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To share Apple Arcade with your family, first set up Family Sharing, then subscribe to Arcade or Apple One if nobody in the group already has access. Each person—including a child—uses their own Apple Account. Set up Ask to Buy and Screen Time separately: subscription sharing does not create a child account or turn on parental controls.
What you need before setting up Apple Arcade
- An adult organizer for a Family Sharing group. Apple allows an organizer and up to five additional family members. Each person uses an individual Apple Account.
- A child’s own Apple Account in the family group. The organizer can create or add a child account and, with the appropriate family role, manage the child’s settings.
- A supported device and a country or region where Apple Arcade is available. Game availability, device compatibility, and some content restrictions can vary.
A new device or controller is not required to configure family access. A controller may be useful with some games, but it does not enable sharing or parental controls. Apple’s Family Sharing overview explains how members use their own accounts.
Set up Family Sharing and share Arcade
1. Create or check your Family Sharing group
On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings and go to Family. Follow the prompts to set up a group if you are not already in one, or invite family members to the existing group. One adult is the organizer; invitees join using their own Apple Accounts. Add or create the child’s account as part of the family group rather than having the child use an adult’s account.
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2. Subscribe if the family does not already have access
On a supported iPhone, open the Apple Games app, tap Arcade, tap the subscription button, and follow the prompts. You may be asked to sign in, confirm billing details, or agree to terms. Apple also describes subscribing from the Arcade tab in the App Store on supported devices. Availability and the exact enrollment flow can vary by device and region. See Apple’s instructions for subscribing to Apple Arcade.
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3. Let family members open Arcade with their own accounts
An Apple Arcade or Apple One subscriber can share Arcade through Family Sharing with up to five additional family members. Members do not need to switch on a separate sharing setting: after the subscription starts, each person can open the Games app while signed in to their own Apple Account to access the shared subscription. Apple describes the benefit as: “Each member uses their own Apple Account, so everyone’s experience is personalized and private.” That is Apple’s description of the service, not a separate privacy assessment. Apple’s sharing and subscription guidance has details.
Turn on Ask to Buy for eligible downloads and purchases
Ask to Buy lets a parent or guardian review eligible download and purchase requests from a child. It is not a limit on total play time and does not control all game content; use Screen Time for those broader rules.
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- On a current iPhone or iPad, open Settings > Family.
- Tap the child’s name, then open Apps & Websites > Restrictions > Ask to Buy.
- Turn on Require Purchase Approval.
These labels and locations may differ by software version. Apple says Ask to Buy age rules and defaults vary by country or region. Review Apple’s Ask to Buy setup and eligibility information for the rules that apply to your family.
Use Screen Time for broader child access controls
Screen Time is where you set broader rules for a child’s device use. Apple lists controls for apps and websites, communication, device-use times, and content and privacy restrictions. Choose the limits that fit your family and set them on the child’s device through the family settings. For Apple’s current instructions, see Set up Screen Time for a family member.
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| Setting | What it manages | Who manages it |
|---|---|---|
| Ask to Buy | Approval of eligible downloads and purchases | Parent or guardian through Family Sharing |
| Screen Time | Broader app and website access, communication, device-use times, and content and privacy restrictions | Parent or guardian managing the child’s device settings |
Both settings depend on the child being set up in the family group, but they serve different purposes. Turning on Ask to Buy does not replace Screen Time, and subscribing to Arcade does not enable either control.
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Confirm the family subscription
On iPhone, review family subscriptions at Settings > Family > Subscriptions. To manage your own Arcade or Apple One subscription, go to Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions, then tap Apple Arcade or Apple One. If Arcade does not appear to be shared, check that the person is in the Family Sharing group and that the subscription is listed. See Apple’s family subscription guidance.
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Allow for subscription changes and keep devices updated
If someone joins a family group that already subscribes, their individual subscription will not renew on its next billing date; they use the family subscription instead. Apple recommends updating family devices so settings can sync. Menu labels may vary with software versions.
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When Arcade access is inactive, downloaded Arcade games cannot be played. Apple says resubscribing may restore access to gameplay data, but data might not be supported if too much time has passed. Availability can also be affected by region, device compatibility, and Screen Time content restrictions. Apple’s Arcade support page covers subscription access and gameplay data.
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