Apple Confirms Family Sharing for In-App Purchases and Subscriptions is Now Available

Apple yesterday quietly expanded its Family Sharing App Store functionality, adding a new App Store toggle that allows family members to share in-app subscriptions with one another. Apple today confirmed that the functionality has now rolled out and that it's also applicable to in-app purchases.

share new subscriptions family sharing
In an update for developers, Apple says that it's now possible for them to enable Family Sharing for auto-renewable subscriptions and non-consumable in-app purchases, allowing all members of a family group to enjoy the benefits of these features.

You can now enable Family Sharing for auto-renewable subscriptions and non-consumable in-app purchases, allowing users to share their purchases with up to five family members. Family Sharing provides a streamlined, convenient user experience and can help you attract subscribers, encourage paid subscriptions, increase user engagement, and improve retention. Sales and Trends reports will be updated soon to help you understand the performance of family subscriptions.

Non-consumable in-app purchases include in-app purchases that unlock app features rather than those that use coins or other currency to purchase expendable in-app or in-game items.

Apple first announced these subscription and in-app purchase sharing options in June, and said that the functionality would come in iOS 14, iPadOS 14, and macOS Big Sur.

Developers can choose to implement Family Sharing for in-app purchases or subscriptions or can opt to require each member of the family to subscribe separately or make separate purchases.

Prior to now, if one member of a family purchased an app that included a subscription benefit or an app feature that was unlocked via an in-app purchase, there was no built-in way for those features to be shared with other family members.

The Settings section of the ‌App Store‌ now has a "Share New Subscriptions" feature that's enabled automatically for people who use Family Sharing. To access in-app purchases from an app purchased by another family member, the app should be downloaded from the family member's purchased history. These features will only be available for apps where developers have enabled Family Sharing functionality.

Top Rated Comments

edwrap Avatar
43 months ago
FYI - For free apps with IAP unlocks (like Infuse), you‘ll need to download the free app from the family purchases list of the user that bought the IAP.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bigboy29 Avatar
43 months ago
If I understand this correctly, what Apple enabled by default is that you share subscriptions with family.... but developers still need to enable this sharing in their apps. In other words - if developers would rather not share subscriptions with family, they do not need to implement this sharing, and the fact that it is enabled in App sore will not matter.

Great that this is becoming a possibility, though, but I wonder how many will go for it.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
0815 Avatar
43 months ago
Thats great news ... And seems to be enabled by default, at least it was for me
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Santiago Avatar
43 months ago

While Apple calls them "NON-Consumable" In-App Purchases (IAPs), I believe a better label would have been "One-Time-Purchase," OR simply combine the two like this:

... NON-Consumable (i.e., One-Time-Purchase) ...
I wish Apple made a bigger distinction between these two on the App Store, like they do with free vs paid. I'm fine with one-time-purchases for content, but want nothing to do with apps full of consumable purchases. Right now, you're stuck with having to scroll down to In-App Purchases and see what's listed there.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jclo Avatar
43 months ago

FYI - For free apps with IAP unlocks (like Infuse), you‘ll need to download the free app from the family purchases list of the user that bought the IAP.
Thanks for the tip. Added that info to the article too.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
DarthDale Avatar
43 months ago

If I understand this correctly, what Apple enabled by default is that you share subscriptions with family.... but developers still need to enable this sharing in their apps. In other words - if developers would rather not share subscriptions with family, they do not need to implement this sharing, and the fact that it is enabled in App sore will not matter.

Great that this is becoming a possibility, though, but I wonder how many will go for it.
I’m am doubtful ? developers will do this. What is the incentive? Once Apple stated the IAP process and it was not available to the family share I stopped buying anything that had an IAP subscription and looked for alternate products.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...