Family Sharing

Last updated

Family Sharing is a service introduced in iOS 8 by Apple Inc. in June 2014, that enables the sharing of purchases from Apple stores. [1] Six members in a group can share purchases from App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store, an Apple Music family subscription, an Apple News+ subscription, and an iCloud storage plan. [2] Family members can also share a photo album, calendar, and reminders, and help locate each other's missing devices. Purchases and other downloads made from non-Apple sources cannot be shared using Family Sharing. Family Sharing can be used on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8 or later, on Mac with OS X Yosemite (version 10.10) or later and iTunes 12, or a PC with iCloud for Windows. [3]

One adult acts as the "organizer" of the group and controls the family group settings, and all payments for the group are effected through the organizer's credit card. When each member joins the group, Family Sharing is set up on their devices automatically. The organizer can designate a member as a child, whose purchases can be set to require parental approval. If a member wants to add more services to share with the group, the organizer can update the Family Sharing settings at any time. [4]

Members can register unique Apple IDs that are then linked by the organizer. Purchases made on one account can be shared with the other family group members. Purchases or free downloads to be made by child members may require the organizer's approval, and purchases by adults will not be visible to child members. [5]

Family Sharing also extends into apps. For example, a shared album is automatically generated in the Photos app of each family member, allowing everyone to add photos, videos, and comments to a shared place. [1] An Ask to Buy feature allows anyone to request the purchase of items in the App Store, iTunes Store, and iBooks Store, as well as in-app purchases and iCloud storage, with the administrator having the option to either approve or deny the purchase. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

iTunes Apples media library and media player software

iTunes is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital multimedia, on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating systems, and can be used to rip songs from CDs, as well as play content with the use of dynamic, smart playlists. Options for sound optimizations exist, as well as ways to wirelessly share the iTunes library.

iPhoto Digital photograph manipulation software by Apple

iPhoto is a discontinued digital photograph manipulation software application developed by Apple Inc. It was included with every Mac computer from 2002 to 2015, when it was replaced with Apple's Photos application. Originally sold as part of the iLife suite of digital media management applications, iPhoto is able to import, organize, edit, print and share digital photos.

iLife Discontinued software suite for macOS and iOS

iLife is a discontinued software suite for macOS and iOS developed by Apple Inc. It consists of various programs for media creation, organization, editing and publishing. At various times, it included: iTunes, iMovie, iPhoto, iDVD, iWeb, and GarageBand. Only iMovie and GarageBand remain and are now freely available on Apple's Mac App Store. iDVD and iWeb have been discontinued while iTunes and iPhoto have been succeeded by Music and Photos respectively.

iWork Office suite of applications created by Apple Inc.

iWork is an office suite of applications created by Apple for its macOS, iPadOS, and iOS operating systems, and also available cross-platform through the iCloud website.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aperture (software)</span> Image organizer for macOS

Aperture is a discontinued professional image organizer and editor developed by Apple between 2005 and 2015 for the Mac, as a professional alternative to iPhoto.

MobileMe is a discontinued subscription-based collection of online services and software offered by Apple Inc. All services were gradually transitioned to and eventually replaced by the free iCloud, and MobileMe ceased on June 30, 2012, with transfers to iCloud being available until July 31, 2012, or data being available for download until that date, when the site finally closed completely. On that date all data was deleted, and email addresses of accounts not transferred to iCloud were marked as unused.

Apple ID is a user account by Apple for their devices and software. Apple IDs contain the user's personal data and settings. When an Apple ID is used to log in to an Apple device, the device will automatically use the data and settings associated with the Apple ID.

iCloud Cloud storage and cloud computing service by Apple

iCloud is a cloud service developed by Apple Inc. Launched on October 12, 2011, iCloud enables users to store and sync data across devices, including Apple Mail, Apple Calendar, Apple Photos, Apple Notes, contacts, settings, backups, and files, to collaborate with other users, and track assets through Find My. It is built into iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, tvOS, and macOS and may additionally be accessed through a limited web interface and Windows application.

An app store, also called an app marketplace or app catalog, is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the computer itself. Complex software designed for use on a personal computer, for example, may have a related app designed for use on a mobile device. Today apps are normally designed to run on a specific operating system—such as the contemporary iOS, macOS, Windows, Linux or Android—but in the past mobile carriers had their own portals for apps and related media content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messages (Apple)</span> Instant messaging software applications

Messages is an text messaging software application developed by Apple Inc. for its macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS operating systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OS X Mavericks</span> Tenth major release of OS X

OS X Mavericks is the 10th major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. OS X Mavericks was announced on June 10, 2013, at WWDC 2013, and was released on October 22, 2013, worldwide.

iOS 8 2014 mobile operating system

iOS 8 is the eighth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple Inc., being the successor to iOS 7. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 2, 2014, and was released on September 17, 2014. It was succeeded by iOS 9 on September 16, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">OS X Yosemite</span> Eleventh major release of macOS (called OS X when released)

OS X Yosemite is the eleventh major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Photos (Apple)</span> Digital photograph manipulation application developed by Apple Inc

Photos is a photo management and editing application developed by Apple. It was released as a bundled app in iOS 8 on September 17, 2014—replacing the Camera Roll—and released as a bundled app to OS X Yosemite users in the 10.10.3 update on April 8, 2015. It was released for tvOS 10 on September 13, 2016.

macOS Sierra Thirteenth major release of macOS

macOS Sierra is the thirteenth major release of macOS, Apple Inc.'s desktop and server operating system for Macintosh computers. The name "macOS" stems from the intention to unify the operating system's name with that of iOS, iPadOS, watchOS and tvOS. Sierra is named after the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California and Nevada. Its major new features concern Continuity, iCloud, and windowing, as well as support for Apple Pay and Siri.

Google One is a subscription service developed by Google that offers expanded cloud storage and is intended for the consumer market. Google One paid plans offer cloud storage starting at 100 gigabytes, up to a maximum of 30 terabytes, an expansion from the free Google Account storage space of 15 GB, which is shared across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. Launched in May 2018, Google One replaced the paid services of Google Drive to emphasize the fact that the program is used by multiple Google Services. The program's raw storage is not accessible by users, but emails, files, and pictures can be added and removed through Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pre-installed iOS apps</span> Apps pre-installed on the Apple iOS operating system

Pre-installed iOS apps, referred to in the App Store as 'Built-In Apps', are a suite of mobile applications developed by Apple Inc. which are bundled with iOS and installed by default or through a system update. Many of the default apps found on iOS have counterparts on Apple's other operating systems macOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and tvOS, which are often modified versions of or similar to the iOS application. As each app is integrated into the operating system itself, they often feature greater support for system features than third-party alternatives and are quick to adapt new features of iOS.

iOS 15 2021 mobile operating system

iOS 15 is the fifteenth major release of the iOS mobile operating system developed by Apple for its iPhone and iPod Touch lines of products. It was announced at the company's Worldwide Developers Conference on June 7, 2021, as the successor to iOS 14 and released to the public on September 20, 2021.

References

  1. 1 2 Pocket-lint (2019-08-21). "What is Apple's Family Sharing feature and what is shared?". Pocket-lint. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  2. ↑ Cipriani, Jason. "Save money. Use Apple Family Sharing". CNET. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  3. ↑ "10 Things to Know Before Enabling Apple's Family Sharing | 1: You need iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite. | Peachpit". www.peachpit.com. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  4. ↑ "Family Sharing is broken, but Apple could easily fix it". Macworld. 2019-05-03. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  5. ↑ Kosner, Andrew (June 14, 2014). "Apple's New Family Plan Makes It Easy To Solve The iTunes Identity Crisis". Forbes . Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Guide: How Apple's Ask To Buy system works – request & make purchases". TapSmart. 2016-05-04. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.