How children sign in
The six-picture family code, PINs, and why a child can only sign in on a device a grown-up has approved.
Where to find it
Kids sign in, on the sign-in screen
Children sign in without an account, an email address or a password. There are three parts to it, and the third is the one people are usually surprised by.
1. The family picture code
Six pictures, in order. Every child in the household uses the same one. A grown-up can see it under More → Your account, and change it whenever they like.
2. Their avatar, and a PIN if they have one
After the code they pick themselves from the family’s children. If you have given a child a PIN, they enter it — which is what stops siblings signing in as each other.
Set or clear a PIN by opening the child in More → Your account.
3. A device a grown-up has approved
The picture code only works on a trusted device. Six pictures are guessable, so on their own they are not enough to open a household — the device has to be one your family has approved.
A device becomes trusted in one of two ways:
- A grown-up signs in on it. They can sign out again afterwards; the device stays trusted. This is the family-tablet route.
- You send a setup code. For a child who has their own phone, so no adult account ever goes on it — see set up a child’s own device.
Managing trusted devices
More → Your account → Devices lists them, with when each was last used. Remove one you no longer have and it stops working immediately.
If it says the device is not set up
That device’s approval has been removed, or it never had one. A grown-up signing in on it fixes it, as does a fresh setup code. Changing the family picture code also signs out children who are already signed in, which is the point of changing it.
Updated 4 September 2026. Something here wrong or missing? Tell us — we'd rather fix the page than answer it twice.
