I need to keep an eye on my teenager’s screen time and location, but I don’t want to install anything heavy on their device. I’ve looked into a few open source tools and read about adb commands, but I keep hitting permission walls when trying to mirror the display or pull notifications from my laptop. Does anyone have a reliable setup that actually works without root access, or should I just stick to built-in family sharing features?
Modern Android tightly locks down ADB screen mirroring and notification hooks, so without root or a proper MDM profile you’re just gonna hit those same permission walls every time. Google Family Link or your manufacturer’s built-in parental controls will handle screen time and location cleanly without bogging their phone down. You’ll still need five minutes with the device to pair it up, but honestly that’s as close to “lightweight and reliable” as it gets on stock Android.