Use these steps to set up Family Sharing. You can start a new family group and invite people to join, or you can join someone else’s family group.
Family Sharing makes it easy for up to six family members to share App Store purchases and Apple subscriptions, including an iCloud storage plan, and more—all without sharing an Apple ID. It includes the ability to set up an Apple ID for kids, set permissions remotely with Screen Time, and approve spending and downloads from a parent’s device. Your family can also share a photo album, a family calendar, and even help locate each other’s missing devices.
Get started
You can be a part of only one family at a time. Here’s what you need to set up Family Sharing:
- An Apple ID signed in to iCloud
- iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8 or later, or Mac with OS X Yosemite or later
Start a family group
One adult in the family—the family organizer—can set up Family Sharing for the group from their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac. If you turn on purchase sharing, you’ll be asked to confirm that you agree to pay for purchases initiated by the family members you invite and that you have a valid payment method on file. Valid payment methods for setting up Family Sharing include credit cards and debit cards.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
- Go to Settings > [Tap on your name]. If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud.
2.Tap Set Up Family Sharing, then tap Get Started. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family and invite your family members.3. If you’re using iOS 11 or later, choose the first feature you’d like to share with your family. Then follow the instructions to invite your family members using iMessage.
On your Mac:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
- Confirm the Apple ID that you want to use for Family Sharing, and make sure that Share My Purchases is selected.
- Follow the onscreen instructions.
Invite people to join your family
As long as you all use iOS 8 and later or OS X Yosemite and later, you can add anyone who has an Apple ID to your family. If you have children, use these steps to create their Apple ID and add them to your group. Use the steps below to add someone who already has an Apple ID.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
- Go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing. If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Family.
- Tap Add Family Member.
- Enter your family member’s name or email address and follow the onscreen instructions.
- If you’re using iOS 11 or later, choose whether you’d like to send an invitation via Messages or to invite them in person. Then follow the onscreen instructions.
On your Mac:
If you’re using macOS Catalina:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
- Click Family Sharing.
- Click Add Family Member, then follow the onscreen instructions.
If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier:
- Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click iCloud.
- Click Manage Family.
- Click the add family member button (+), then follow the onscreen instructions.
If your family member is with you, they can enter their Apple ID password on your device to accept the invitation. You can also send them an invitation, and they can accept from their device. If you have multiple Apple IDs in the iTunes Store and the App Store, you can invite each of your accounts to the group, so you can share purchases from your other Apple IDs with your family.
See if your family member accepted the invitation
After you send the invitation, you can check its status under the person’s name.
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
Go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing. If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Family.
On your Mac:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud, then click Manage Family.
Then select that person’s name to see the status of the invitation. If you need to resend the invitation, select Resend Invitation.
Join a family group
Accept or decline an invitation to join a family directly from your device. You’ll get an invitation sent to you by email or in a text message. Then you can respond right from the invitation. If you miss the email or text invitation, no problem. You can respond from your device Settings or System Preferences:
On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:
Go to Settings > [your name] > Invitations. If you’re using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Invitations.
On your Mac:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing. If you’re using macOS Mojave or earlier, choose Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud, then click Manage Family.
To accept an invitation, follow the onscreen instructions. When you join a family, you might be asked to confirm your account information and to opt-in to any features or services your family set up.
If you can’t accept the invitation, see if someone else joined a family with your Apple ID or is sharing purchased content from your Apple ID. Remember, you can only join one family at a time, and you can only switch to a different family group once per year.
Start sharing
After your family members join, the features of Family Sharing are set up on everyone’s devices.
- You can share eligible App Store, music, movie, TV, and book purchases, an Apple Music Family Subscription, an Apple Arcade subscription, an Apple News+ subscription, Apple TV channels subscriptions, an Apple TV+ subscription, and an iCloud storage plan.
- Your family can also share a photo album, calendar, and reminders.
- You can share a Personal Hotspot with your family.
- You can share your location with one another and help locate each others’ missing devices with Find My.
- And if you have children under 13**, you can manage your child’s account, turn on Ask to Buy, or use Screen Time with Family Sharing.
For more information , visit Apple.com