Google is finally letting families share paid apps on multiple devices

By Christian de Looper May 18, 2016

This story is part of our complete Google I/O coverage

play store notifications google — Christian de Looper/Digital Trends

To date, family members have all had to buy their own Android apps, despite the fact that on iOS family members can share access to paid apps. That, however, is finally about to change.

Google has begun sending letters to developers notifying them of an upcoming change to Google Play that allows up to six family members to share purchased apps on multiple devices, without having to pay any extra.

As part of the letter, Google has asked developers to allow this feature, called Family Library, for previous purchases. While the company is encouraging developers to allow Family Library for past purchases, it does warn that the feature cannot be reversed. Google will also automatically be turning this feature on for purchases made on and after July 2.

It’s important to note that developers can indeed decide if they want to enable the feature for past purchases.

It’s not yet known exactly how the feature will work on the consumer side of things — for example, we have yet to see how Google will verify different family members. In Apple’s case, there’s one “organizer” of the account, which essentially lets multiple family members make purchases on the App Store to the same credit card. It’s possible that the same concept will apply to Family Library.

The new feature is certainly a welcome one for families with multiple devices. No longer will the kids in the family have to pay to access apps that the parents already have — the feature could also help prevent children from making large purchases without the parents’ knowledge.

Apart from sending letters to developers, Google has also updated its support documentation to include the new feature. The documentation notes that apps do not need to be a part of the “Designed for Families” program to be included in Family Library.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Christian de Looper

Contributor

Christian’s interest in technology began as a child in Australia, when he stumbled upon a computer at a garage sale that he…

Mobile

Google overhauls its Family Link app for easier parental controls

Google Family Link app.

Google's Family Link app has been a great resource for parents looking to keep an eye on what their children are up to with their devices. Now, it's getting even better thanks to an app overhaul that puts the focus on safety and communication. While the Google Family Link app has previously been praised for its solid parental control settings, the redesign adds plenty of new features that make it easier than ever for parents to monitor smart device usage while keeping children informed about the parental control settings in place.

In addition to a design update that sorts the app into three main tabs (Highlights, Controls, and Location), there's also a laundry list of new features coming to Family Link. Since safety is a huge part of what makes the app appealing, features such as notification alerts when a device arrives at a specific destination (like school or a friend's house) and the ability to see an individual device's battery life are new additions that give parents peace of mind when their kids leave the house.

Mobile

The Google Home app finally has the big redesign you’ve been waiting for

Google Home icon on home screen.

A new, major Google Home design overhaul is coming soon to the delight of users everywhere. Many have been unhappy with the Google Home app's UI for quite some time as its streamlined approach to providing information seemingly took some agency away from smart home device owners. The new redesign, however, aims to give users more control over their devices and settings than ever before.

While the redesign certainly retains a more straightforward, minimalist look to its UI elements, the settings themselves are as abundant as ever — giving users full control over every aspect of their smart home. The newfound control doesn't end with more granular settings, however, as the redesign is meant to be fully customizable so that users can prioritize the aspects of smart home living most applicable to them.

Mobile

These 80+ apps could be running adware on your iPhone or Android device

Illustration of an infected iPhone

Cybersecurity company Human has uncovered another adware campaign engaging in ad fraud that is targeting iOS and Android devices. In the simplest terms, ad fraud allows a bad actor to either visibly spam an app with ads, or to manipulate the code in such a way that the ads are invisible to the user while the bad actor extracts advertising money from a marketer.

In each iteration, it’s fraudulent. Ad fraud has been widespread in the industry for a while, and the latest investigation uncovered a cache of over 75 Android apps listed in the Google Play Store and nearly a dozen apps on Apple’s App Store that are engaged in various forms of ad fraud.