
Set up Family Sharing on Mac
Family Sharing lets up to six members of your family share iTunes Store, App Store and Apple Books purchases, and an iCloud storage plan — all without sharing accounts. Your family can share subscriptions to Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple News+ and Apple Arcade (not available in all countries or regions). Your family can also help locate each other’s devices with the Find My app on the Mac, on iCloud.com, and on iOS and iPadOS devices.

One adult — the family organiser — sets up Family Sharing and invites up to five people to join the Family Sharing group. For more information about Family Sharing, see What is Family Sharing?
To set up Family Sharing using an iOS or iPadOS device, see the Apple Support article Set up Family Sharing.
On your Mac, choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, then do one of the following:If you’re signed in to your Apple ID: Click Family Sharing
.
If you’re not signed in to your Apple ID or don’t have an Apple ID: Click Sign In, then follow the onscreen instructions (either enter your Apple ID or click Create Apple ID if you don’t already have one). After signing in, click
at the top of the System Preferences window, then click Family Sharing
, which appears next to the Apple ID preferences.
Click Get Started, then invite people to join your Family Sharing group:
Invite family members: Click Invite People, then follow the onscreen instructions.
If the person you’re inviting is nearby, you can choose Invite in Person and ask them to enter their Apple ID and password on your Mac. Otherwise, you can send the invitation using Mail, Messages or AirDrop.
If the person you’re inviting doesn’t have an Apple ID, they have to create one before they can accept your invitation.
Create an Apple ID for a younger child: Click Create Child Account, then follow the onscreen instructions. See the Apple Support article Family Sharing and Apple ID for your child.
To add more family members to your Family Sharing group, click the Add button
, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Select the apps and services you want your family to share.
Apple Music: Select Apple Music in the sidebar. If you don’t have an Apple Music subscription, click Learn More to learn about Apple Music subscriptions. When you subscribe to an Apple Music family membership, all family members get unlimited access to Apple Music automatically.
Apple TV+: Select Apple TV+ in the sidebar. If you don’t have an Apple TV+ subscription, click Learn More to learn about Apple TV+ subscriptions. When a family member subscribes, all family members get unlimited access to Apple TV+ automatically.
Apple Arcade (not available in all countries or regions): Select Apple Arcade in the sidebar. If you don’t have an Apple Arcade subscription, click Learn More to learn about Apple Arcade subscriptions. When a family member subscribes, all family members get unlimited access to Apple Arcade automatically.
Apple News+: Select Apple News+ in the sidebar. If you don’t have an Apple News+ subscription, click Learn More to learn about Apple News+ subscriptions. When a family member subscribes, all family members get unlimited access to Apple News+ automatically.
Location Sharing: Select Location Sharing in the sidebar, then click Learn More to learn how to set up location sharing on all your devices. You can set up location sharing so that all family members can view each other’s locations in the Find My app and Messages. You can use the Find My app on your Mac, iCloud.com, iOS and iPadOS devices.
Purchase Sharing: Select Purchase Sharing in the sidebar. If you already have a payment method set up, click Set Up Purchase Sharing; if not, click Add Payment Method, then follow the onscreen instructions. Your family can share purchases from the iTunes Store, the App Store and Apple Books so everyone has access to them. All purchases are made through the shared payment method you set up. You can change the account used to make purchases and decline to share your purchases with family members.
iCloud Storage: Select iCloud Storage in the sidebar, then either share your existing 200GB or 2TB iCloud Storage plan, or upgrade to a plan you can share with the Family. Family members can share the plan with you or keep their own individual storage plans.
Ask To Buy: Click Ask to Buy in the sidebar, then click Turn on Ask to Buy. This setting requires children in your family sharing group to get your approval to download or purchase items from the App Store, iTunes Store or Apple Books.
Screen Time: Select Screen Time in the sidebar, click Open Screen Time Settings, then select the options you want.
Before purchases are available to all family members, each person must confirm the Apple ID they use to share the iTunes Store, the App Store and Apple Books purchases. See Share purchases with others in your Family Sharing group.
For information about combining your Apple subscriptions, see the Apple Support article Get Apple One.