Apple Begins Asking Developers to Turn On Family Sharing for iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite Apps

Just a couple days after announcing Family Sharing, a feature that allows families to share iTunes and App Store purchases, Apple has begun emailing developers to ask them to turn on the feature in their iTunes Connect developer portal.

While Family Sharing is a significant addition to the App Store, the opt-in requirement for developers could see some declining to allow their apps to be shared amongst as many as six accounts with no extra charge.

familysharing

To make your apps available as part of Family Sharing, agree to the updated iOS Paid Applications and/or Mac Paid Applications agreement in Contracts, Tax and Banking on iTunes Connect. To ensure that Family Sharing is also enabled for previously purchased apps, leave the appropriate checkbox selected on the agreements page.

Family Sharing also allows families to share calendars, reminders, photos and locations. It also allows parents to monitor and approve downloads and purchases made by their children remotely. The feature is likely to get turned on and tested in the iOS 8 betas before going live when iOS 8 is available for the public later this year.

Popular Stories

wwdc sans text feature

Apple Rumored to Announce New Product on February 19

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:22 pm PST by
Apple plans to announce the iPhone 17e on Thursday, February 19, according to Macwelt, the German equivalent of Macworld. The report, citing industry sources, is available in English on Macworld. Apple announced the iPhone 16e on Wednesday, February 19 last year, so the iPhone 17e would be unveiled exactly one year later if this rumor is accurate. It is quite uncommon for Apple to unveil...
Apple Logo Zoomed

Tim Cook Teases Plans for Apple's Upcoming 50th Anniversary

Thursday February 5, 2026 12:54 pm PST by
Apple turns 50 this year, and its CEO Tim Cook has promised to celebrate the milestone. The big day falls on April 1, 2026. "I've been unusually reflective lately about Apple because we have been working on what do we do to mark this moment," Cook told employees today, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "When you really stop and pause and think about the last 50 years, it makes your heart ...
maxresdefault

Apple Shows Off a Key Reason to Upgrade to the iPhone 17

Saturday February 7, 2026 9:26 am PST by
Apple today shared an ad that shows how the upgraded Center Stage front camera on the latest iPhones improves the process of taking a group selfie. "Watch how the new front facing camera on iPhone 17 Pro takes group selfies that automatically expand and rotate as more people come into frame," says Apple. While the ad is focused on the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max, the regular iPhone...
Finder Siri Feature

Why Apple's iOS 26.4 Siri Upgrade Will Be Bigger Than Originally Promised

Friday February 6, 2026 3:06 pm PST by
In the iOS 26.4 update that's coming this spring, Apple will introduce a new version of Siri that's going to overhaul how we interact with the personal assistant and what it's able to do. The iOS 26.4 version of Siri won't work like ChatGPT or Claude, but it will rely on large language models (LLMs) and has been updated from the ground up. Upgraded Architecture The next-generation...
iOS 26

iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Tuesday February 3, 2026 7:47 am PST by
While the iOS 26.3 Release Candidate is now available ahead of a public release, the first iOS 26.4 beta is likely still at least a week away. Following beta testing, iOS 26.4 will likely be released to the general public in March or April. Below, we have recapped known or rumored iOS 26.3 and iOS 26.4 features so far. iOS 26.3 iPhone to Android Transfer Tool iOS 26.3 makes it easier...

Top Rated Comments

newagemac Avatar
153 months ago
Here's a nugget that most people don't know about. You could always share purchased iPhone/iPad apps among your family using Apple's Home Sharing feature in iTunes which has been available for many years now. This new Family Sharing thing is just more visible, adds more features, and is more automated.

Also MacRumors should clarify that from now on, it appears Family Sharing is required when selling in the App Store. There is nothing to turn on or off for developers. The only thing the checkbox applies to is for previously purchased apps.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
stiligFox Avatar
153 months ago
This is one of those things that a developer would need a really good reason not to allow this. Otherwise it may come across as a dev just being greedy. It's going to be a fine balance!

That said, I'm really looking forward to this for iTunes music/movies purchases.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
surfingarbo Avatar
153 months ago
When I was a kid, I would never share games with my sister.

Reflecting back on many years ago, it is a good thing to share.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
grjj Avatar
153 months ago
No reason not to

First... Family Sharing doesn't enable anything new. Between Home Sharing and just plain syncing apps to a device, it was possible to do much of this before. This just makes it simple, ubiquitous and adds explicit protection against "my kid send $2,000 in gumdrops in his game".

From the bit of text in the article and what I've experienced at Apple, this won't be opt-in in the sense you think; I read this as allow sharing or don't agree to the new terms and you're not a developer any longer.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
John.B Avatar
153 months ago
Did anyone else read the first few lines of this image in the 1984 commercial voice?
:confused:

WTF?
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M-O Avatar
153 months ago
Here's a nugget that most people don't know about. You could always share purchased iPhone/iPad apps among your family using Apple's Home Sharing feature in iTunes which has been available for many years now. This new Family Sharing thing is just more visible, adds more features, and is more automated.
Home sharing lets you share content across different devices using the same apple id. Family sharing lets you share content across 6 different apple id's. it's quite different.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)