Parental controls link two ZeroTwo accounts: a parent or guardian and a teen. Once they are linked, the parent can switch off some features on the teen's account and set quiet hours. The parent cannot read the teen's conversations.
What a parent can control
| Setting | When it is off |
|---|---|
| Allow memory | Memory is off for the teen's account. ZeroTwo does not save memories for them and does not use saved memories in their chats. |
| Allow voice mode | Voice mode is blocked. |
| Allow image generation | ZeroTwo's image creation and image editing tools are blocked. They return "Image generation is disabled by your parental controls." |
| Quiet hours | During the window you set, the teen cannot send messages. The message box shows "Quiet hours are active" with the window and "Sending is paused until quiet hours end." |
The limits are checked on ZeroTwo's servers, not only in the app. These four settings are the only controls a parent has.
Link two accounts
Either person can start the link.
- Open Settings > Parental controls. On iOS and Android, find Parental controls in Settings.
- Click Add family member. If you already have family members, click Invite instead.
- In the Invite family member window, enter an email address. To invite by phone number instead, click Use phone.
- Under This person is:, choose My parent or guardian or My child.
- Click Send.
The person you invite gets an email or text message with a link to accept. If they are new to ZeroTwo, they are asked to create an account first. An invitation expires after 72 hours. A parent can follow invitations in the Family members list, where each link shows a status such as Active, Pending, Declined or Expired.
A teen who receives an invitation also sees it under Pending invitations in Settings > Parental controls, with Accept and Decline buttons. If you send several invitations in a short time, ZeroTwo may ask you to try again later.
Change a teen's settings
- Open Settings > Parental controls.
- Under Family members, click the teen's row. Only links with the status Active can be opened.
- Turn the switches on or off. To use quiet hours, turn on Quiet hours and pick a Start time, an End time and a Timezone.
- Click Save changes. The button is available once you have changed something.
What the teen sees
In Settings > Parental controls, a linked teen sees who they are linked with and a Managed by your parent list. Memory, Voice mode and Image generation show "Disabled" when the parent has turned them off, and the quiet hours window appears when it is set.
Privacy
ZeroTwo does not share what a teen writes with their parent. The invitation tells both sides that conversations stay private and that the link can be removed at any time.
The privacy notice in Settings also says that, in rare cases involving safety risks, a parent may receive a notification with minimal context. Do not rely on this: ZeroTwo's backend has no automatic detector connected to those notifications, so parental controls will not alert a parent to what a teen writes.
Unlink accounts
Either person can end the link from Settings > Parental controls with Unlink account. A parent finds the button after opening the teen's row under Family members. ZeroTwo asks you to confirm and emails the other person.