Apple is Settling a $25 Million Class Action Lawsuit Over Family Sharing

If you participated in Apple's Family Sharing feature and purchased an app subscription through the App Store between 2015 and 2019, you may be eligible for a settlement of up to $50.

MacRumors has reported that Apple is set to pay $25 million to resolve a class action lawsuit that alleges the company misled customers regarding the capabilities of Family Sharing.

Family Sharing allows up to six family members to share app subscriptions, with individual developers having the option to restrict sharing for a single subscription.

The lawsuit, initiated in 2019, claims that Apple lacked transparency on this aspect, creating a misconception that users could share a subscription for every app in the App Store.

According to the lawsuit, the "vast majority of subscription-based apps" did support Family Sharing.

Furthermore, the complaint asserts that Apple placed advertisements on the landing pages of some subscription-based apps that did not support Family Sharing.

This resulted in "millions of customers" downloading subscription-based apps, believing they could access them through their Family Sharing subscription.

Examples cited include YouTube Red and the puzzle game Brainwell.

While Apple denies any wrongdoing, it has opted to settle the case to avoid potential costs associated with a jury trial.