Family Sharing lets up to six people share Apple purchases, subscriptions, iCloud+ storage, location features, and family services while keeping separate Apple Accounts and passwords.
This guide applies to Macs running recent macOS versions and signed in with an Apple Account.
Does This Affect You?
Use this if you want one family group for shared purchases, Apple Music, Apple TV+, iCloud storage, a family calendar, and child approval controls.
Create a Family Sharing Group
- Open the Apple menu and choose System Settings.
- Click your name at the top of the sidebar.
- Choose Family.
- Click Get Started or Set Up Your Family.
- Choose what to share first, such as purchases or iCloud+ storage.
- Click Invite People.
- Send invitations by Messages, email, or in person when the other person can enter their Apple Account details on your Mac.
- Repeat until the family group includes the members you want, up to six people total.
Create an Account for a Child
- Go to System Settings > your name > Family.
- Choose Add Member.
- Select Create Account for Child.
- Enter the child’s birthday carefully because it affects age-based protections.
- Follow the prompts to create the Apple Account.
- Choose whether to enable Ask to Buy.
- Set Screen Time limits when prompted, or configure them later in System Settings.
Family Sharing Management Notes
Share iCloud+ Storage
Open the family settings and check the iCloud+ section. Make sure sharing is enabled so family members use the shared pool instead of buying separate storage plans.
Use Ask to Buy
For children, Ask to Buy sends purchase and download requests to the organizer for approval before they complete. It can apply to paid and free downloads.
Adjust Sharing Per Person
Click a family member’s name to review shared subscriptions, location sharing, purchase sharing, and other options for that person.
Remove or Leave the Family
The organizer can remove a member from Family settings. A non-organizer can leave from their own Family settings. Leaving stops future access to shared services but does not erase items someone already owns.
Sources
- Apple Support: Set up Family Sharing
- Apple Support: What you can share with Family Sharing
- Apple Support: Create an Apple Account for your child