My wife is a Parent/Guardian in our Family Sharing plan. Today she was not allowed to put her own credit card down as a payment method on her Apple ID. She had to get a code from me to allow her to use my Apple CC, but it still won't allow her to add her own card. Why would a Parent/Guardian not be allowed to take care of their own business???
iPhone SE, iOS 15
Because that is the system Apple has set up to prevent abuse of the Family Sharing system. It is a clever and deliberate method which functions to restrict sharing to people who would have a "family" level of familiarity and trust. Apple used to not have sharing at all, so this is a improvement. Also remember that Apple simply distributes items owned by others, and others likely have a big say under what conditions sharing is allowed. They have to come up with a system that prevents sharing abuse and restrict it to groups who might have -in the old days- shared a record, tape or video cassette between family members. If you can think up a better method then I am sure Apple would be happy to consider it. —> Product Feedback - Apple
only one person, the Organizer, can (and must) have a card, but the Organizer can avoid having this charged by others by asking them to make sure they have adequate personal balance (e.g., from gift cards) to cover their purchases. Other family members can only pay for things by using their personal balance or by letting the remainder automatically roll over to the Organizer's payment method (such as a credit card but not the Organizer's personal account balance).
The alternative is described in this document: Add a family member to your shared subscriptions - Apple Support
"If you're the family organizer and you don't want to pay for family members' purchases and subscriptions, you can turn off Purchase Sharing [ How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support ]. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, everyone must use their own payment method. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, family members can share subscriptions, but they can't share individual purchases like apps or books."
Another alternative would be for you to leave the family group altogether.
=Full details=
Based on: How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support and How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support
1. If anybody in the family buys or subscribes to something, Apple first attempts to charge the item to that individual's Apple Account (Apple ID) balance, if any.
2. If a family member does not have enough personal Apple Account balance, any excess will be charged to the Family Organizer's primary payment method (usually a card of some kind). The Organizer's personal balance will not be used for purchases made by other family members. If Apple cannot bill the primary payment method, the Organizer will need to make another payment method the primary method. With Family Sharing the Organizer always has to have at least one functioning payment method.
Also note: "Some purchases, including gifts, can't be billed to Apple ID balance and will be charged to the family organizer's payment method." "Some subscriptions might not be charged to Apple ID balance."
Ref:
- Family purchases and payments - How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support
- How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support
- Check your Apple ID balance - Check your Apple Account balance - Apple Support
- Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Add a payment method - Apple Support
Adding funds to your Apple ID balance:
- How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card - Apple Support
- Add money to your Apple Account balance - Apple Support
Because that is the system Apple has set up to prevent abuse of the Family Sharing system. It is a clever and deliberate method which functions to restrict sharing to people who would have a "family" level of familiarity and trust. Apple used to not have sharing at all, so this is a improvement. Also remember that Apple simply distributes items owned by others, and others likely have a big say under what conditions sharing is allowed. They have to come up with a system that prevents sharing abuse and restrict it to groups who might have -in the old days- shared a record, tape or video cassette between family members. If you can think up a better method then I am sure Apple would be happy to consider it. —> Product Feedback - Apple
only one person, the Organizer, can (and must) have a card, but the Organizer can avoid having this charged by others by asking them to make sure they have adequate personal balance (e.g., from gift cards) to cover their purchases. Other family members can only pay for things by using their personal balance or by letting the remainder automatically roll over to the Organizer's payment method (such as a credit card but not the Organizer's personal account balance).
The alternative is described in this document: Add a family member to your shared subscriptions - Apple Support
"If you're the family organizer and you don't want to pay for family members' purchases and subscriptions, you can turn off Purchase Sharing [ How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support ]. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, everyone must use their own payment method. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, family members can share subscriptions, but they can't share individual purchases like apps or books."
Another alternative would be for you to leave the family group altogether.
=Full details=
Based on: How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support and How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support
1. If anybody in the family buys or subscribes to something, Apple first attempts to charge the item to that individual's Apple Account (Apple ID) balance, if any.
2. If a family member does not have enough personal Apple Account balance, any excess will be charged to the Family Organizer's primary payment method (usually a card of some kind). The Organizer's personal balance will not be used for purchases made by other family members. If Apple cannot bill the primary payment method, the Organizer will need to make another payment method the primary method. With Family Sharing the Organizer always has to have at least one functioning payment method.
Also note: "Some purchases, including gifts, can't be billed to Apple ID balance and will be charged to the family organizer's payment method." "Some subscriptions might not be charged to Apple ID balance."
Ref:
- Family purchases and payments - How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support
- How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support
- Check your Apple ID balance - Check your Apple Account balance - Apple Support
- Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Add a payment method - Apple Support
Adding funds to your Apple ID balance:
- How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card - Apple Support
- Add money to your Apple Account balance - Apple Support
>>Who is charged for the subscription?
If Purchase Sharing is turned on, the family organizer pays for everyone's subscriptions.*
If you're the family organizer and you don't want to pay for family members' purchases and subscriptions, you can turn off Purchase Sharing. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, everyone must use their own payment method. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, family members can share subscriptions, but they can't share individual purchases like apps or books.
* Learn how purchases are billed if a family member has Apple ID balance.<<
Add a family member to your shared subscriptions - Apple Support
To the best of my understanding "Parent/Guardian" is not an Apple Family Sharing role. There's the organizer, members who are adults and members who are children. All purchases are charged to the organizer's card, unless the individual members have iTunes gift cards on their account. So, your wife can purchase iTunes gift cards and redeem them to her Apple ID and use that to pay for things.
How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support
IdrisSeabright wrote:
To the best of my understanding "Parent/Guardian" is not an Apple Family Sharing role.
I believe it is for the purposes of Ask To Buy under Family Sharing. The FS organizer can designate another adult as a parent or guardian who can then also approve child purchases.
Again, how would that demonstrate that the "parent/guardian" really was a part of the family and not somebody you met at a bus stop that morning? Apple doesn't require you to present a passport to sign up here. In fact there isn't really any definition of "family". It could be a group of people sharing a house together as long as they trust each other well enough. They don't even have to be in the same place. The whole thing centers around there being a close and trusting relationship.
Using personal balance gives people independence. A parent guardian does have purchasing power. There is nothing stopping them from purchasing. If they don't want to use the organizer's card they can use a gift card. If they don't want to use gift cards then they can slip cash to the organizer at dinner that night to reimburse the organizer. It's the payment system that is keeping the whole system honest. If you don't trust somebody with your card then they don't belong in your family.
And again, if you think you have a better method that accomplishes the need to make whoever is concerned about illicit sharing content then please send Apple feedback.
Parent/Guardian is listed under Types of Family Sharing members on Apple's support page as one of 4 member types. It is also her status under Family in System Settings.
I appreciate an alternative but purchasing iTunes gift cards just to redeem them to an Apple ID and THEN buy something is an absurd waste of time and resources. I feel that someone at the Parent/Guardian level within a Family should be allowed to make purchases to share within that family, and therefore have their own payment method to make such transactions.
Yes, but how does Apple know that that designated person is indeed a close relative and not somebody you met at the bus stop on Monday and you agreed to save each other a bit of cash and share all your purchases?
I appreciate the explanation, and the availability of family sharing in general. Though I don't understand why someone at the Parent/Guardian level isn't also allowed to make purchases with their own card to share within the family. It brings inequality to what should be a level playing field. I understand that my situation is a bit insular as there are so many different types of families, but I standby the notion that someone at the Parent/Guardian level should have purchasing power.
The same way airlines know that a child belongs to the adult they are traveling with.
fugave wrote:
The same way airlines know that a child belongs to the adult they are traveling with.
You mean like the Child Travel Consent Form that's required in many cases?
Parent/Guardian in Family Sharing can not add their own payment method??
