Disabling apps and functions, such as the camera, FaceTime, screenshots or explicit content
- Time-based rules, like no apps during school or no camera during homework time
- Location viewing, with notifications when a child arrived at or left a place
- New app notifications
- Remote lock and wipe for a lost or stolen device
On Apple devices, it worked by installing a device management profile, the same technology schools and companies use to manage their iPads and iPhones. That gave it more control than a normal app could have, but it also depended on Apple continuing to allow consumer apps to use that approach.
What happened to it
As of October 2026, Copilot Family no longer appears in Apple's App Store, and we couldn't find a working product website. It appears to have been discontinued, though we found no formal announcement.
Two broader changes made services like it harder to sustain:
- Apple and Google built their own controls. Screen Time (iOS 12) and Google Family Link offer most of Copilot Family's features for free.
- Apple restricted device management for consumer apps. In 2019, Apple removed or required changes to a number of parental control apps that used device-management technology, citing privacy concerns.
If an old Copilot Family profile is still on a device, remove it under Settings > General > VPN & Device Management.
Today's equivalents, feature by feature
| Copilot Family feature | iPhone and iPad (Screen Time) | Android and Chromebook (Family Link) |
|---|---|---|
| Disable apps or camera | Block apps; restrict built-in apps in Content & Privacy Restrictions | Block apps |
| Time-based rules | Screen Time Schedule or Downtime; Time Allowances in iOS 27 | Daily limits and bedtime |
| Location and arrival alerts | Find My, with arrival and departure notifications | Location in Family Link |
| New app alerts | Ask to Buy approval requests | App approval requests |
| Remote lock or wipe | Pause (iOS 27) and Find My | Remote lock; Google Find Hub (formerly Find My Device) |
Our comprehensive list of parental controls for phones, computers and tablets has setup details for each platform, and our guide to location sharing on iOS covers arrival notifications.
Not to be confused with Microsoft Copilot
Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant built into Windows, Microsoft Edge and its own apps. It has nothing to do with the old Copilot Family service, but parents often have questions about it.
According to Microsoft's support page on Copilot age limits and parental controls:
- If your family uses personal Microsoft accounts, Microsoft Family Safety can block the Copilot app or set screen time limits on Windows, Xbox and Android.
- On Apple devices, use Screen Time to block or limit the Copilot app.
- To block Copilot in a web browser, use your device's or browser's parental controls to block copilot.microsoft.com. Router-level blocking covers the whole home network.
Microsoft also says parents can choose which Copilot features are available to young people, such as voice mode. Check the page for current age requirements in your region, since they vary.
The same logic applies to other AI chatbots: check each one's minimum age, set app limits or blocks where needed, and talk with your kids about what AI tools are good for and where they get things wrong.
Choosing a modern alternative
Most families can start with free built-in tools:
- All-Apple family: Screen Time with Family Sharing.
- All-Android or Chromebook family: Google Family Link.
- Mixed devices: the built-in tool on each device, or a paid service with one dashboard, such as those in our review of Circle parental controls.
Quick checklist
- Remove leftover device management profiles from old parental control apps.
- Set up Screen Time or Family Link with a child account.
- Recreate the rules you need: app blocks, schedules, location sharing.
- Turn on app approval so you see new downloads.
- Decide how your family will handle AI assistants, and set limits on those apps too.
Frequently asked questions
Is Copilot Family the same as Microsoft Copilot?
No. Copilot Family was a parental control app from a small company, unrelated to Microsoft. Microsoft Copilot is an AI assistant that has its own age requirements and parental controls through Microsoft Family Safety.
Is Copilot Family still available?
We couldn't find it in the App Store or a working product website in 2026, so it appears to be discontinued. Built-in tools like Screen Time and Google Family Link cover its main features.
How do I block Microsoft Copilot for my child?
Microsoft says to use Family Safety to block or time-limit the Copilot app on Windows, Xbox and Android, Apple's Screen Time on Apple devices, and browser or device controls to block copilot.microsoft.com.