People have agreed to pay $25 million to resolve a class action lawsuit over its Family Sharing feature, which allows users and up to five family members to share access to purchased applications, music, movies, TV series, and books. The case, filed in 2019, claimed that “Apple misrepresented the ability to use its Family Sharing feature to share subscriptions to apps.”
MacRumors was the first to report the news.
According to the complaint, Apple denies making any false misrepresentations and “denies all allegations of wrongdoing.” According to the settlement agreement, “Apple has concluded that continuing to defend this action would be burdensome and costly. “Apple enters into this agreement without admitting or denying any responsibility, liability, or wrongdoing.” 
The tech titan did not reply to a request for comment from Eltrys.
According to court records from the case, Apple marketed Family Sharing as an option for applications that did not support it.
“The vast majority of subscription-based apps, which is a growing percentage of Apple apps, cannot be shared with designated family members,” according to the court filing. “They are only available to the individual user who downloads the app and subscribes.” However, on their home sites, all or almost all of these apps said that they offer family sharing until January 30, 2019.”
According to the complaint, Apple was aware that the subscription-based applications did not enable family sharing, yet nonetheless advertised it on them. According to the court filing, “millions of consumers have downloaded subscription-based apps believing that they are available for family sharing, only to learn after payment has been made that they are not so available.”
Between June 21, 2015, and January 30, 2019, U.S. persons who were registered in a family sharing group with at least one other person and bought a subscription to an app from the App Store may be eligible for a payout. This week, eligible class members will get an email.
Each class member who submits a claim is entitled to $30; however, this amount may vary based on the number of claims filed. However, the amount for each class member will not exceed $50, and $10 million of the settlement will go toward legal expenses.
Members of the eligible class have until March 1, 2024, to make a claim. On April 2, 2024, a final approval hearing is set.
