If you are figuring out how to set up iCloud family sharing so that you can easily share family pictures and videos with all your family members, then this article will help you to setup iCloud family sharing in a few simple steps.
The Apple iCloud provides 5GB of free storage, but that disappears very quickly as the device gets loaded up with e-books, apps, or music. But don’t worry, you can get up to 2TB of iCloud storage at a certain price which you can also share with your family members or friends by using Apple’s Family Sharing feature.
This feature of Family Sharing has been on the apple network since iOS 8 and it initially allowed people to share their purchases from iTunes and the App Store. Now it lets you add up to 5 family members to share Apple Books, the Apple Music family subscription, and iCloud storage.
For using the Share feature you will need to upgrade your 5GB storage to a 200GB or a 2TB storage plan, which will cost you $2.99 or $9.99 every month, respectively, or you could also go for an Apple One Family($19.95/month) or Premier plan ($29.95/month). If you are using the 50GB plan that comes at $0.99 per month, Apple will automatically direct you to upgrade before you add iCloud to your Family Sharing.
Setting Up iCloud Family Sharing on iOS
On iOS, to share the iCloud storage you must be running on iOS 11+. The other members can be on older versions of iOS but yes Apple would definitely want you to upgrade.
First, go to Settings, then [your name], then Family Sharing and then Set Up Your Family.
Then you can choose the feature that you want to share. In this case, iCloud Storage. Now if you do not have a 200GB or 2TB iCloud plan then Apple will ask you to upgrade. For upgrading, tap on Continue at the bottom. Then on the next screen just select the plan you want.
You will now be asked to alert the other members, with whom the pack is shared, via the Messages app that now they have the access to your iCloud storage. After this, all the members who had the 5GB iCloud account will be upgraded to your selected plan. If they are already using a paid account and have switched to yours only recently, the remainder of their personal plan will be refunded. Both cannot be kept active at the same time. If there are kids under 13, you might create an Apple ID for them.
You can manage your iCloud sharing after setting it up by going to Settings, then [your name], then Family Sharing, and then iCloud Storage.
Setting Up iCloud Family Sharing on macOS
If you want to share iCloud on Mac, you will need macOS High Sierra 10.13 or above. Then just navigate to System Preferences and select Family Sharing. Then Confirm your Apple ID and just make sure Share My Purchases is selected. For inviting the people, click on Add Family Member and then follow the instructions which appear on the screen.
To upgrade your storage, click on Manage on the lower-right and select Change Storage Plan or Buy More Storage, and here you can upgrade to 200GB or 2TB plans, that is if you do not already have one. Then with one in place, return to the iCloud menu and click Set Up Family.
Accepting an Invitation
First, open the message that has been sent to your Apple device, then press the iCloud invitation in the body of the message. Now just accept and join the Family Sharing Plan.
After it has been set up successfully, all the photos, documents, notes, files, etc will be kept private for each user. All the users use their personal accounts, but just share the storage on the organizer’s account.
After your Family Share plan reaches the 2TB limit, all the members will get a notification. The highest Apple plan is 2TB, so if that happens you will have to have a talk and decide who will cut down on their part of the storage.
