Apple TV+ lets you share your subscription through Family Sharing, which gives up to six people access to the same account

Apple TV+ does not have a separate sharing feature. Instead, you share it by setting up Family Sharing, Apple's system that lets family members use one subscription across their own devices. Once you set it up, up to six people total (including you) can watch on their own iPhones, iPads, Macs, Apple TVs, and other devices. Each person gets their own profile, so their watch history and recommendations stay separate.

Family Sharing also bundles Apple TV+ with other Apple services like iCloud storage, Apple Music, and Apple Arcade if those are part of your plan. You control who is in the family group and can remove people at any time. The trade-off is that everyone in the group shares the same payment method, and Apple counts all six members toward the household limit — you cannot add a seventh person or split the cost with someone outside your family group.

Key Takeaways

  • Family Sharing is the only way to share Apple TV+, and it allows up to six people to watch on their own devices with separate profiles.
  • You set up Family Sharing through Settings on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, and you choose who to invite by their Apple ID email address.
  • The organizer of the family group controls the payment method and can remove members at any time.
  • Everyone in the family group must be in the same country, and Apple TV+ will not work if you try to watch from a different country than where the account is registered.

How to set up Family Sharing on iPhone or iPad

Open Settings, tap your name at the top, then tap Family Sharing. If you have not set it up yet, you will see a button that says Create a Family Group or Set Up Family Sharing. Tap it. You will be asked to confirm your Apple ID and payment method — this is the account that will be charged for the subscription.

Next, tap Add Family Member. You can invite people by their Apple ID email address, or if they are nearby, you can use your device to send them an invitation. They will get a notification on their device asking them to join. Once they accept, they are part of the family group and can open Apple TV+ on their own device and start watching.

If someone does not have an Apple ID yet, you can create one for them during this process. For children under 13, you can set up a child account, which comes with parental controls that let you restrict content by rating.

How to set up Family Sharing on Mac

Click the Apple menu in the top-left corner, then System Settings (or System Preferences on older versions). Click General in the sidebar, then Family. Click Set Up Family Sharing or Create a Family Group. You will confirm your Apple ID and payment method, just as on iPhone.

To add members, click the + button and enter their Apple ID email address, or invite them in person if they are nearby. The process is the same as on iPhone — they will receive an invitation and can accept it on their own device.

What happens when someone joins your family group

Once a person accepts your invitation, they can open Apple TV+ on any of their devices and sign in with their own Apple ID. Their profile will appear in the app, and they can start watching right away. They will see their own recommendations and watch history — what they watch does not affect what shows up for you.

If the family organizer (the person who set up Family Sharing) changes the payment method or cancels the subscription, everyone in the group loses access. If you remove someone from the family group, they can no longer watch Apple TV+ unless they have their own subscription.

Removing someone from your family group

Go to Settings > your name > Family Sharing. Find the person you want to remove and tap their name. Tap Remove from Family. They will lose access to Apple TV+ when ready, though they can still use their own Apple ID to sign up for a separate subscription if they want.

You can also use this screen to see who is in your family group, check their age, and manage parental controls for child accounts. If someone leaves your family group on their own, you will see the option to remove them from your list.

Limits on where you can watch

Apple TV+ works in most countries, but everyone in your family group must be in the same country as the account organizer. If you travel and try to watch from a different country, you may see an error message. The service is designed to prevent account sharing across borders, so this is a hard limit — you cannot watch Apple TV+ from outside your home country unless you change your account location, which requires updating your payment method and other details.

Within your home country, you can watch on as many devices as you want at the same time. There is no limit to how many screens can play at once, so all six family members could theoretically watch different shows at the same time.

Parental controls for family members

If you have set up a child account in your family group, you can restrict what they can watch by content rating. Open Settings > your name > Family Sharing, tap the child's name, and tap Content Restrictions. You can set a minimum age rating — for example, you can block anything rated TV-14 and above.

You can also require a password before anyone in the family group can watch content rated above a certain level. This applies to all members, not just children, so it is useful if you want to prevent accidental clicks on mature content.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I share my Apple TV+ password with someone outside my family group?

You can share your password, but Apple's terms of service say the account is for personal use only. If you share your password with someone who is not in your Family Sharing group, you are technically breaking the rules. The safer and official way is to add them to your family group through Family Sharing.

What if someone in my family group cancels their Apple ID?

If they delete their Apple ID, they will be automatically removed from your family group and will no longer be able to watch. If they just stop using the account but do not delete it, they will stay in the family group unless you manually remove them.

Can I be in more than one family group?

No. You can only be part of one family group at a time. If you want to switch to a different family group, you must leave your current one first, which takes 30 days to process.

Does everyone in my family group have to pay?

No. Only the organizer of the family group is charged. Everyone else watches for free as long as they are part of the group. The organizer can change the payment method or cancel at any time, which will end access for everyone.

Can I use Family Sharing if I have a student discount on Apple TV+?

Yes, but the student discount applies to the entire family group, not just you. If you set up Family Sharing with a student account, all six members get the discounted rate.