To participate in Family Sharing, all family members must have their own Apple ID. Children under 13* can't create an Apple ID on their own. However, as a parent or legal guardian, the family organizer can provide verified parental consent for a child to have their own Apple ID, then create it on the child’s behalf. If your child already has an Apple ID, you can update their email address, date of birth, security questions, and more.
When you create an Apple ID for a child, it will be added to your family group automatically.
Check your payment method
Before you begin, make sure that you're using a credit card, debit card, Alipay, or UnionPay as your payment method. You can check your payment method from your Apple ID account page or in iTunes.
To comply with child online privacy protection laws, you will use the CVV, verification code sent via SMS, or security code from your payment method as part of providing your parental consent. If you have a different payment method on file, you’ll be asked to change it to a credit card, debit card, or Union Pay before you can continue.
After you create the child's Apple ID, you can change back to a different payment method.
Create an Apple ID for your child
Use the steps below to create an Apple ID for your child, then add them to your family group. After you add your child to your family group, they will have their own Apple ID that they can use on any Apple device. Your email address will be the rescue email address for your child’s account, and you can use it with the security questions you provided to reset a forgotten password.
iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iOS 8 or later
- Go to Settings > iCloud > Family, and tap Create an Apple ID for a child.
- Enter your child's birthday and tap Next. Be sure to enter the correct date.
- Review the Parent Privacy Disclosure and tap Agree.
- Enter the requested information for your payment method and tap Next. If you don't have a payment method on file, you need to add one.
- Enter your child's name, tap Next, then create their Apple ID (username@icloud.com) and tap Next.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to set a password, choose security questions, and set up your child's account. Choose passwords and security questions that you both can remember.
Mac with OS X Yosemite or later
- Go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud > Manage Family and click the add button (+).
- Select Create an Apple ID for a child who doesn't have an account and click Continue.
- Enter your child's birthday. Be sure to enter the correct date.
- Enter your child's Apple ID (username@icloud.com), first and last name, and password, then click Continue.
- Enter the requested information for your payment method and click Agree. If you don't have a payment method on file, you need to add one.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to set a password, choose security questions, and set up your child's account. Choose passwords and security questions that you both can remember. You'll get an email confirmation after you create the Apple ID.
Manage your child's account
Children enjoy the same Family Sharing features as other family members and, by default, can access the same music, movies, TV shows, books, and apps. You can limit what content your child can access on the devices they use by setting Restrictions on an iOS device or Parental Controls on OS X and iTunes. Ask to Buy is enabled by default for children under 13.* If you don't want to use Ask to Buy, you can turn it off:
- On your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, go to Settings > iCloud > Family, and tap the child's name.
- On your Mac, go to Apple menu > System Preferences > iCloud > Manage Family, then click the child’s name.
If you turn off Ask to Buy, the child will be able to initiate purchases that will be billed to your payment method without prior notification.
Your child must remain part of your family group until they turn 13.* However, if necessary, you can transfer a child to a different family group.
*Age varies by country or region.
FaceTime isn't available in all countries or regions.