Share your App Store purchases with your family

Why it happens

Being in a family group doesn't share purchases by itself. Purchase Sharing is a separate setting that the family organiser turns on. Once it's on, members can download most apps, books, films and music that someone else in the family bought, and new purchases are billed to the organiser's shared payment method.

How to fix it

1. On the family organiser's Mac, open the Apple menu, choose System Settings and click Family in the sidebar. Only the organiser can turn this on.

2. Click Purchase Sharing.

   Family›Purchase Sharing

3. Click Continue, then follow the steps to turn on Purchase Sharing. Check which payment method is shown, because all family purchases will be billed to it.

4. Ask everyone else to open the App Store with their own Apple Account. They can find shared apps among the purchases in the App Store and download them at no extra cost.

Still not fixed?

1. Someone missing? They need their own Apple Account and must be in your family. Click Add Member… in Family to invite them.

   Family

2. If you're not the organiser, the setting can't be changed from your Mac. Ask the organiser to turn on Purchase Sharing in their Family settings.

3. Some apps and many in-app purchases can't be shared. The app's page in the App Store says whether it supports Family Sharing.

4. Purchases you've hidden in the App Store aren't shared. Unhide them if a family member should see them.

5. Want to approve what children buy? That's Ask to Buy, a separate setting for each child in Family.

6. If Purchase Sharing shows an error or shared apps still don't appear after a day, contact Apple Support.