How to set up Family Sharing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac
With Family Sharing, you and up to five family members can share access to Apple services like iCloud+, Apple Music, Apple TV, and more — without sharing an Apple Account. You can even help locate each other’s missing devices, share your location, and manage a child's device with Screen Time and parental controls.
Set up a Family Sharing group
The family organizer, which must be an adult, can set up a Family Sharing from their device. Or, follow the steps below on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Set up Family Sharing on your device
On your iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app, then tap your name.
Tap Family, then tap Continue.
Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your family and invite your family members.
On your Mac
Choose Apple menu , then click System Settings.
Click your name, then click Family.
Click Set Up.
Follow the onscreen instructions to set up your Family Sharing group and invite family members to join.
Invite people to join your Family Sharing group
If you choose to invite people later or want to add another member to your Family Sharing group, you can send an invitation via Messages or email.
If you have multiple Apple Accounts, you can invite each of your accounts to the Family Sharing group, so you can share purchases from your other Apple Accounts with your family.
On your iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app, then tap Family.
Tap the Add Member button
.
If your child doesn't have an Apple Account, tap Create an Account for a Child. If your child already has an Apple Account, tap Invite People. They can enter their password used for their Apple Account on your device to accept the invitation.
Follow the onscreen instructions to set up parental controls, location sharing, and more.
On your Mac
Choose Apple menu , then click System Settings.
Click Family.
Click Add Member, then follow the onscreen instructions.
Check if your family member accepted the invitation
After you send the invitation, you can check the status.
On your iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app, then tap Family.
To check the status of the invitation, tap the person's name.
If you need to resend the invitation, select Resend Invitation.
On your Mac
Choose Apple menu , click System Settings, then click Family.
To check the status of the invitation, click the person's name.
If you need to resend the invitation, select Resend Invitation.
Join a Family Sharing group
You'll get an invitation to join a Family Sharing group by email or in a text message. Then you can respond right from the invitation. If you miss the email or text invitation, use the steps below to respond from your device. You can be a part of only one Family Sharing group at a time.
On your iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app, then tap your name.
Tap Invitations.
On your Mac
Choose Apple menu , then click System Settings.
Click Family.
To accept an invitation, follow the onscreen instructions. When you join a Family Sharing group, you might be asked to confirm your Apple Account information and to opt in to any features or services that your Family Sharing group has set up.
If you can't accept the invitation
If you can't accept the invitation, check if someone else joined a Family Sharing group with your Apple Account. Remember, you can only join one Family Sharing group at a time, and you can only switch to a different Family Sharing group once per year.
Connect a child's device to your Family group
If you set up a new iPhone or iPad for your child and selected a child or teen age range,1 you can connect that device to a Family Sharing group later. Age-appropriate default settings are automatically enabled on the child's device allowing them to immediately use their device. If you want your child to be able to download apps, use shared iCloud storage, have modified parental controls, or do things that require an Apple Account, you need to finish creating an account for them and add them to your Family Sharing group.
On the child's iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app, then tap Connect to Family.
Follow the onscreen instructions to connect that device to a Family Sharing group.
As part of this process, you need to create an Apple Account for your child.
Depending on a child's age and country or region, their Apple Account might have to be connected to a Family Sharing group until they turn 18. Learn more about how settings and features vary for kids and teens.
Learn more about changing a birth date associated with a child's Apple Account
Learn how to move a child to another Family Sharing group
Set a member in the Family Sharing group as a parent or guardian
You can set any adult member in your Family group as a parent or guardian. This allows them to help you make certain changes to the Family group, like create a child account, manage parental controls, and get Ask to Buy and Ask for Exception requests.
On your iPhone or iPad
Open the Settings app, then tap Family.
Tap the member's name, then tap Set as Parent/Guardian.
On your Mac
Choose Apple menu , then click System Settings.
Click Family.
Click the member's name, then click Set as Parent/Guardian.
Need more help?
Tell us more about what's happening, and we'll suggest what you can do next.
Age varies by country or region.