How to set up a new Google family account

Apps are getting smoother at handling group interactions all the time. Services like Spotify, the Steam game library, and even the different user accounts on desktop operating systems have served to manage family accounts for ages now, so it makes sense for Google to unify and organize all these digital ties in a clearer way. The answer to this need is Google family groups, a new system through which you can associate up to five people with your own account so you can more easily share content over Keep, YouTube, Photos, and all the media services that revolve around Google Play.

To start a group, go to the URL https://families.google.com/families and add all the members of your group. Each person has to accept the invitation to participate. From then on you can start sharing content using the built-in options on Google’s various services:

• On Google Calendar you’ll have a new layer called “Family” that automatically updates when any family member adds new events.
• On Google Keep you can create new notes or edit existing ones and share them with the family group.
• In Google Photos you can share any photo, video, or gallery with your family group just as you would with an individual contact.

But you can go even further. If you go to your Account in Google Play, you can set up a family group over this marketplace, unifying the payment method for all family members, sharing purchases and app downloads as well as Play Videos, publications from Play Book, and tracks from Play Music.

You can withdraw from a family group at any time, though to expel someone a year must have passed since he or she was added, so take care when selecting whom to include. In addition, you can only belong to one family group at the same time.