What family sharing means for apps
Family sharing is a feature that lets you buy an app once and let other people in your household use it without buying it again. When you set it up, the person who bought the app stays the owner, and family members can read and use it on their own devices. You do not hand over your password or your account — instead, you create a shared family group and invite people into it.
The exact mechanics depend on whether you use Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) or Android devices (most other phones and tablets). Both systems work roughly the same way: one person sets up the family group, invites others, and then members can see and read apps that were bought by anyone in the group. But what people can see, and what they can do with an app once they have it, differs between the two.
Key Takeaways
- Family sharing requires setting up a family group with one organizer who manages who joins and what gets shared.
- When someone downloads a shared app, they get their own copy on their device — the original buyer does not lose access or control.
- On Apple devices, the organizer can see what apps each family member has downloaded, but members cannot see each other's purchases unless they choose to share them.
- On Android devices, family members can see the full purchase history of whoever bought the app, which is a privacy difference worth knowing before you invite someone.
- Shared apps work only on devices that belong to the person using them — you cannot share an app across devices you do not own.
How to set up family sharing on Apple devices
On an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, open Settings and tap your name at the top. Then tap Family Sharing. If no family group exists yet, you will see an option to "Create a Family Group" or "Set Up Family Sharing." Tap that, and you become the organizer. You will be asked to confirm your Apple ID and payment method — this is the account that will be charged if anyone in the family buys something.
Once the group exists, you invite family members by tapping "Add Family Member" and entering their email address or phone number. They will get an invitation and can accept it on their own device. They do not need to share their password with you. After they accept, they appear in your family group, and any apps you have bought from the App Store become available for them to read.
To read a shared app, a family member opens the App Store, goes to the Purchased tab, and looks for apps marked "Family Sharing." They tap the cloud icon to read it to their device. The app appears on their home screen, and they can use it just as if they had bought it themselves. If you buy a new app after the family group is set up, it automatically becomes available to everyone in the group.
How to set up family sharing on Android devices
On an Android phone or tablet, open Google Play Store and tap your profile icon in the top right corner. Tap "Manage family group" or "Family" (the exact wording varies by device). If no group exists, tap "Create a family group." You will be asked to confirm your Google Account and payment method, just as on Apple devices.
To invite family members, tap "Add member" and enter their email address or phone number. They will receive an invitation and can accept it from their own device. Once they join, any apps you have bought from Google Play become available to them. They can find shared apps by opening Google Play, tapping their profile icon, going to "Manage family group," and looking at the shared library. They tap the cloud icon to read an app to their device.
One important difference on Android: when a family member downloads an app you bought, they can see your full purchase history for that app — including when you bought it and how much you paid. This is different from Apple, where family members cannot see your purchase details unless you choose to share them separately.
What happens when someone leaves the family group
If a family member leaves the group, or if the organizer removes them, they keep the apps they have already downloaded. The apps do not disappear from their device. However, they can no longer read new shared apps, and they cannot update the shared apps they already have — updates will fail until they buy the app themselves or rejoin the family group.
If the organizer leaves the family group, the group dissolves entirely. All family members are removed, and they lose access to shared apps going forward. If you are the organizer and you want to step down, you can transfer the role to another family member before you leave, which keeps the group intact.
Privacy and control: what the organizer can see
As the family group organizer, you can see a list of who is in your family and which apps each person has downloaded. On Apple devices, you cannot see what apps they bought with their own money — you can only see what they downloaded from the shared library. On Android, you can see their full purchase history for any app they read from the shared library.
Family members cannot see what apps you have bought unless you read them to your own device and they appear in the shared library. If you want to keep an app private, do not read it to any device that is part of the family group, or buy it on a separate account that is not part of the family.
Neither system lets you remotely delete an app from someone else's device, and neither lets you prevent a family member from downloading a specific shared app once they are in the group. If you want to keep an app away from certain people, the only option is to not include them in the family group.
Shared apps and multiple devices
A shared app works on any device that belongs to the person using it. If you read a shared app on your iPhone, it appears on your iPhone only — not on your iPad or Mac, unless you read it there too. Each person has to read the shared app to each of their own devices if they want to use it on more than one device.
You cannot read a shared app to someone else's device, even if you are the organizer. The person who wants to use the app has to read it themselves on their own device. This is a security feature — it prevents one person from installing apps on devices they do not control.
When family sharing does not work for an app
Not every app in the App Store or Google Play can be shared. Some apps, especially games and productivity software, are marked by the developer as not shareable. If an app cannot be shared, you will see a note in the App Store saying "Not available for Family Sharing" or similar language. You can still buy the app, but only the person who bought it can use it.
Apps that require a subscription or login — like Netflix, Spotify, or banking apps — can be shared, but the person using the app on another device will need to log in with their own account. Sharing the app does not share the subscription or the account. If you want family members to use Netflix, for example, you have to add them as users within Netflix itself, not through family sharing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I share an app if I bought it years ago?
Yes. Any app you bought, no matter how long ago, can be shared with your family group as long as the developer has not removed it from the store and as long as the app is marked as shareable. If an app was removed from the store, it cannot be re-downloaded by new people, but anyone who already has it can keep using it.
What if someone in my family buys an app I do not want them to have?
On both Apple and Android, you cannot prevent a family member from buying an app once they are in the group. If you want to restrict purchases, you can set up parental controls on their device, which requires a separate password and can block purchases by age rating or require approval before any purchase goes through.
Do I have to use the same payment method as the organizer?
No. Each family member can have their own payment method on file. The organizer's payment method is used only if the organizer buys something. If a family member buys their own app, their own payment method is charged. Shared apps are free to read because they were already paid for by whoever bought them first.
Can I set up family sharing if we do not live in the same house?
Technically, yes — both Apple and Android allow you to create a family group with people at different addresses. However, both companies ask you to confirm that the people in your family group are actually related or live together. If you add someone who does not meet that definition, you risk the family group being removed.
What happens to shared apps if I change my Apple ID or Google Account?
If the organizer changes their account, the family group is tied to the old account and will stop working. You would need to create a new family group with the new account and re-invite everyone. Apps that were downloaded before the change will still work on people's devices, but they cannot read new shared apps until the new group is set up.