Mother Reveals Apple Family Sharing’s Hidden Dangers
▼ Summary
– Apple’s Family Sharing feature can be weaponized by a former partner for controlling and coercive behavior, as reported by a mother with court-ordered custody.
– Family Sharing gives all control to one designated organizer, leaving the other parent unable to withdraw children from the group even with a custody order.
– Apple support staff cannot assist in transferring children to a new family group without the organizer’s consent, citing policy restrictions.
– Victims are advised to create new Apple IDs, but this results in the loss of purchased apps, photos, and videos containing years of memories.
– This issue is not isolated, with multiple similar cases reported, and Apple has declined to comment on the matter.
A mother with legal custody of her children has come forward to expose how Apple’s Family Sharing system can be manipulated by an ex-partner for harmful purposes. Apple support staff were unable to intervene when she reported that her former spouse was using the service to exert control and coercion over their family life.
Family Sharing launched with iOS 8 in 2014, designed to let up to six members share purchases, track devices, and manage a joint calendar and photo album. Each person keeps their own Apple ID, but payments are linked to a single card, and parents can approve their children’s downloads remotely. The service also integrates location tracking through Find My Friends and helps recover lost iPhones.
However, a critical design flaw makes the feature vulnerable to misuse. Family Sharing grants complete authority to just one person, the organizer, while the other parent has no power to remove the children from the group, even with a valid custody order. This imbalance becomes especially dangerous when relationships turn toxic.
One mother, identified as Kate for safety, experienced this firsthand. After her divorce, her ex-husband, the designated organizer, used Family Sharing to monitor the kids’ locations, restrict screen time during her custody days, and demand explanations for their digital activity. He refused to disband the family group, and without his cooperation, Kate could not create a new one for her children. She mistakenly believed her court-ordered custody status would allow Apple to reassign the children to her group, but support agents explained that only the organizer holds that authority.
The typical workaround, creating new Apple IDs, comes at a steep cost. Families would lose not only paid apps and subscriptions but also years of irreplaceable photos and videos. Kate’s situation is not an isolated case. Wired reported that Apple declined to comment on the matter, leaving affected parents with limited recourse against what can become a tool for digital control and harassment.
(Source: 9to5 Mac)
