I am always excited when things get easier to manage. In a crazy world of multiple devices and accounts and settings, it’s nice when Apple comes along and helps us out. In iOS 8 there are a number of things that are great improvements, but there is one that takes the cake for families: sharing. Not just any sharing, but EVERYTHING sharing.
In the past, if you purchased an app and your husband wanted it, he would have to download it as well (and pay through his iTunes account). You could share apps, sort of, but then every time the app was updated, you had to sign in using that person’s account. Very annoying. Or maybe your daughter purchased a song, but your son would also like it? In the past you had to send it to their computer, import it, upload it. Most people never got around to it as it was such a hassle.
Not any longer!
You can now turn on the Family Sharing option with your iCloud! In a nutshell it allows you to have one person be the administrator of your family account. You can have up to 6 accounts connected (designated as either parent or child accounts). What it does is give you access to everything those connected accounts have purchased! EVERYTHING! Apps, music, books, videos, you name it. There’s even a trigger so if Child 1 wants to purchase something, the request flows through to the administrator account, that person gets notified and the purchase is allowed/not (or they can just buy it on their own account, if you have that set up).
For families with younger kids, this is an amazing upgrade. For families with a lot of purchases that flow through on various iTunes accounts, this is a lifesaver. Your older kids will love it as they can still have their autonomous accounts, but they don’t have to hear the whining and begging of other family members to send them songs/apps/videos. When you sit down for family movie night, you can watch any of the videos that any of you have purchased right to your Apple TV without missing a beat.