Family Sharing: Gift Cards & Apple Pay purchases by sub-organizer?

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Family Sharing: Gift Cards & Apple Pay purchases by sub-organizer?

Ok, so if a non-organizer on a family account has an apple pay balance, or gift card balance, then that money will be used for application purchases before hitting the organizers preferred method of payment.

Established. Understood.

I don't seem to be able to find who /owns/ that application afterwards though. If I go to App Store >> Purchased >> Family Purchases >> <Family Member Name> >> I can see all their purchases and download them onto my devices. I assume this also means that those apps will no longer be available to them to download if they leave the "Family".

So what happens to apps purchased using gift cards or apple pay balance? Will they even show up under family purchases? Is that app "owned" by the family member/sub-organizer - will they still have access to it if they leave the "family"?

Thanks for any help here - I'm curious as to how Apple is handling family purchases like this and it's help page is not explicitly clear in this context, only in the context of 'how can family members purchase apps without it hitting the organizers card/assigned payment method".

iPhone XS Max, iOS 13

Posted on Jan 29, 2020 12:51 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

jeremy_v

Community Specialist

Feb 4, 2020 7:09 AM in response to [Shadowbottle]

Hi [Shadowbottle],

I'm happy to clarify. If a non-organizer purchases an app using a gift card or that balance, that app belongs to the non-organizer. When they leave the family, the non-organizer will continue to have access to their app but the family will lose access to that app.

Leave Family Sharing

Cheers!

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Answer 2

rose_10

Community Specialist

Feb 1, 2020 7:48 AM in response to [Shadowbottle]

Hello [Shadowbottle],

Thanks for posting this in the Apple Support Communities. I understand that you’re wanting to know what happens to shared content purchased with gift cards or Apple Pay. I’m happy to clear that up.

What happens to your content when you stop sharing?

When you leave Family Sharing, your Apple ID is removed from the family group and you won't have access to any services shared by your family. This might include an Apple Music family subscription or a shared iCloud storage plan. You stop sharing locations with your family members and your devices are removed from the family Find My iPhone list. If your family shares iTunes, Apple Books, and App Store purchases, you immediately stop sharing your purchases and lose access to the purchases made by your other family members.

Any content that your family shared with you isn't automatically removed from your device. You can purchase it again or remove it to free up space on your device. If you downloaded an app from a family member’s purchase history and made In-App Purchases, you'll need to purchase the app yourself to access your In-App Purchases.

Any DRM-protected music, movies, TV shows, books, or apps that you previously downloaded from other family member's collections are no longer usable, and other family members can't use content downloaded from your collection.

You'll keep any purchases you initiated while part of the family group. However, if the organizer was paying for ongoing subscriptions, you need to start paying for them yourself using a valid payment method on your account. Learn how to add a credit or debit card to your iTunes Store account.

Leave Family Sharing

Hope that helps!

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Answer 3

Feb 3, 2020 8:19 PM in response to rose_10

Thanks for the reply, but sadly that doesn't quite answer my question.

If a non-organizer purchases an application using a gift card or their Apple Pay balance, who does that app belong to?

Does the app purchased by the non-organizer belong to the organizer or does it belong to the non-organizer?

If the non-organizer left the organizers "family" would they have to purchase the app a second time?

Also, your pasted text seems to indicate that in-app subscriptions are shared by the family, but the rest of the documentation seems to conflict with that.

Thanks

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Family Sharing: Gift Cards & Apple Pay purchases by sub-organizer?

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