Set up Family Sharing on Mac
Family Sharing lets you and up to five other family members share access to Apple services, eligible purchases, iCloud+ storage, and more. One adult family member—the organizer—invites other family members to participate. Family members can then join and choose which features they want to use, like sharing purchases or helping to find each other’s lost devices.
If you want to learn about setting up parental control features for your child, see Apple Devices for Kids and Families. | |||||||||||
Invite people to join your Family Sharing group
Go to the System Settings app
on your Mac.
Click your name at the top of the sidebar.
If you don’t see your name, click “Sign in,” enter your email address or phone number, then enter your password.
Click Family.
Click Set up Family, then click Invite People.
Click Invite People, then do one of the following:
Invite someone currently with you: Choose Invite in Person, click Continue, then ask them to enter their Apple Account email address or phone number and their password on your Mac.
Send an invitation: Choose AirDrop, Mail, or Messages. Click Continue, then send the invitation.
Create a child’s account for your Family Sharing group
Children under 13 can’t create an Apple Account on their own. But if you’re the family organizer, a parent, or a guardian, you can create an Apple Account for your child. A Child Account is required for children under 13 and is available for children up to 18. (Age varies by country or region.) See Apple Devices for Kids and Families.
Accept an invitation to a Family Sharing group
After someone invites you to join their Family Sharing group, do one of the following:
If they invited you in person: On your device, click Allow to see a code. On the organizer’s device, enter the code.
If they sent you an invitation: Click the invitation you received from the family organizer using AirDrop, Mail, or Messages, then click Join Family.
If you want to accept in System Settings: On your Mac, choose Apple menu
Note: On your device, make sure you’re signed in to the Apple Account that the organizer sent the invitation to. If you don’t have an Apple Account, you have to create one before you can join a Family Sharing group.
View recommended settings
Go to the System Settings app
Click your name at the top of the sidebar.
If you don’t see your name, click “Sign in,” enter your Apple Account email address or phone number, then enter your password.
Click Family, then click Recommended for Your Family.
You see a list of suggestions for getting the most out of Family Sharing. For example, you can set up parental controls for kids, share your location, or add a recovery contact.
For more details about what you can do after you set up Family Sharing, see Get started with Family Sharing recommendations.