Set up Family Sharing

Family Sharing makes it easy for up to six family members to share music, movies, TV shows, apps, books, subscriptions including iCloud+, and more, all without sharing an Apple ID.1 You can set up an Apple ID for kids, set permissions remotely with Screen Time, and approve spending and downloads from a parent’s device with Ask to Buy.2 You can also set up Apple Cash for a child or teen, or set them up with an Apple Watch.

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 purchase sharing is turned on, the family organizer pays for family members’ purchases and must have a valid payment method on file.3

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap Family Sharing, then tap Set Up Your Family.
4. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family and invite your family members.

On your Mac with macOS Ventura or later

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings. Click your name, then click Family Sharing.
2. Click Set Up Family.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family and invite your family members.

On your Mac with macOS Monterey or earlier

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing.
2. Confirm the Apple ID that you want to use for Family Sharing, and make sure that Share My Purchases is selected.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions.

Invite people to join your family

If you choose to invite people later or want to add another member to your family, you can send an invitation via Messages, email, or in person.

If you have multiple Apple IDs, you can invite each of your accounts to the group, so you can share purchases from your other Apple IDs with your family.

On your iPhone or iPad with iOS 16 or later

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Family.
3. Tap Add Member .
4. If your child doesn’t have an Apple ID, tap Create an Account for a Child. But if your child already has an Apple ID, tap Invite People. They can enter their Apple ID password on your device to accept the invitation.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up parental controls, location sharing, and more.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 15 or earlier

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap your name, then tap Family Sharing.
3. Tap Add Member.
4. If your child doesn’t have an Apple ID, tap Create an Account for a Child. But if your child already has an Apple ID, tap Invite People. They can enter their Apple ID password on your device to accept the invitation.
5. Follow the onscreen instructions.

On your Mac with macOS Ventura or later

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click Family.
3. Click Add Member, then follow the onscreen instructions.

On your Mac with macOS Monterey or earlier

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
2. Click Family Sharing.
3. Click Add Family Member, then follow the onscreen instructions.

Check if your family member accepted the invitation

After you send the invitation, you can check its status.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap Family. In iOS 15 or earlier, tap your name, then tap Family Sharing.
3. To check the status of the invitation, select that person’s name.
4. If you need to resend the invitation, select Resend Invitation.

On your Mac with macOS Ventura or later

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Family.
2. To check the status of the invitation, select that person’s name.
3. If you need to resend the invitation, select Resend Invitation.

On your Mac with macOS Monterey or earlier

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, then click Family Sharing.
2. To check the status of the invitation, select that person’s name.
3. 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 by email or in a text message. Then you can respond right from the invitation. If you miss the email or text invitation, use the steps below to respond from your device. You can be a part of only one family at a time.

On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap your name.
3. Tap Invitations.

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.

On your Mac with macOS Ventura or later

1. Choose Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Click 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.

On your Mac with macOS Monterey or earlier

1. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.
2. Click Family Sharing.

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

If you can’t accept the invitation, check if someone else joined a family with 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.

1. Not all content is eligible to be shared.
2. Age varies by country or region.
3. Accepted forms of payment vary by country or region.