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Now you can share your music tastes easily with the whole family, from Eminem to David Bowie
In the old days, if you wanted to give your family access to the apps, music and videos you had downloaded through iTunes you could use Home Sharing, but it was difficult to monitor and anyone could download anything using your card details without your knowledge.
Surprise, surprise, this often ended up being very expensive. However, all this has changed with iOS 8 and Family Sharing. Now you can have up to six family members sharing your iTunes library, but each one uses an Apple ID and you (as the main family organiser) have complete control over what they download – so you can block that download of Little Mix you really don’t want to hear playing in your house.
01.) Get Started
Setting up Family Sharing on your device couldn’t be easier. To begin with, head to Settings>iCloud and tap on ‘Set Up Family Sharing’. Here you will get a pop-up explaining the benefits of Family Sharing. Now tap Get Started.
02.) You’ve Got The Power
Your device will now set you up as the single and only person who is in control of all the family’s accounts: the Family Organizer. So you have all the power, my friend. This means that you’ll be the one that sends out the invitations to the family members you wish to add and you will also be the one to control the little ones’ spending through the payment method attached to your ID.
03.) Add Family Members
Family Sharing is now set up and ready to go, so after going back
to the Family area of iCloud, all you need to do is tap the option Add Family Member to add the first person. Type in either their contact name – which is linked to social media or your contacts library – or their email address.
04.) Send An Invitation
Send off the invitation and your contact will get an email informing them that they’ve been invited to join Family Sharing, even if they don’t have iOS 8. You, as the Family Organizer, will then get a notification to let you know that they’ve accepted the request.
05.) App Compatibility
While developers of apps have the option to opt out of Family Sharing, most apps are now compatible and all new ones should be. This means that apps already purchased can be downloaded by anyone in your family. To check an app, head to its entry on the App Store where there will be a label to show you whether or not it’s compatible with Family Sharing.
06.) Be The Banker
Ask to Buy is a feature that’s useful to stop family members under the age of 18 buying apps or staggeringly expensive in-app purchases on your account, so you don’t discover that Angry Birds IAPs have maxed out your credit card. You get the option to turn it on when creating an account for a child or it can be adjusted at any point by tapping on any of your family members. It basically means that any app purchase request cannot be completed until it’s verified by the Family Organizer, ie you.
