Dianikes
Level 1 (5 points)
Mac OS X

Q: Family sharing setup: iCloud vs iTunes logins

I have setup a family sharing group for our children.  I first created an AppleId for each child, added them to the Family Sharing group and accepted the invitation on each device.  On their devices, I can can confirm that they are logged in to iCloud and that they are listed as members of the Family Sharing group.  Furthermore, Family Sharing is correctly listing the Shared Payment Method as being my credit card.  I would like the kids to be able to request purchases of items that then get sent to me for approval.  So given this, what do I do for the iTunes App Store login?

Option 1: If I leave the iTunes Store login blank, then when the child tries to purchase something in the App Store, it tries to make them login.

and set up an iTunes App Store login.  So apparently the Shared Payment Method is not enough.

Option 2; I can set up an iTunes App Store login for her.  I can do this without a credit card, but now she is able to get apps on her own withOUT requests to me.  I know this because I was just able to Get a free app on the child's device without a purchase request to me.  I thought Family sharing was supposed to funnel those requests through to me.

Option 3: I can log in with my own account.  But this seems to defeat the purpose of Family Sharing, since it should be her account.

I'm confused on these options.  I've searched this question, but had no luck finding an answer.

Thanks.

Kevin

iPhone 5s, iOS 9.2

Posted on Dec 23, 2015 11:05 PM

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Dianikes

Q: Family sharing setup: iCloud vs iTunes logins

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  • by jeremy_v,

    jeremy_v jeremy_v Dec 25, 2015 10:06 AM in response to Dianikes
    Community Specialists
    Dec 25, 2015 10:06 AM in response to Dianikes

    Hi Dianikes,

     

    Thank you for visiting Apple Support Communities.

     

    If you want to approve App Store purchases and downloads for your children, you'll sign into the iTunes & App Store on each child's device with the respective Apple ID you created for them. I believe this is option 2 that you mentioned. Then make sure Ask to Buy is turned on for their Apple IDs.

     

    For more information and some troubleshooting help with this process, see the following links.

     

    Request and make purchases with Ask to Buy

     

    With Ask to Buy and Family Sharing, whenever a family member initiates a new purchase or free download, a request is sent to the organizer. The organizer can review the item and make the purchase or decline the request right from their own iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8 and later or Mac with OS X Yosemite and later. For example, this could be a request for items in the iTunes, iBooks, or App Store, In-App Purchases, or iCloud storage.

     

    The family organizer can turn on Ask to Buy for any family member who isn't an adult. It's on by default for any children under 13, and you'll be asked if you want to enable Ask to Buy when inviting anyone under 18 to your family group.*

     


    Get help using Ask to Buy in the iTunes Store - Apple Support

     


    All the best.