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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, 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 share a photo album, a family calendar and help locate each others’ devices with the Find My app on the Mac, on iCloud.com and on iOS and iPadOS devices.
![Family Sharing preferences showing a sidebar of different types of account options you can use and the Family preferences for an existing account.](https://help.apple.com/assets/5EF110D6680CE23B38350954/5EF110E3680CE23B3835095C/en_AU/4c01a96de11d721b6c3d1b08df753eec.png)
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 About Family Sharing in iCloud.
To set up Family Sharing using an iOS or iPadOS device, see the Apple Support article Set up Family Sharing.
Choose Apple menu
> System Preferences, and do one of the following:
If you have signed into your Apple ID: Click Family Sharing.
If you have not signed into your Apple ID: Click Sign In. Enter your Apple ID information according to the onscreen instructions. After signing in, click
at the top of the System Preferences window, then click Family Sharing, which now appears next to the Apple ID preferences.
Select Family in the sidebar.
To add yourself as the family organiser and add family members to your Family Sharing group, click the Add button
, then do one of the following:
Add someone who has an Apple ID: Enter the name or email address of the person you want to join the family, click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.
If the person you’re adding is nearby, they can simply enter their Apple ID and password. Otherwise, you can email the person an invitation to join.
Create an Apple ID for a child under 13: Select “Create an Apple ID for a child who doesn’t have an account,” click Continue, then follow the onscreen instructions.
To add another member, repeat step 3.
To select the apps and services that you want your family to share, do any of the following:
Set up Purchase Sharing: Select Purchase Sharing in the sidebar, then select your options. 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.
Upgrade your iCloud Storage: Select iCloud Storage in the sidebar, then click Upgrade to upgrade your iCloud storage plan, from 200 GB to 2 TB. Family members can share the plan with you or keep their own individual storage plans.
Set up 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.
Screen Time: Select Screen Time in the sidebar, click Open Screen Time Settings, then select the options you want.
Subscribe to Apple Music: Select Apple Music in the sidebar. If you don’t have an Apple Music Family plan subscription, you can subscribe for a free 14-day trial. When you subscribe to an Apple Music family membership, all family members get unlimited access to Apple Music automatically.
Subscribe to TV Channels: Select TV Channels in the sidebar. If you don’t have a TV channel subscription, click Learn More to learn about TV channel subscriptions. When a family member subscribes, all family members get unlimited access to TV Channels automatically.
Subscribe to Apple News+: Select Apple News+ in the sidebar. If you don’t have 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.
Subscribe to 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.
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.