The Google Play Store has a rather recent and not too well-known feature that allows you to share your purchases with other people . In practice, one of the members registers his credit card and then, every time he buys an app or a film or a book, he can decide to share it with the members of the family group who can use it for free, without having to pay again.
So if my mother, wife or son want to buy an app and use my credit card, they can do it through the family group making the app available to everyone.
Convenience is a lot especially when you want to install a paid application for free (already bought by us) on the phone of a relative or friend and when you want to share the expense to see a movie, for example.
The activation of the Family account is free and without charges, so it is worth doing it even if you are going to share it with one person.
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You can set up a family account on the Google Play Store from an Android smartphone or tablet or even from a computer by accessing the Google Play account page via the internet.
From the App Play Store on Android, press the button with three lines, go to Accounts and then to Family Group .
The only thing required to start a family group is that a payment method is already set up on the Google Play store.
Whoever starts the group must have registered a credit card and dedicate it to family group purchases.
In the family group settings, you can make sure that purchased apps and games are immediately and automatically shared with the family or added to the group manually.
For Movies it is the same thing, but by default the store is set up for automatic sharing of purchases.
In the section to manage family members, you can invite members, up to 6 accounts.
Every time you go to add a new account to the group you are asked to confirm your credit card with the CVC code.
The addition can be done from the address book or by sending the invitation to an email address.
From the moment the family group has been created, this new option will appear in the main menu, so that you can manage the members and share the purchases.
Regarding the family group of the Google Play Store it is important to note some limitations and conditions.
1) In order to use the Family collection it is necessary to add Google accounts of people we know well, ideally who are relatives.
You can only be in one family group at a time and you cannot participate in two or more groups.
Also, if you leave a family group or the group is canceled, you can only be invited to a new group after a 12 month wait.
In practice, better think about it before you invite and accept invitations.
Pending acceptance invitations may also expire, but there are no side effects and you can always resend the invitation.
2) The automatic addition of purchases to the family group is better to disable it.
3) Not all paid applications can be shared with the family group.
In particular, purchases within the app cannot be shared, not even purchases to unlock Pro functions.
All Google Play movies should be shareable in the family group, while books may not.
In addition, the family group does not work for apps and digital content downloaded for free.
When buying an app thinking that it may also be useful to mom, wife or daughter, always better check that it supports sharing with the family.
To delete the family group, just press the button with three dots at the top, in the Manage family members section.
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