Apple may owe you money over its Family Sharing plan: Find out if you can file a claim

Apple has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit that alleges the company misrepresented the abilities of its Family Sharing plans when it came to sharing app subscriptions with family members. Apple is settling the lawsuit for $25 million, pending court approval in 2024. Here’s what to know:

What was the lawsuit about?

At the heart of the lawsuit was an Apple feature called Family Sharing. The feature allows a subscriber to share services and content with up to five other family members. Services and content include things like Apple Music, Apple TV Plus, iCloud storage space, iTunes movie purchases, and more. Family Sharing also allows family members to share subscriptions to some third-party apps—and this is where the allegations against Apple lie.

As MacRumors notes, Apple permits developers to opt out of allowing subscriptions to their apps to be shared across family members. The lawsuit alleges Apple misrepresented this fact and thus people subscribed to Family Sharing plans were misled. Apple has admitted to no wrongdoing and instead has agreed to settle the lawsuit instead of having it go to a costly jury trial.

We’ve reached out to Apple for further comment and will update this post if we hear back.

As part of the settlement, Apple has agreed to pay $25 million. Each settlement class member will receive up to $30 in compensation from Apple. However, the final amount may vary based on how many people file a claim.

Who can file a claim?

The settlement website’s FAQ says that consumers who fit the following criteria may file a claim for payment from Apple:

“All persons who initiated the purchase of a subscription to an app through the Apple App Store, excluding subscriptions to first-party Apple apps, during the period between June 21, 2015 and January 30, 2019, while enrolled in a Family Sharing group that had at least one other member at the time of the purchase, and who Apple’s records indicate were resident in the United States at the time of the purchase.”

If you meet the above criteria and want to file a claim, you can do so on the settlement website here. The deadline is March 1, 2024. More information about how to file a claim and your other options if you do not want to file a claim can be found on the settlement’s website.

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