What Family Share does and who can join

Family Share is Apple's system for letting up to six people in your household share purchases — apps, books, music, movies, and subscriptions — without buying them separately for each device. When you set it up, one adult becomes the organizer and manages the group. The other adults and children can see and download anything the organizer or other adults have bought from the App Store, without needing their own payment method.

You need an Apple ID for each person who joins, and everyone must be on the same Wi-Fi network to set up the group initially. After that, members can download shared apps from anywhere. Children under 13 (or the age of digital consent in your country) can join, but an adult has to approve their purchases and set spending limits.

Family Share works across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch. If someone buys an app on their own Apple ID before joining the family group, they keep access to it — but new purchases after joining go into the shared library by default.

Key Takeaways

  • The organizer sets up Family Share and manages who joins; up to six people total can be in one group.
  • Apps purchased by any adult in the group appear in the Purchased tab for all members to download on their own devices.
  • Children's purchases need approval from a parent or guardian, and you can set spending limits for each child.
  • Removing someone from Family Share removes their access to shared apps, though apps they already downloaded stay on their device.
  • You can only belong to one Family Share group at a time, and switching groups requires a 30-day waiting period.

How to set up Family Share as the organizer

Open Settings on your iPhone or iPad, tap your name at the top, then tap Family Sharing. Tap Set Up Your Family, then Create a Family. You'll see a list of people already in your contacts — tap the plus sign next to anyone you want to invite, or tap Invite Others to send an invite link via Messages, Mail, or another app.

Each person you invite needs to accept on their own device. They'll see a notification or message with the invitation; they tap Accept, sign in with their Apple ID, and confirm they want to join. Once they accept, they're part of your Family Share group and can see all shared purchases.

If you're setting up Family Share on a Mac instead, go to System Settings, click your name in the sidebar, then click Family Sharing. The steps are the same — you create the family and invite members.

How to download shared apps on your device

Open the App Store and tap the Purchased tab at the bottom. You'll see two sections: My Purchases (apps you bought yourself) and Family Purchases (apps anyone in your family group bought). Tap Family Purchases to see everything available to download.

Find the app you want and tap the cloud icon with a down arrow. The app downloads to your device and works the same as if you'd bought it yourself. You can update it, delete it, and reinstall it whenever you want — as long as you stay in the Family Share group.

On a Mac, open the App Store, click your account icon in the top right, then click Purchased. You'll see the same My Purchases and Family Purchases sections. Click the download icon next to any family app to install it.

Managing purchases and spending limits for children

When a child tries to buy an app, book, music, or make an in-app purchase, a notification goes to the parent or guardian who set up the family group. You can approve or decline each purchase individually. To set a spending limit so children can make small purchases without asking each time, go to Settings, tap your name, then Family Sharing. Tap the child's name, then tap Purchase Approvals and set a limit.

The spending limit applies to all purchases — apps, in-app purchases, books, music, and movies. If a child tries to spend more than the limit, the purchase is blocked and you get a notification. You can change the limit anytime, and it resets monthly on the date you set.

If you want to let a child make purchases without approval up to their limit, turn on Ask to Buy. If you turn it off, purchases up to the limit go through automatically. Either way, you can see what they've bought in your purchase history.

What happens when someone leaves the family group

If you remove someone from Family Share, they lose access to download new shared apps immediately. Apps they already downloaded stay on their device and continue to work, but they can't update them through the App Store. If they try to open an app that requires a newer version, it may stop working.

The person who leaves can still use apps they bought with their own Apple ID. If they had a payment method on file in the family group, it's removed when they leave.

If you're the organizer and want to leave, you have to transfer the group to another adult first. Go to Settings, tap your name, Family Sharing, then tap your name again. Tap Transfer Family Ownership and choose who takes over. The new organizer can then remove you from the group.

Switching between family groups or joining a different one

You can only belong to one Family Share group at a time. If you want to join a different family group, you have to leave your current one first. After you leave, there's a 30-day waiting period before you can join another group. This is a security measure to prevent someone from quickly moving between groups to access apps they shouldn't.

If you're the organizer, you can't leave without transferring ownership first. Choose another adult in the group, go to Settings, tap your name, Family Sharing, then Transfer Family Ownership. Once the new organizer accepts, you can leave the group.

Troubleshooting shared app problems

If you can't see an app in Family Purchases, check that the person who bought it is still in your Family Share group. Apps purchased before someone joined the group don't automatically appear in the shared library — only purchases made after they joined show up for everyone.

If an app won't download or keeps failing, try signing out of the App Store and signing back in. Go to Settings, tap your name, tap Media & Purchases, then Sign Out. Wait a few seconds, then tap Sign In and enter your Apple ID. Then try downloading the app again.

If a child's purchase approval notification doesn't arrive, make sure the parent or guardian's device has notifications turned on for the App Store. Go to Settings, tap Notifications, scroll to App Store, and make sure Allow Notifications is on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share apps with someone who doesn't have an Apple ID?

No. Everyone in a Family Share group needs their own Apple ID. If someone doesn't have one, they can create it for free on any Apple device or at appleid.apple.com. They don't need a payment method to create an ID or to join a family group.

What if someone in my family buys an app I don't want to share?

Apps purchased by adults in the group are shared by default. You can't hide individual apps from other family members, but you can remove someone from the group if you no longer want to share purchases with them. Children's purchases can be approved or declined one at a time.

Do subscriptions get shared through Family Share?

Some subscriptions share, but not all. Apple services like Apple Music, Apple TV+, and Apple Arcade share automatically with the whole family. Third-party subscriptions (like Spotify or Netflix) don't share through Family Share — each person needs their own subscription.

Can I download a shared app on multiple devices with the same Apple ID?

Yes. You can download any shared app on all your own devices — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — as long as you're signed in with the same Apple ID. Each device gets its own copy of the app.

What happens to shared apps if I change my Apple ID?

If you leave Family Share and create a new Apple ID, you lose access to all shared apps. Apps you already downloaded stay on your device but won't update. If you want to keep using shared apps, stay in the same Family Share group and keep using the same Apple ID.