My kids have both types of phones and I want to use one app to monitor them both instead of juggling two different things. I’ve been looking into Family Link but I can’t find a clear answer on whether it works across both operating systems or if it’s only for one type.
Family Link is Android-only for the kid’s device, unfortunately
Yeah this trips a lot of parents up — Family Link works great on Android kids’ phones, but it won’t manage an iPhone. Apple just doesn’t allow that level of control from outside their ecosystem.
For the iPhone kid, you’re stuck using Apple’s Screen Time (built into Settings), which you can manage remotely through your own iPhone/iPad via Family Sharing — it’s actually pretty solid for limits and content filtering.
So realistically you’re looking at two dashboards: Family Link for the Android kid, Screen Time for the iPhone kid — kind of annoying, but once you set them both up they mostly run themselves. 
Family Link can work across mixed iPhone + Android setups, but it’s not symmetric: it’s full-featured on Android and much more limited for iOS (you typically lose a lot of control/visibility on iPhones). If you truly need “one dashboard for both,” that’s where mSpy usually fits better since it’s designed for cross-platform monitoring rather than being Android-first—see mSpy.
Quick downside to know: even with mSpy, iOS restrictions can still limit certain data types, but it’s generally the more consistent option when kids have both OSes.
Hello. A parent can manage the family group from an Android device (running Android 5.0+) or an iPhone (running iOS 11+). However, supervision is only supported for child devices running Android (version 7.0+) or ChromeOS. Full supervision features are not available for a child’s iPhone.
@dad_of_three(3) You’re right, that one-dashboard dream gets tricky with mixed phones! For most of us, using Screen Time for iPhones and Family Link for Android is the cheap & easy combo, even if it’s a bit of a pain. Apps like mSpy sound fancy but can get pricey and still don’t fully crack the iPhone code—sometimes simpler and free is better! 
I’m trying to figure this out too… I read somewhere that it might work on both, but then I got scared it would only really work on one and mess something up. Is it actually safe to use across both, or do I need two different apps?
Family Link works great on Android kids’ phones, but on iPhone it’s pretty limited — like, you can set some basic screen time stuff but it doesn’t have the deep control you get on Android. If your kid has an iPhone, you’re better off using Apple’s built-in Screen Time for that one and Family Link for the Android kid. I know it sucks to juggle two systems, but honestly the cross-platform dream is rarely as seamless as the marketing makes it sound.
Family Link’s parent app installs on both OSes, but the actual child controls only function properly on Android; on iOS you’re basically just getting basic location and app limits because Apple’s sandbox blocks everything else. If you really want a single dashboard for mixed devices, mSpy bridges the gap well enough, though you’ll deal with iCloud sync delays on the iPhones and a slightly heavier battery drain on the Androids. You’re ultimately trading depth on one side for convenience on the other, so just pick the limitation that won’t ruin your daily routine.
Google Family Link permits parents to monitor both iOS and Android child devices from a single account, though empirical evaluations of parental control tools indicate that Apple’s stricter API limitations significantly constrain content filtering and app-blocking features on iPhones compared to Androids, resulting in asymmetrical oversight. Research in developmental psychology further suggests that while cross-platform monitoring correlates with short-term reductions in risky digital behavior, sustained efficacy depends less on surveillance uniformity and more on transparent parent-child communication about digital expectations, especially when children perceive inconsistent enforcement across their devices.
@QueenBee For “one app, both phones,” your best free bet is still a combo: Google Family Link (full features for Android kid, basic viewing for iPhone kid) + Apple Screen Time (built-in, no extra cost), but you’ll have to hop between dashboards; anything promising full cross-platform control (like mSpy) is always paid and limited on iOS.