iPhone (iOS) · Accounts & Family
Share Purchases and Storage With Family
Family Sharing lets up to six people share App Store and iTunes purchases, an Apple Music or Apple One subscription, iCloud+ storage, and a shared photo album — plus parental controls for kids' accounts.
How to open Family Sharing
- Open Settings → tap your name → Family Sharing.
- Tap Invite People and choose how to send the invite.
- Turn on sharing for Purchases, iCloud+ Storage, or Location as needed.
- For a child, tap 'Create Child Account' instead of inviting an existing Apple ID.
What you should know
- One family organizer invites up to five other members to join the group.
- Purchased apps, movies, and books can be shared automatically among members.
- An iCloud+ storage plan can be shared across the whole family instead of buying it separately.
- Location sharing and Screen Time parental controls can be set up for child accounts here.
Leaving or removing someone from Family Sharing can revoke their access to shared purchases and the shared storage plan going forward.
Why it matters
Without Family Sharing, every family member typically pays separately for the same subscriptions and storage plans, and parents have no built-in way to approve a child's purchases or see their location. Setting it up once can meaningfully cut household subscription costs and gives parents real oversight over what kids can download or buy.
Best practices
- Turn on Ask to Buy for every child account so nothing gets purchased without a parent's approval.
- Share one higher-tier iCloud+ plan across the family instead of everyone buying separate storage.
- Review the family's shared photo album periodically if you're using it, since it can grow large quickly.
Common problems and fixes
- A family member says a purchased app or movie isn't showing up as shared
- Confirm Purchase Sharing is turned on for both the organizer and the member in Family Sharing settings, then have the member check the App Store's Purchased tab under their name.
- Can't invite a family member because they already belong to another family group
- That person needs to leave their current Family Sharing group first (or the organizer removes them) before they can accept a new invitation.
Tips and tricks
- The family organizer can see everyone's device locations right from the Family Sharing screen if Location Sharing is turned on.
Frequently asked questions
How many people can be in one Family Sharing group?
Up to six people total, including the organizer, can share purchases, subscriptions, and storage.
Can a family member leave Family Sharing at any time?
Yes, adult members can leave whenever they choose from their own Settings, though child accounts can only be removed by the organizer.
Related settings
- Apple ID & iCloudThe account panel at the top of Settings is where your Apple ID lives on iPhone — your name, phone numbers, email addresses, and every iCloud service (Photos, Backup, Drive, Mail, and more) that's currently syncing to your account.
- Screen Time & FamilyScreen Time shows how you (or your family) use your devices and lets you set app limits, downtime schedules, and content restrictions — especially useful when set up through Family Sharing for a child's device.
- Wallet & Apple PayWallet & Apple Pay settings let you add debit, credit, and transit cards for contactless payment, manage boarding passes and IDs, and control which card is used by default along with Face ID or Touch ID authorization.
More Accounts & Family guides for iPhone (iOS)
- Sign-In & SecuritySign-In & Security is where you change your Apple ID password, view your two-factor authentication trusted phone numbers, and manage which devices are trusted to approve sign-ins.
- Mail, Contacts, Calendars AccountsThis Accounts list is where you add Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, or other third-party accounts so their mail, contacts, and calendars sync into the built-in Mail, Contacts, and Calendar apps alongside iCloud.
- App Limits & DowntimeApp Limits and Downtime, part of Screen Time, let you cap daily time spent in app categories and schedule periods when only phone calls and allowed apps remain available.
- Apple Cash & Family PaymentsApple Cash Family lets an organizer set up Apple Cash for a family member under 18, issue a virtual or physical debit card, fund their balance, and monitor or limit their transactions.
- Ask to BuyAsk to Buy requires children in a Family Sharing group to send a purchase or download request that an organizer approves or declines from their own device before it completes.
- Calendar AccountsCalendar account settings let you add and sync calendars from iCloud, Google, Exchange, Yahoo, and other CalDAV services, choosing which calendars are visible and how invitations are handled by default.