(Pocket-lint) – Apple’s Family Sharing system has been around for ages, quietly letting you set up a network of people in your family who get access to the apps you buy without having to make repeat purchases.
It’s really handy for those with multiple Mac or iPhone users under one roof, saving on costs. That system quietly got a good deal better recently, though, when Apple added a couple more facets to it.
Now, as well as when you buy a new app, you can also potentially choose to have your family notified when you subscribe within an app, or make an in-app purchase – so that they can also access those newly-unlocked tiers.
It only applies to non-consumable in-app purchases, to be clear, so you don’t just get five times the value when you buy in-game currency, for example, but this is still a really welcome change. However, it comes with the major caveat that developers will have to opt into the system to let users share their purchases – we’ll see how many do so over time.
If you have Family Sharing set up, you’ll see the option to share subscriptions under your account settings on either iPhone or Mac, under the Subscriptions sub-menu.
If this does indeed get widespread developer support, it’ll be quite a boon to families who might have previously been duplicating subscriptions, so here’s hoping.
Writing by Max Freeman-Mills.
