Boomerang Parental Control's call and text message safety features are only available for Samsung smartphones and tablets via the Galaxy Store and via our download page on our website (for all non-Samsung devices). Please use the appropriate badge below.

The Google Play version no longer contains these features.

Before you begin

A few items to review, they may not all apply to your situation. The following steps apply for Child Mode devices.

• Android 14 and newer: You will need to enable "Allow restricted settings" on non-Samsung devices when installing from our website download as we require the Accessibility Permission. 
  • See instructions below. 
• You may perform the steps below on your default browser or our SPIN Safe Browser
• Is Unknown Sources blocked by your Administrator? Read this.
• Updating your child's device from the Google Play version? Open Boomerang Parental Control to accept the Call and SMS permissions. Please restart your child's device just to make sure all services refresh properly. Without this step, calls/text logs will not collect. 
• Parent Android devices can keep using our Google Play version.
• Parents on iOS devices can still get Boomerang Parental Control from the App Store.

Getting Started for non-Galaxy Store installs

1. Visit our special download page for non-Samsung devices 

Download and install Boomerang on your child devices. Before you open Boomerang Parental Control, please follow the important steps below. 

2. Before opening Boomerang - Enable "Allow restricted settings"

The following steps are important to perform before starting the Boomerang setup. Some of the menus may be a tad different on your Android device - our screenshots are from a recent Samsung device. 

• Go to Android Settings > Accessibility > Installed Apps > tap on Boomerang Accessibility Permission
• You will see a prompt about Restricted setting
• Tap OK

• Go to Android Settings > Apps > Boomerang
• In top right, tap on the three dots > tap Allow restricted settings

• You may now open Boomerang and proceed with our installation steps on your child device. 

Additional Questions

Do I install this version my parent device or child device?

Parents who wish to use our call and text messaging safety features should download the version from the Galaxy Store or our website in order to enable these features. Our parent mode doesn't require this version, simply use the version from Google Play (or App Store if your parent device is an iPhone/iPad).

Can I upgrade from the Google Play version?

Yes! The version downloaded from our website will update on top of the version from Google Play. After the upgrade, open Boomerang and accept permission requests for Contacts, Calls and SMS. Then tap on the three dots (top right) > Update Status. We also recommend restarting your child's device at this time. 

How do I make sure my child's device is on the latest version?

1. For Samsung devices, the update will be automatically applied via the Galaxy Store (or manually if auto-updates are disabled)
2. For non-Samsung devices, visit our download page to see if there's a newer version.

Do I need to purchase again?

No. This version retains all settings including your licensing information.

I received a warning “This type of file can harm your device”. Is it safe to tap OK?

Absolutely. This is a normal prompt that Android provides when downloading programs outside of Google Play or the Galaxy Store. 

What do "gp" and "sideload" stand for (app version abbreviations in Parent Mode/Web Dashboard)?

GP is the version from Google Play without Call/SMS permissions.

Sideload is the version from the Galaxy Store/ our website with our Call and Text Messaging safety features.

Resources

How do I prevent my child from uninstalling Boomerang on his/her Android device?

Unknown Sources is blocked by Administrator (Google Family Link installed?)