What is Apple Family Sharing and how do you use it?

Imagine purchasing an app, song, movie, or book and instantly sharing it with up to six family members without buying it multiple times. Well, now you can. Thanks to Apple® Family Sharing, navigating your family's online activity just got a lot easier. 

At Asurion, we're here to help your family get the most out of their devices—whether that's knowing how to update apps on iPhone®, blocking websites on your child's phone, or deciding what's the right age for kids to get a phone. Here's our guide to Apple Family Sharing. 

What is Apple Family Sharing?

Apple Family Sharing is a feature that allows up to six family members to share App Store® purchases, Apple subscriptions (like Apple Music®, Apple TV+®, and Apple News+®), and iCloud® storage without sharing each other's Apple IDs. It's designed to bring families closer online, providing an easy way to distribute content and manage purchases within the family group.

Benefits of Apple Family Sharing

• Purchase sharing. From apps and games to music and TV shows, Family Sharing allows you to share your favorite content with your family members without multiple purchases. 
• Apple subscriptions. Share your Apple One℠ subscription with your family, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Arcade®, and more. 
• iCloud storage. Create one iCloud storage plan for your family. This makes storing photos, documents, and backups easier.
• Parental controls. Family Sharing includes parental controls that help ensure your kids engage with age-appropriate content.
• Location sharing. Keep tabs on each other's whereabouts with the Find My feature. 

How to set up Apple Family Sharing

Setting up Family Sharing is simple and can be done from your iPhone, iPad®, or Mac®.

• On iPhone and iPad. Go to Settings > Your Name > Family Sharing. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family group.
• On Mac. Go to System Settings > Family Sharing, and follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family.

Once you've set up Family Sharing, you can start inviting your family members to join. Each member will receive an invitation that they need to accept before joining the family group.

How to invite family members:

• On iPhone and iPad. Go to Settings> [Your Name] > Family Sharing > Add Member, then enter your family member's email address to send the invitation.
• On Mac. Go to System Settings > Family Sharing > + button to add a new member and send the invitation.

Remember, the family organizer's payment method will be used for all purchases made by the family members, but purchase requests for kids under 13 can be set to require approval.