How to Add to Family Library on Google Play

Lee Stanton August 22, 2022

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How to Add to Family Library on Google Play

If you want to show that you care by sharing that new app/game/TV show/e-book on Google Play with all of your family members, you’re in luck.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add family members to your Family Library. Plus, we’ll show you how to sign up with Google Play Family Library, how to accept an invitation to Family Library, how to access content, and so much more.

How to Add to Family Library on Google Play?

Before adding your family members, there are some rules you need to know:

You can only add members who live in the same country as you.
They need to be at least 13 years old or to fulfill the age requirements of your country.
You can add up to five members to your family group.

Here’s how:

Through mobile/web browser:
1. Go to this link.
2. Select “Invite family member.”
3. Input the email address of the family member you wish to add.
4. Select “Send.”
Through the Play Store app:
1. Access the Play Store app.
2. In the top right corner of the screen, choose your profile icon.
3. Select “Family” from the options.
4. Choose “Family Group.”
5. Tap “Manage Family Members.”
6. Select “Invite family member.”
7. Type the email address or select from contacts and click on “Send.”
Through The Family Link app:
1. If you don’t already own the Family Link app, you can download it here (Important tip: Family Link may not be available in some countries).
2. On your mobile phone or tablet, access Family Link.
3. At the upper left corner, tap “Menu.”
4. Choose “Family group.”
5. Select “Invite family members” and send the invitations.
Through the Google One app:
1. On your mobile phone or tablet, access Google One.
2. Select “Settings.”
3. Choose “Manage family.”
4. Tap “Manage family group.”
5. Select “Invite family members.”
Through the Google Assistant app:
1. If you prefer telling your Google Assistant what to do, you can say “Hey Google, open Assistant settings.” If not, you can access Assistant settings manually.
2. Choose “Settings.”
3. Tap “You.”
4. Choose “Your people.”
5. Select “Add person.”
6. Choose the person you want to add.
7. Turn “Family group” on.
8. Confirm the new contact’s email address.
9. Select “Use this email.”
10. Tap “Save.”

How to Sign Up for Family Library?

You can sign up for Family Library by following these instructions:

Access the Play Store app.
In the upper left corner, select “Menu.”
Choose “Account” from the menu.
Select “Family” from the options.
Tap the “Sign up” now button.
Select “Sign up.”
On the “Bring your family together” page, select “Continue.”
If you aren’t part of a family group, you will have to create one first.
On the “Set up family services on Google Play” page, select “Continue.”
On the “Set up a family payment method” page, tap Set up.
Choose a preferred credit card or input new card information and tap Accept.

Now that you have signed up for Family Library, it’s time to get started and add content and family members to it.

Here’s how you can do that:

After you completed your card information, select “Continue” to start adding content to Family Library.
On the “Add things to Family Library” page, you will be able to add previously purchased items if they are eligible. Tap “Continue” to do that.
On the “Adding purchased items” page, you will be able to select whether you’d like to add all eligible purchases right away, or if you’d like to do so later.
Select your preferred method.
Select “Continue.”
On the “Invite your family” page, tap “Continue.”
Before inviting new members to Family Library, you will have to input the card verification code for the desired credit card.
Select “Verify.”
Now you can add recipients from your contacts list.
You can select “Add recipients” located on the top of the page to search for specific members you would like to add, or you can enter a Gmail address.
When you are ready to send the invitations to your preferred members, select “Send.”
To finish the process, select “Got it.”

Once the recipients accept your invitations, you will be able to have fun using your favorite content together.

How to Accept a Google Play Family Library Invitation?

When you receive an invitation to join a Family Library, it will come in the form of an email.

Here’s what you need to do next:

Access Gmail on your device.
Open the invitation email and choose the button “Accept.”
This will redirect you to Chrome.
Tap “Get started.”
Log in to your Google account and you will be redirected to the Google Play Store.
Tap “Use account” to confirm that is the account you’d like to join Family Library with.
Select “Join.”
Select “Continue” to add eligible purchases right away, or add them another time one by one, then choose “Continue” again.
Select “Got it.”

All done! You are now part of Family Library.

You might want to know what information family members can see about one another:

Family members can see each other’s photos, names, and email addresses.
They will be able to see content added to Family Library.
Since your family manager is responsible for the family payment method, they will receive receipts for every purchase made using the family payment method.
If your family has a shared Google One membership, they will be able to see how much shared storage you’ve used. However, they won’t be able to see the exact files on your Google One account.

Here are the requirements needed to join Family Library:

You have to have your own Google account. You can’t join Family Library using your Google account from work, school, or any other organization.
You have to live in the same country as the family manager.
You must not have switched family groups in the last 12 months.
You are not part of another Family Library.
You are not a current Google One member. However, you will be able to purchase a Google One plan after you become a member of the Family Library.

How to Access Content From Your Google Play Family Library?

Just follow these steps:

Access Google Play Store on your device.
Select “Menu” in the upper left corner.
In the dropdown, you will see categories, such as My apps and games, movies and TV, Music, Books, and Newsstand. Choose the one you wish to access.
Once you’ve accessed your preferred category, tap the “Family Library” tab.
You will see a list of content available to the whole family group in your chosen category.

Additional FAQs

How Do I Add Content to Family Library?

· Apps and games:

1. Access the Play Store app on your device.

2. Tap “Menu” in the upper left corner.

3. Select “Apps and games.”

4. Tap “Installed.”

5. Choose a game or app that you would like to add.

6. On the preferred game/app’s details page, turn on “Family Library.”

7. If you’d like to remove content, tap to turn off “Family Library.”

· Movies and TV shows:

1. Open the Google TV app (previously called Movies and TV) on your device.

2. Select “Library” at the bottom.

3. Look for the purchased content you wish to add in the “Movies” or “TV shows” tabs.

4. On the details page of the content you want to add, tap to turn on “Family Library.”

5. If you wish to remove content, simply turn off “Family Library” on the details page.

Important Tip: When you add TV shows from the Google TV app, you are adding all episodes of the preferred show. If you have purchased some episodes or seasons separately, you can add them to Family Library by:

1. Searching for the preferred content in the Play Store app, and

2. Adding it to Family Library from the show’s details page.

· Books:

1. Access the Play Books app on your device.

2. Select “Library” at the bottom.

3. Search for the content you wish to add.

4. Next to the preferred e-book or audiobook title, select More.

5. Tap Add to “Family Library.”

6. If you want to remove content, just tap “Remove from Family Library” on the same page.

How Does Google Play Family Library Work?

It’s quite simple:

· Sign up for Google Play Family Library for free.

· Purchase apps, games, movies, TV shows, e-books, or audiobooks.

· Set up a family payment method.

· Add up to five family members to your Family Library.

· Indulge in your purchased content and share it with your members. A single piece of content can be purchased one time and if you share it in your Family Library, all of the members will be able to access it.

How to Use Google Play Family Library?

Here’s how:

1. Access the Play Store app on your device.

2. Select “Menu” in the upper left corner.

3. Choose “Account” from the menu.

4. Select “Family” from the options.

5. Tap the “Sign up” now button.

6. Select “Sign up.”

7. On the “Bring your family together” page, select “Continue”.

8. If you aren’t part of a family group, you will have to create one first.

9. On the “Set up family services on Google Play” page, select “Continue”.

10. On the page “Set up a family payment method”, select “Set up”.

11. Choose your desired credit card or input new card information and select “Accept”.

12. After you completed your card information, select “Continue” to begin adding content to Family Library.

13. On the “Add things to Family Library” page, you will be able to add previously purchased times, only if they are eligible. Choose “Continue” to do that.

14. On the “Adding purchased items” page, you will be able to select whether you’d like to add all eligible purchases right away or add them another time, one by one. Select your desired method.

15. Select “Continue.”

16. On the “Invite your family” page, choose “Continue.”

17. Before inviting new members to Family Library, you will have to input the card verification code for your desired credit card.

18. Select “Verify.”

19. Now you can add recipients from your contacts list.

20. You can select “Add recipients” located on the top of the page to search for specific members you would like to add, or you can enter a Gmail address.

21. When you are ready to send out the invitations, select “Send.”

22. To finish the process, select “Got it.”

How Do I Share Apps on My Family Library?

1. Access the Play Store app on your device.

2. Tap “Menu” in the upper left corner.

3. Select “Apps and games.”

4. Tap “Installed.”

5. Choose an app that you would like to add.

6. On the preferred app’s details page, you can turn on “Family Library.”

7. If you’d like to remove content, tap to turn off “Family Library.”

And that’s it. Enjoy!

Share and Share Alike

Now you have all the knowledge you need to sign up and navigate your way through the Family library successfully. Whenever you watch a great TV show, read an interesting book, or find a new fun game to play, you will be able to share the experience with your loved ones through your Family Library.

You can also share this article with your family members if they need help signing up or navigating through Family Library successfully.

Were you able to sign up and add to your Family Library easily? How did your family members do? Let us know in the comments section below.