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

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Rumored to Use Same Rear Chassis as iPhone 16

Friday July 19, 2024 7:16 am PDT by
Apple will adopt the same rear chassis manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 that it is using for the upcoming standard iPhone 16, claims a new rumor coming out of China. According to the Weibo-based leaker "Fixed Focus Digital," the backplate manufacturing process for the iPhone SE 4 is "exactly the same" as the standard model in Apple's upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, which is expected to...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Just Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Monday July 15, 2024 4:44 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
bsod

Crowdstrike Says Global IT Outage Impacting Windows PCs, But Mac and Linux Hosts Not Affected

Friday July 19, 2024 3:12 am PDT by
A widespread system failure is currently affecting numerous Windows devices globally, causing critical boot failures across various industries, including banks, rail networks, airlines, retailers, broadcasters, healthcare, and many more sectors. The issue, manifesting as a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), is preventing computers from starting up properly and forcing them into continuous recovery...
iphone 14 lineup

Cellebrite Unable to Unlock iPhones on iOS 17.4 or Later, Leak Reveals

Thursday July 18, 2024 4:18 am PDT by
Israel-based mobile forensics company Cellebrite is unable to unlock iPhones running iOS 17.4 or later, according to leaked documents verified by 404 Media. The documents provide a rare glimpse into the capabilities of the company's mobile forensics tools and highlight the ongoing security improvements in Apple's latest devices. The leaked "Cellebrite iOS Support Matrix" obtained by 404 Media...
Apple Watch Series 9

2024 Apple Watch Lineup: Key Changes We're Expecting

Tuesday July 16, 2024 7:59 am PDT by
Apple is seemingly planning a rework of the Apple Watch lineup for 2024, according to a range of reports from over the past year. Here's everything we know so far. Apple is expected to continue to offer three different Apple Watch models in five casing sizes, but the various display sizes will allegedly grow by up to 12% and the casings will get taller. Based on all of the latest rumors,...
tinypod apple watch

TinyPod Turns Your Apple Watch Into an iPod

Wednesday July 17, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
If you have an old Apple Watch and you're not sure what to do with it, a new product called TinyPod might be the answer. Priced at $79, the TinyPod is a silicone case with a built-in scroll wheel that houses the Apple Watch chassis. When an Apple Watch is placed inside the TinyPod, the click wheel on the case is able to be used to scroll through the Apple Watch interface. The feature works...

Top Rated Comments

newagemac Avatar
132 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
132 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
132 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
132 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
132 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
132 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)