Family Sharing
What is Family Sharing?
Family Sharing is a feature developed by Apple Inc. that enables users to share various digital content, subscriptions, and services with their family members. Introduced in 2014 with the release of iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite, it has since gained popularity as a convenient tool for families to manage their digital assets collectively.
Eligibility and Compatibility
To use Family Sharing, all parties must possess compatible devices and operating systems. These encompass iOS devices operating iOS 8 or later, Mac computers operating OS X Yosemite or later, and Apple TVs operating tvOS 10 or later. Additionally, participants must possess an Apple ID and be residents of the same country or region. Moreover, individuals must be at least 13 years old, except for child accounts managed by a parent or legal guardian.
Setting Up Family Sharing
During the setup process of Family Sharing, an organizer is appointed to oversee different facets of the shared content and services. The organizer’s role includes creating the family group and extending invitations to members to join. Throughout setup, the organizer has the discretion to enable or disable specific features, such as the Ask to Buy feature for child accounts.
Adding Members
Adding members to a Family Sharing group is a simple procedure. The organizer can dispatch invitations to family members via email or iMessage, and recipients can accept by clicking a link in the message. Child accounts necessitate parental approval to join the family group. The organizer can oversee child accounts by configuring parental controls and granting or withholding permission for purchases made by the child. It’s essential to understand that child accounts have specific restrictions, including a spending cap and constraints on accessing explicit content.
Features of Family Sharing
Family Sharing encompasses the following features:
- Sharing of Purchases: Users can share acquisitions made from Apple stores, spanning apps, movies, TV shows, music, books, and more.
- Sharing of Subscriptions like the Apple Music family subscription, Apple News+ subscription, and iCloud storage plans.
- Shared Content and Services for Collaboration, such as a shared photo album, shared calendars and reminders, and utilizing the Find My app to locate each other’s missing devices.
- Integration with Various Applications, for instance:
- The Photos app facilitates the creation and management of a shared album.
- Apple’s iWork suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) also supports Family Sharing, enhancing collaboration and productivity among family members.
Parental Controls and Approvals
Family Sharing incorporates robust parental controls to maintain a safe and suitable digital environment for children. These controls comprise:
- Ask to Buy Feature for parents to review and authorize or decline purchases made by child accounts.
- View and Manage Purchases, Set Spending Limits.
- Content Restrictions to control the accessibility of certain materials and ensuring responsible usage.
Management and Troubleshooting
Family Sharing offers flexibility in managing and updating settings to cater to individual preferences. The organizer can adjust various settings, such as toggling the Ask to Buy feature, adding or removing family members, or updating payment methods. When encountering common issues, referring to Apple’s support documentation or contacting Apple Support can provide effective troubleshooting assistance.
References
- Family Sharing – Wikipedia
- Family Sharing, Apple.com.
- Cipriani, Jason. “Save money. Use Apple Family Sharing”. CNET.
- Parental Review of Apple Family Sharing, HeyLocate.mobi.
- Set up Family Sharing – Apple Support
- Apple Family Sharing guide: Everything you need to know