Family Sharing allows you and the other members of your household to share iTunes, App Store, and iBooks purchases across all your devices, without having to purchase them multiple times. While most app developers support Family Sharing, Apple gives them the option to opt out if they choose. Luckily, there's an easy way to find out if specific apps are eligible for Family Sharing. Here's how!
To share purchased content, all family members must use the same Apple ID country or region. Sharing on Mac. You can find shareable content on the Purchased page in any of the store apps on.
- Apr 10, 2017 Family Sharing allows you and the other members of your household to share iTunes, App Store, and iBooks purchases across all your devices, without having to purchase them multiple times. While most app developers support Family Sharing, Apple gives them the option to opt out if they choose. Luckily, there's an easy way to find out if specific apps are eligible for Family Sharing.
- May 22, 2018 It does not share Apps. Home Sharing - Get Started - Apple Support. Family Sharing allows iTunes purchases to be shared with other members of the family group. One person is set as the organizer, and agrees to pay for all purchases made by Family members, and all members can access the purchased history of other members of the family group to.
- Apple already provides a way to share apps between family members in Family Sharing. The feature lets you invite anyone in your family, up to a maximum of six people, into a shared account that.
How to tell if iOS apps are eligible for Family Sharing
- Launch the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
- Search for the app you'd like to view sharing information on.
- Tap the app to view information about it.
- Scroll down to the Supports section. If Family Sharing is supported, it will say so.
How to tell if Mac apps are eligible for Family Sharing
- Launch the Mac App Store on your Mac.
- Search for the app you'd like to buy or have already have purchased.
- Click the app to view its information. Under the Information section off to the right, you should see whether or not the app is eligible for Family Sharing.
Alternatively, if you'd like to view a quick list of all the apps you've already purchased on your Mac, click on the Purchased tab in the top navigation and scroll through the list of purchased apps. You should see a Not Shareable label next to any apps that don't currently support Family Sharing.
The processes above work the exact same for checking if books in iBooks are compatible for sharing, since they're technically sold as apps. As far as music and movies, there's never been a great way to tell if purchases are shareable even as far back as iTunes in the Cloud. At least not to my knowledge. Most likely due to licensing changing frequently. This is why you see movies appear and then disappear from cloud sharing from time to time. However, if you've found a way to view whether or not movies, music, and TV items are shareable, be sure and let me know in the comments!
Questions?
Let us know in the comments below.
Updated May 2018: Updated screenshots for iOS to reflect the new App Store.
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With purchase sharing, one adult in your Family Sharing group agrees to pay for any purchases from the App Store, iTunes Store, and Apple Books. You can then see and download your family members' purchases from your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, and PC, and enjoy them too.* Follow the steps below to download family members' purchases to your device, and learn where to find those purchases if you don't see them.
How to download previous purchases from family members
When purchase sharing is turned on for your family, you can see and download items from each family member's purchase history. You can download music, movies, TV shows, and books on up to 10 of your devices, 5 of which can be computers. You can download apps to any devices that you own or control.
Download purchases on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
Download purchases on your iPhone or iPod touch
Turn On Home Sharing Mac
- If you're not signed in, sign in with your Apple ID.
- Open the store app that you want to download content from, then go to the Purchased page.*
- App Store: Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner, then tap Purchased.
- iTunes Store: Tap More , then tap Purchased.
- Apple Books: Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
- Tap your family member's name to see their content. Learn what to do if you don’t see any content or can't tap your family member.
- To download an item, tap Download next to it.
Download purchases on your iPad
- If you're not signed in, sign in with your Apple ID.
- Open the store app that you want to download content from.
- App Store: Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner, then tap Purchased.*
- iTunes Store: Tap Purchased, then tap My Purchases.
- Apple Books: Tap your profile picture in the upper-right corner.
- Tap the family member's name to see their content. Learn what to do if you don’t see any content or can't tap your family member.
- To download an item, tap Download next to it.
Download purchases on your Mac or PC
Download purchases on your Mac
- If you’re not signed in, sign in with your Apple ID.
- Open the store app that you want to download content from, then go to the Purchased page.*
- App Store: Click your profile picture in the bottom-left corner.
- Apple Music app: From the menu bar, choose Account > Family Purchases.
- Apple TV app: From the menu bar, choose Account > Family Purchases.
- Apple Books: Click Book Store, then click Purchased under Quick Links on the right side of the Apple Books window.
- From the menu to the right of Purchased, choose a family member's name to view their content. For example, in the App Store:
- Download or play the items that you want.
Download purchases on your Windows PC
- If you’re not signed in, sign in with your Apple ID.
- From the menu bar at the top of the iTunes window, choose Account > Family Purchases.*
- Select a family member's name to view their content.
- Download or play the items that you want.
Download purchases on your Apple Watch
- Open the App Store.
- Scroll to the bottom of the screen and tap Account.
- Tap Purchased.*
![Turn on home sharing mac Turn on home sharing mac](/uploads/1/2/6/4/126467825/262106822.png)
* In the store, items your family members have already purchased still show their full price. To avoid paying for the item again, download it from the Purchased page. Best mp3 ripping software.
Share Purchased Mac Apps With Family Sharing Account
Download purchases on your Apple TV, smart TV, or streaming device
Download purchases on your Apple TV
- On your Apple TV, select iTunes Movies, iTunes TV Shows, or App Store.
- Select Purchased, select Family Sharing, then select your family member to see their content.* You can access shared movies, TV shows, and apps on Apple TV, but not music.
Download purchases in the Apple TV app on your smart TV or streaming device
- Open the Apple TV app.
- Select Library > Family Sharing, then select your family member to see their content.* You can access shared movies and TV shows in the Apple TV app on smart TVs and streaming devices.
* In the store, items your family members have already purchased still show their full price. To avoid paying for the item again, access it from the Family Sharing page.
Where to find downloaded purchases
Once you've downloaded a family member's purchase to your device, you can look for it in these locations:
- Apps download to the Home screen on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Apple TV. Apps download to Launchpad on your Mac.
- Music downloads to the Apple Music app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or Apple Watch. Music downloads to iTunes for Windows on your PC.
- TV shows and movies download to the Apple TV app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, or streaming device. TV shows and movies download to iTunes for Windows on your PC.
- Books download to the Apple Books app on your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or Apple Watch.
If you still don't see your family's shared content, learn what to do.
Learn more about Family Sharing
- Family Sharing requires a personal Apple ID signed in to iCloud.
- iOS 8 or later and OS X Yosemite or later are required to set up or join a Family Sharing group and are recommended for full functionality.
- Not all content is eligible to be shared. Content can be hidden by family members; hidden content is not available for download. Content downloaded from family members or acquired via redemption codes is not subject to Ask to Buy.
* Not all content and content types are available in all countries or regions. To share purchased content, all family members must use the same Apple ID country or region. Music, movies, TV shows, and books can be downloaded on up to 10 devices per account, five of which can be computers. Apps can be downloaded to any devices the family member owns or controls.