iCloud Family Sharing from Apple - Setup guide, plus advantages and disadvantages of the feature

iCloud family sharing features

Apple family sharing on iCloud under iOS and OS X Yosemite is a feature that has been wanted and expected by Apple insiders for quite a while. In the end, it came as a surprise in the new system. Unfortunately we are still waiting for different [user accounts on IOS devices-> setting up multiple user accounts on iOS devices] ... but that's another story that we will clarify in another article. Maybe a feature for the 2015 wish list ... :-)

iCloud family sharing features
Family sharing via Apple iCloud brings the following features (see below!).

What exactly does Apple Family Sharing actually mean?

About the Apple Family Sharing (English "Family Sharing", here is the link to corresponding Apple page) up to six people can share their purchases in Apple's App Store (Mac / iPhone / iPad), iTunes and iBooks and use the media and programs together - even at the same time. Every single family member remains connected to iCloud with their own Apple ID and there is no need to switch to a different account on one device, for example if you want to watch a film that dad has bought on the children's iPad.

Family share purchase permit
With Apple's Family Sharing, “Child Accounts” can send purchase approval to “Guardian” accounts. They can then agree to the purchase or reject it.

One should not take the word "family" too strictly, because it is not necessary that you live in the same place or have the same last name. But family sharing will not be of interest for flat shares or among friends, because you have to have a “head of the family” who stores his credit card and at whose expense all Apple IDs will make purchases in the future. That would certainly not be desirable in a flat share. Nevertheless, there is a small security, because the head of the family has to approve every purchase before the final purchase, otherwise no money will be spent. Exception: A family member is classified as "legal guardian", because then this family member can also "nod" to purchases and shop themselves without separate approval.

Restrictions: Only accounts from one country and no in-app purchases

There is also a limitation when combining Apple accounts into families: you cannot include an Apple ID in a “family” that is not registered with Apple in the same country. So if you were happy that you might be able to merge your US account and your DE account into one “family”, you will unfortunately be disappointed.

Likewise, in-app purchases are not shared across family members. Here each Apple ID has to make the purchases separately if they are desired. This is particularly stupid, for example, with navigationApps, where you then have to shop for the countries as an in-app purchase.

Inset - other interesting articles:

Other benefits of Apple “Family Sharing”

In addition to sharing iTunes purchases, Family Sharing has other advantages:

  • Photos: you can allow photo sharing for the whole “family” on Macs and iOS devices
  • Abode: you can share or see the location of family members with each other using the “Find Friends” app; particularly helpful if the junior likes to “escape” but always has his iPhone with him ;-)
  • Calendar and reminders: There is also a new release in the calendar, so that you can keep a common family calendar that every family member can fill in and see. The Reminders app can also be filled, so that as a woman, for example, you can easily create the reminder “Take the garbage down” for the husband of the gods... with automatic, weekly repetition, of course.
  • Find my iPhone: this feature can also be allowed for the family; helpful when you hear the phrase "Honey, do you know where I put my iPhone?"

What happens when families split up or family members leave?

This question wasn't that easy to answer, but in the end I got over various forums and Apple support entries the following information found: The payment process of all family members always runs via the ID of the head of the family. BUT: The purchased content (films, music, apps) belongs to the Apple ID that triggered the purchase. In practice, this means that if you take a friend or relative into your family and pay for their purchases, you have to put up with the fact that this person will take the purchases with you if you break up or are kicked out of family sharing. For example, if the girlfriend has built up a nice music collection and the head of the family has paid for it, then the songs still belong to the girlfriend - even after a breakup.

More facts and interesting facts about family sharing

Here I have briefly summarized what I was able to find on the Internet using Apple's Family Sharing feature. It is a collection of facts and notes that are simply intended to clarify a few points for you to use when using Family Sharing. Several other points can also be found on the Apple support site.

View purchases

You can see the purchases made by family members in the iTunes Store app on the iPhone or iPad or under iTunes on the Mac. In this way, you can also download other people's purchases onto your device.

Hide purchases

As a family member with parental status, you can hide purchases such as films, apps or books from the children. This makes sense, for example, if you have rented or bought films that are not intended for the little ones or that are simply not interesting for all other family members.

Family sharing doesn't automatically apply to all apps

In the App Store, under “Information”, you will find information as to whether an app has been approved for Family Sharing. This is an entry that the app developer can make himself. So you can't automatically use all apps together in the family.

Credit card is mandatory

If you want to "start a family", it is essential that a valid (!!!) credit card is stored in the account of the head. You can't start Family Sharing with only credit on the iTunes account.

What is not shared

iTunes Match, iCloud storage, subscriptions, and in-app purchases are not affected by Family Sharing. If a family member wants to book such a feature, they have to do it themselves - but can have the head of the family pay for it.

Data in the address book are not shared either. These contact details ALWAYS stay with the one Apple ID and are not exchanged with other family members.

iOS 8 or higher is required

To use the family sharing feature on an iPhone, iPad or iPod, iOS 8 or higher is required.

Children can switch family groups

It is possible to change family groups for children under the age of 13. This is useful when a child moves to a parent after a separation (a proper separation of a family).

Changes per account only twice a year

Each Apple ID can only have a family or join a family twice a year. There is also a waiting period of 90 days and a lock of 365 days if you start and end family sharing more often.

Payment ONLY from your own credit

If you want to pay for your apps yourself as a family member, you can use a credit card to create a credit on your iTunes account. If this is sufficient, purchases are always paid for with this credit ONLY. If this is not available or insufficient, the head of the family's credit card will be charged.

 

Important for parents who have already bought a lot. If you add a child to the family share, all (!) Old purchases can be freely installed. The legal guardians do not (yet?) Receive a query that they have to confirm. You should therefore hide apps that you do not want to allow the children to use.

Enable family sharing
Family Sharing can be activated via the “iCloud” control panel under “System Preferences”.

Instructions: How to set up Family Sharing on Mac OS X Yosemite

If you have decided to use the Family Sharing feature, you can do this via the “iCloud” system settings. A corresponding guide follows here in bullet points:

  1.  As mentioned, first click on “System Preferences” and select the “iCloud” control panel.
  2. In the left area there is then the button “Set up a family”
  3. in the next step you will be asked if you want to be the "organizer" of the family (and take care of the associated payments!); a different Apple ID can also be specified here
  4. now the credit card must be entered or confirmed
  5. as an “organizer” you can now add family members with the plus symbol
  6. as a new payment process is started when the family is set up, you will have to re-enter your credit card security number
  7. the family members who are added are shown the invitation and can also reject it if necessary
  8. You can add children using your own accounts - but the children are not asked here ;-)
  9. Messages now appear in the notification center on the Mac and on iOS devices that you have been added to family sharing - Mission complete!
Did you like the article and did the instructions on the blog help you? Then I would be happy if you the blog via a Steady Membership would support.

42 Responses to "iCloud Family Sharing from Apple - Instructions for the setup as well as advantages and disadvantages of the feature"

  1. Good day,

    I have a family sharing question: I've invited someone. Unfortunately, the link in the invitation doesn't work. The link is invalid, Safari shows me that. Does the person to be invited also have to have an iCloud account? The person has an Apple ID. As the organizer, I have a credit card and an iCloud account. Apple Support cannot help me at the moment. The Apple site does not state that the person also needs an iCloud account.

    I am very happy to receive an answer.

    Best Regards

  2. Family Sharing Question

    Good day,
    I would like to share my complete photo albums from the i cloud with my wife (i pad),
    but understand family sharing so that I would have to put pictures in a new album and only be released on this album,
    or is there another way my wife can access my photos / albums?
    Photo sharing is unsuitable for the amount of albums I find
    Thanks for an answer
    Thomas

    1. Hello! No, Apple's Family Sharing only applies to products purchased through iTunes, the App Store, or the Mac App Store. Since you cannot buy Adobe Photoshop there, you are bound to Adobe's license models. I think they only offer Photoshop Elements on the App Store. That would then work with family sharing. Unfortunately, the “big” Photoshop as well as Illustrator, Indesign or other products from the Creative Cloud do not.

  3. Hallo,
    i have a question about storage in family sharing and photos.
    My idea was: my husband would buy a storage expansion to 50GB for his cloud. We save all important photos there. I can also see all photos via Family Sharing -> Shared Albums. We have now started adding the photos to the Family album. After 189 photos, however, is now over. The message appears that the memory of the iPhone is full. Could it be that the photos in the album of the device's local storage are using up? That is actually illogical. Thought it was all going through the cloud storage.
    Would be great if you could help me. Somehow find nothing on the net.

    1. Hello nicole! Unfortunately, the way it is currently happening is correct. The photos from the iCloud are also synchronized to the iPhone and that's all there is to it when the memory is full. A better alternative to the photo album might be a shared photo stream. In it you can generate "optimized" photos for iPhone and iPad, so that they take up less space on these devices. You can find information about this here on the Apple page. But also with the photo stream, the photos are synchronized on the iOS devices (iPad and iPhone) and take up space. If you don't want that, there might be more of a kind of online gallery that you can call up in your browser. Then the photos will always be displayed in Safari and will not stay permanently on the device.

      1. That's not quite right, you can activate the "iCloud Photo Library" function in iOS under "Settings" > "Photos & Camera", the following option appears below for selection: 1. "Optimize iPhone storage" (in doing so, if there is only little storage space left on the iPhone, all photos and videos are stored in full resolution exclusively in the iCloud, on the iPhone, however, in a lower, optimized resolution, which saves storage space) or 2. “Load and keep original” (all Full resolution photos and videos stored in both iCloud and iPhone, higher storage usage on iPhone). However, if you activate the "My Photo Stream" function instead of "iCloud Photo Library", all photos and videos are automatically loaded in a lower, optimized resolution and transferred to other iOS devices, not so well if you switch to the higher and therefore better one don't want to sacrifice quality.

  4. Does the family organizer also automatically cover the monthly costs for the storage expansion for iCloud from each family member?

    1. If I've read that correctly at Apple, you can use Family Sharing to read the organizer's iCloud storage together. I haven't tried it though.

  5. Hi,

    A question to which I have not found an answer:
    What is it like when I have bought a film and another member of the release buys it again in the store? Is that possible or is there a hint that this film has already been bought?

    1. Hello Martin! Unfortunately, I don't use family release and can therefore only give my "estimate": I think the "Download" button will be displayed for the family member and no price or buy button. That's one of the goals of family release: that you don't have to buy every app again and "pass it on" in the family. And the store recognizes when an app has already been paid for and then immediately shows the “cloud” button for the download.

  6. Hallo,

    I and my wife received an email from Apple-iCloud today that the amount cannot be debited from their iClod50GB and that the amount will be downgraded to the free 5GB.

    However, I have had a family account for a long time, which includes my wife, among other things. To be honest, I haven't watched it closely yet, but shouldn't the fee (€ 0,99 / month) for iCloud be debited from my credit card if my credit card is no longer available?

    Thanks and best regards,
    Manfred

    1. Hello Manfred! I didn't even know that they would also be debiting the account. For me, everything goes through the credit card. It can only be that yours has just expired and you have to renew the data in the Apple account. Otherwise, of course, the card will not be debited.

      1. Hello Sir,
        :-) To be honest, I don't know whether iCloud can be debited from an account (i.e. iTunes credit). I'm not at home at mom and can't look ... but the tip with the Apple account is good, I'll have a look at whether I might have to re-enter my KK (it hasn't expired, but maybe it has something to do with it, that I quit Apple Music a few weeks ago ... n / a :-)
        Anyway, thanks for the TIP!

        vG, Manfred

  7. After Family Sharing, the “For Everyone” album only appears on the newly added ipad. It can't be seen on my iphone. Anyone know why? Thanks!

    1. Hello Bettina! I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I don't know ... in this case I would ask iCloud support. For some reason it hasn't been synced from iCloud to your iPhone yet. But why, I can't say ...

  8. Hallo,
    My daughter, 13 years old, gets photos from my friends via whatsapp on her ipad (same account) I don't want that. Now I've switched to "Family release". Is that any use? If I delete your account, will your own photos be gone?
    Greeting

    1. Hello Frank!
      WhatsApp and iCloud are two different things. Once you will have connected the Whatsapp on your daughter's iPad to the smartphone. That is why the messages and pictures always appear on the iPad. An iCloud family account does not change that. You would have to disconnect the connection in Whatsapp on the iPad or delete Whatsapp as an app on it.
      If you want your daughter to have her own Whatsapp account, then she has to pair the app with her smartphone. Then you have two separate Whatsapp accounts, but you can still use apps together via family sharing. I hope I got it across in an understandable way. : D
      LG! Jens

  9. Hello, I would delete WhatsApp from the iPad. A number change would also be possible, but various groups would still remain on the iPad ... so get down with it (better safe than sorry).
    Does your daughter have her own WhatsApp account on her cell phone? If so, then reinstall WhatsApp on the iPaid and enter your mobile number!
    As Jens already said, the family account has nothing to do with WhatsApp, it is a pure Apple extension.

    1. Hi Manfred! 1000 thanks for helping me support the readers! You are now my buddy at the Appe Ritter's round table! : D LG! Jens

  10. Hello dear community,

    a question about family account usage: if we are, for example, 5 people with different musical styles ... how is that saved? Is it like Netflix that everyone has their own account? Personally, I'm a trainer and don't want my music to be mixed up ... that would be very inconvenient ..

    I look forward to your response.

    1. Hello Oli! If you use Apple Music with more than one device or with family members, you can set on the individual devices whether they should influence your music history. For example, I excluded the HomePod from my Apple Music profile because my kids want pretty funny things that I don't necessarily want to hear. : D

    1. Hello Joachim! In Family Sharing, you can share purchased music, Apple Music access, purchased apps, photos, iCloud storage space, the location of the iOS device and, of course, a calendar. What would you like to share that doesn't work? VG Jens

  11. Hallo,

    I set up a family child account for my daughter and was just shocked to discover that she has access to my iCloud keychain.
    I haven't found a way to stop that.

    Do you know a way

    Thank you

    1. Hello Matze! Of course, that shouldn't happen. Have you checked your daughter's user account under System Settings -> iCloud to see if your user login is there? I can still explain to myself that your key ring is available. VG! Jens

  12. Hallo,
    How do you get out of family sharing if the person has separated from the organizer and no longer has any access to passwords? In addition, the organizer refuses to delete the former partner?
    Do you know a solution?
    Thanks and regards
    Oli

    1. Hi Oli! Just that i get it right. Person A started a “Family” and added Person “B”. Now “B” wants to leave? It's pretty easy, how to here in the support document from Apple can read:

      On the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

      1. Go to Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing. If you're using iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Family.
      2. Tap “[your name]”.
      3. Tap Leave Family.

      On the Mac:

      1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud > Manage Family.
      2. Click on “[your name]”.
      3. Click the Delete (–) button in the lower-left corner.

      However, if you no longer know your password, you would have to enter a new one via “Forgot your password”. However, this assumes that you can receive the emails that are sent to your iCloud login.

      Does that help you further? LG! Jens

  13. How can you save the songs that a family member downloads in iTunes using their own Apple ID (family subscription via mom)? So far, when updating via iTunes, mom's music has only been saved, and I can't get that of my daughter down. Why is that? I don't like working on such free Sharepod apps. I never really get that. Is there no official version via iTunes? Merge the media library and I've tried all that. Despair…. Music is officially bought and everything is paid fairly. Does my daughter have to share her music with me first so that I can save it? If so, how do I sort it out again? EVERY time she gets a new cell phone, she has to start over with her music. And so on ... I can do it myself without any problems ...

    1. Hello Astrdi! That shouldn't be a problem. With the Apple Music subscription, she can save ANY music she wants on her iPhone. Simply search and save using the music app on the iPhone. When you get a new cell phone, you plug the old one into iTunes on your Mac, make a backup, take the new iPhone and choose to restore it from an existing backup when you set it up for the first time. Alternatively, with newer models, you put both devices next to each other when setting up (switched on!) And then you are even asked whether the new iPhone should take over all data from the other. You definitely don't have to look for anything. I've already done it with my kids and it always worked smoothly for us ...

  14. Sasha Kellersohn

    Short question. My son, 12 years old, is with us in the family share, has activated a gift card. The credit is also displayed on iTunes, but not on the mobile phone for payment methods. He cannot make purchases even though he has credit. In the family release it is stated that he can make purchases that the chief approves. What can be wrong there?

    1. Hey Sascha! That's funny. If you have set it, it should actually also work as a payment method at the Sohnemann. But maybe you will try what happens if you turn him 18 years old in the meantime. Perhaps then the possibility appears to make a purchase from him on the iPhone? VG! Jens

  15. So, now it is ready. At that time I created a family share, mother + daughter and me. In addition, the storage plan is expanded and shared for the family (pictures are only taken with the iPhone today). Well, as I said, the time has come! The daughter goes her own way and wants to get out of the family share. I already know that this is possible, but what happens to the data in the. the tens of thousands of pictures the daughter has saved there ??? How can she keep them ???

    1. Hello Bernd! The photos and all other content your daughter has are linked to her own Apple ID. If you let her out of the family, she'll keep everything. You should just make sure that you have booked enough storage space with Apple to have all the photos in the cloud.
      But actually you don't have to dismiss children from the family. You can classify her as an "adult" and she remains a family. Information on this is available from Apple here in the support document HT201080.

  16. Hello!
    My sister-in-law is in her brother's family share (AppleMusic and AppStore).

    If I give her family sharing for AppleMusic now: what happens to the rest?
    Will she be automatically signed out of her brother's family share with everything, or can she go two ways?
    I can't find an answer to this on the internet and would be happy if someone could help me.
    gruß

    Anya P

    1. Hello Anja!

      Apple answers this question in a support document: "Note that you can only be a member of one family at a time and can only switch to another family once a year."

      That is, this sister-in-law can only be in your family or in your brother's family. In addition, you can only change families once a year.

  17. Hi Jens,

    What are the risks with family sharing in terms of data security? What should I watch out for if I have sensitive data in my iCloud that should not be shared with others.

    Thank you, Franzi

    1. Hello Franzi! With family sharing, all family members are assigned their own accounts. That means that what is in the iCloud of each individual remains visible only to him. But it's easier to share with family members if you want to share vacation photos. Otherwise you don't need to worry about data security. Family sharing doesn't make it any less or more secure than it is anyway.

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