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Family Sharing is a feature that enables you to easily share apps, music, movies, books, and more between members of your family. In this article, we’ll present a step-by-step guide on how to set up Family Sharing on all of your Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Benefits of Family Sharing
Family Sharing has several benefits, including:
- The ability to share purchases on Apple’s digital stores between members of your family.
- Shared payment method for up to 6 people in the same family unit.
- Limits for younger family members, enabling parents to approve or decline purchases on their behalf.
- Integration with other Apple services such as iCloud and Find My Friends.
- Shared family calendar and reminder lists.
- Shared family photo album that’s updated in real-time on all devices.
How to Set Up Family Sharing on an iPad or iPhone
The easiest way to set up Family Sharing is on an iPad or iPhone. Here are the steps:
- Open the Settings app and tap on your name and image.
- Tap on “Set up Family Sharing…”
- Follow the instructions to set up Family Sharing for your account.
- Tap on “Get started,” “Continue” and “Continue” on subsequent screens to complete the setup.
- Confirm payment information and decide whether or not to share location information.
Add Family Members on iOS
To add additional family members:
- Tap on “Family Sharing” in your Apple ID settings.
- Tap on “Add Family Member” and follow the prompts to invite via iMessage, email or in person.
How to Set Up Family Sharing on a Mac
To set up Family Sharing on a Mac:
- Open System Preferences and click on iCloud.
- Enter your Apple ID and password, then click on “Set Up Family.”
- Follow the prompts to confirm payment information and decide whether or not to share location information.
Add Family Members on macOS
To add additional family members:
- Click on “Manage Family” in the iCloud settings.
- Click the plus sign to add a new family member and enter their email address or Game Center nickname.
- Enter your Apple ID password to confirm you are the family organizer.
- Determine how the new member is invited – either via an email invitation or by entering a password.
Who Pays for Content in Family Sharing?
The family organizer is responsible for payment and will be charged for all purchases made by family members. Other family members can leave Family Sharing if they want to pay for an app or music, but they can only do that twice a year. Therefore, it’s important to ensure that you are happy to pay for all content when you set up Family Sharing.
FAQs
Family members can share apps, music, movies, TV shows, books, and iCloud storage.
2. Can Family Sharing be set up with non-family members?
No, Family Sharing is specifically designed for family members to share content and does not support non-family members.