Last year it was shared music through Google Play Music, this year Google is going to start letting family members share app. In an email now hitting developers inboxes Google is telling developers about the new feature called ‘Family Library’, which will let up to 6 family members share app purchases made in the Play Store.
The feature will go live on the 2nd of July according to the Support documents which are being updated now. This is a mandatory thing apparently, with all purchases after the 2nd of July being made eligible and once they are made eligible for Family Library, developers can’t take it back. Developers are also being asked to pre-date this setting for earlier purchases by signing into the Google Play Developer Console and selecting the check box in the Family Library section under Pricing & Distribution.
It’s not quite the Books and Movies that everyone is hoping for, but it’s a very good option to have. We’ll be seeing more about it on the 2nd of July.
Good idea, especially for people with kids where, for instance, I want to install the Hungry Caterpillar on my wife’s phone. What’s the bet it still excludes users of Google Apps though?
i also think it’s great- i actually had to make a family google account to buy apps under to install on the kids’ tablets…