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Google now lets you share Play Store purchases with up to six family members

Fun for the whole family.

 

AJ Dellinger

Tech

Posted on Jul 28, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 9:21 am CDT

You might not be able to have a movie night with your whole family, but you can share your favorite media of all types with up to six of your loved ones with Google’s new Family Library for Google Play Store content.

The idea behind the Family Library isn’t new—it’s a concept that has been implemented by services from Spotify to Steam—but the addition of the feature to the Google Play Store offers one of the broadest selections of media for sharing.

Essentially everything that can be found in the Google Play Store can be enjoyed by multiple users through Family Library. Apps, games, movies, TV shows, and books—anything purchased and placed the the Family Library can be accessed across devices or on the web.

The Family Library plan requires a credit card on hand as a family payment method, but individual users can also make purchases on their personal cards and add the content to the shared collection. Not every purchase instantly goes into the library; users are able to separate personal content from the media they’re willing to share.

There are some restrictions worth noting: family members have to be 13 years of age or older and located in the same country as the person who creates the family plan.

The Family Library feature is not to be confused with the Google Play Music family plan, which costs $14.99 a month and allows users to stream from the same music library. The Family Library is free to sign up for and doesn’t apply to music. 

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*First Published: Jul 28, 2016, 3:59 pm CDT