You can implement your own multi-account subscription system without using Family Sharing. It’s a bit more work, but apps like Spotify, Canal+, or L’Équipe manage it in-house.
In short, here’s what needs to be done:
Implement multiple subscription tiers that give access to one or several members:
Solo plan (1 access)
Duo plan (2 accesses)
Family plan (4 or 5 accesses)
The user buys the plan that fits their needs (or upgrades to a higher plan if needed).
The person who purchases the subscription becomes the subscription holder.
If it’s a child making the purchase on the App Store, iOS’s native Ask to Buy system will kick in (the parent must confirm the purchase on their own phone).Implement an invitation system allowing the subscription holder to invite other household members:
The holder can enter the email addresses of the household members.
An email is then sent to them with an activation link: “You are invited to join the app”.
When the recipient clicks the link, they must sign in or sign up on your app.
Once that’s done, if there are licenses left on the subscription, you assign one to the user by linking their user ID with the subscription holder’s subscription ID (using the
purchasely_subscription_idfrom the webhook) and you decrement the number of available licenses.When the subscription renews (webhook event), you extend access for all household members. If it is interrupted, you remove their access. In case of a downgrade (e.g. from 4 accounts to 2), you revoke access for the most recently added members.
When an invited member accesses the app, your backend verifies whether they have access to the premium content/services.
Keep in mind that:
Note 1: You also need to implement a household member management system so the holder can revoke members if necessary. When the holder removes a household member, you delete the link between the corresponding user IDs (the invitee) and the subscription.
Note 2: You could also ask users to associate accounts at the time of purchase, but that makes the flow more complex (lower conversion) and doesn’t handle cases where the buyer enters the wrong email and needs to revoke and resend the invitation. So we don’t recommend it.