AppleInsider Staff
In the run up to the launch of OS X 10.10 Yosemite and iOS 8, Apple is now asking developers to make their apps available as part of Family Sharing, a new iTunes feature that allows family members to share purchased content.
According to AppleInsider reader Gregg, Apple sent out emails via iTunes Connect on Wednesday outlining Family Sharing and asking developers to opt-in to the new program.
Unveiled at WWDC 2014 on Monday, Family Sharing lets up to six family members who use the same credit card to share content purchased from the iTunes Store, including the iOS and Mac App Stores.
As noted in today's email, the program allows family members to share photos, a family calendar and even current their locations among devices registered under a single account. In a bid to thwart litigation, Apple also built in parental controls that allows parents to approve purchases and downloads made by their children. Parents have the ability to accept or reject purchases remotely.
With today's email, Apple is urging developers to agree to the new iOS and Mac Paid Applications Agreement in iTunes Connect regarding Family Sharing. Apparently developers have the option to keep past purchases out of the program, suggesting the same option will be available to future apps as well.
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With today's email, Apple is urging developers to agree to the new iOS and Mac Paid Applications Agreement in iTunes Connect regarding Family Sharing. Apparently developers have the option to keep past purchases out of the program, suggesting the same option will be available to future apps as well.
Apparently parents will have the option to not buy apps from developers who don't agree to support Family Sharing.
We already do this in a simplified manner, under a single id. I like the location feature, however, and I am sure the parental control feature will be welcome in many families. My guess is that the photo sharing feature will be the least utilized. Who wants to share photos WITH their kids? I may want to share photos OF them, but not WITH them. And please, I don't want to see THEIR pictures. REALLY. People with pre-teen, or teen kids will understand.
Finally. I thought this was one of the highlights of the keynote, but I hadn't seen anyone mention it yet. This will be great for families like mine that have been sharing a single account for years across a number of devices. Now I can afford to give everyone their own personal Apple account without having buy multiple copies of apps and music. We were all get rather sick of random apps that other family members purchased showing up on our phones and iPads.
As with the above, I've been looking for this exact feature for nearly a decade (ever since we first bought something from the iTunes Store).
Perhaps I'm missing something, but how with Family Sharing be different than this: I currently have an Apple ID that I use to purchase apps and music. I have that same ID on my kids and my wife's devices to purchase the same. If I bought something, they could therefore also "redownload" the same on their devices and computers. They each also have their own Apple ID for their email, signing into game center, iMessages, etc. The only difference is that I don't see a "permission" when my son wants to buy an app. What am I missing on this?