How to Share Your iCloud Storage Via Family Sharing
Apple gives you 5GB of free storage when starting on iCloud, but that meagre storage is never enough for someone who has to backup photos and a host of other files. That is why Apple lets you upgrade to larger storage, which can be overkill for some people.
When this is the case, sharing the 200GB or 2TB of storage with friends and family is the best means to make the most of it. You can do this via Apple’s Family Sharing feature on iCloud, which you’ll learn how to set up in this guide.
Read on below to find out!
Requirements for iCloud Family Sharing Feature
As suggested earlier, you’ll need the 200GB or 2TB storage plans to be able to use the Family Sharing feature on iCloud. Sorry to premium users on 50GB plans, but it makes sense given that 50GB is barely enough for one person, let alone two or more.
In addition, you’ll need to be running iOS 11 or a later version if you’re on an iPhone. MacBook users need High Sierra or a later version to use the Family Sharing feature on iCloud.
Lastly, you cannot share your storage with more than five people, and there’s no limitation to your recipients’ OS version to access your shared storage. With that out of the way, let’s delve into setting up Family Sharing on iPhone and Mac.
How to Set Up Family Sharing Plan on iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod)
To set up Family Sharing on your iPhone,
- Launch the Settings app
- Tap your name/Profile at the top of the screen
- Tap Family Sharing, and then Set Up Your Family
- Select The Storage You Want to Share
If you don’t already have a supported storage capacity for Family Sharing, you will get a prompt to upgrade your storage.
- Add the recipients you wish to add, and you’ll get a prompt to notify them through the Messages app that they can now access your iCloud storage.
How to Set Up Family Sharing on macOS
To share your iCloud storage on a MacBook,
- Go to System Preference
- Select Family Sharing
- Ensure you’ve enabled Share My Purchases under your Apple ID
- Next, click on Add Family Member and follow the prompts from there.
How to Accept Invitation to Share an iCloud Storage
Apple has made it easy for recipients to review an invitation to join your iCloud storage plan via Family Sharing. All they have to do is open the message sent to their Messages app and then tap the cloud invitation link therein.
If your recipient is on a MacBook, they may get their invitation link via the email linked to their Apple ID.
Final Notes
There you have it! Interestingly, sharing your storage doesn’t mean recipients have access to your files; each user’s files are only visible to them unless set otherwise. Also, your recipients will get a refund for the remainder of their premium plan if they already had one before you added them to Family Sharing.
