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Google Will Let You Share Movies, Apps, and Music You Buy With Up To Six People (cnet.com)

Google reportedly plans to introduce Google Play Family Library plan later this month which will enable users to share their Android apps, games, and media purchases with five different people. The feature, which is similar to Apple's Family Sharing plan, is something that many will find super useful. If nothing, you can split the cost of an app or a music album with your friends. CNET reports:It works like this. Everyone in the group will be able to access every single app, video and book that's available to the [primary] account holder. If you decide to let the kids run wild on your media collection, you can even remove specific titles from the library to keep it more kid-friendly, or hide certain artists you might not want to share with others. You don't have to pay extra to sign up for the Google Play Family Library, but you will need a credit card saved to the account for future purchases. To avoid any financial snafus that might come with multiple account users, Google will send a receipt so there aren't any unpleasant (or expensive) surprises.

7 of 57 comments (clear)

  1. Now you too can make Google's analytics more money by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Voluntarily providing Google even more information about you! Sounds wonderful, where do I sign up?

  2. Re:Split the costs by chill · · Score: 2

    Books and movies can cost quite a bit more than what you're implying.

    --
    Learning HOW to think is more important than learning WHAT to think.
  3. Re:Split the costs by barc0001 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It sounds insane but people actually have problems paying $1 for an app, and will talk endlessly about it to me as they debate the value of buying it to put on their $700 smartphone or $400 tablet while they sip on their $4 latte-macchaito-slushie-whatever. Hell, even I do it from time to time "Is this REAAALLY worth $2? Maybe I'll stick with the free version with ads..." So I would expect anything that lowers the perceived cost will increase sales, even if its people lying to themselves about how it's "cheaper" because everyone in their family can now have a copy of *thing that nobody else in their family wants*.

  4. Re:This is risky by BaronM · · Score: 2

    I know it's poor form to reply to myself, but I can see that, at least for Apple, Family Sharing was an opt-in:

    http://www.macrumors.com/2014/06/04/apple-turns-on-family-sharing/

    Any IOS developers care to comment on whether or not you opted in, and if it had a noticeable effect on sales?

  5. You're not BUYING anything by DickBreath · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It is a RENTAL. Period.

    The only difference is whether it's a short term rental, like 48 hours or somesuch, or a long term rental for a few years until: "we are discontinuing our DRM servers". Or try this: "our licensing with the content provider has changed, and what you bought, you can no longer watch.".

    Unless you can download a DRM free copy that you can play on any of your devices, then you didn't really BUY anything.

    And if you did buy a downloadable DRM free copy, then you already don't have any problem with your immediate household members being able to 'access' the content.

    Will people ever learn. There was Microsoft's "Plays For Sure". Which was then discontinued, and everyone's 'purchased' content became locked to their devices -- which probably don't work any longer. Then there was Zune, and the same fate for all of your 'purchased' content. Certain Disney content on Amazon which people had purchased became unplayable because Disney had new exclusive licensing for some of that content that people had previously purchased. And Amazon has 'disappeared' content from devices before, in one instance because Amazon realized that they didn't have a license to 'sell' it to you in the first place.

    --

    I'll see your senator, and I'll raise you two judges.
  6. Buy? by Holi · · Score: 2

    If you can control what I do with something after I give you money then I didn't buy it.

    --
    Sorry, teleporters just kill you and then make a copy. A perfect, soul-less copy.
  7. Sorely needed by Solandri · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I was helping troubleshoot the tablets my sister had bought for her kids, and noticed that you could access her gmail and text messages from all of them. I asked why she was logged into her Google account on her kids tablets, and she said it was the only way to let the kids use the apps and movies that she'd bought with the account back in the day when all their family had was one Android phone which they gave to keep the (at the time) one kid occupied during car rides.

    It's a huge security hole that's needed to be plugged for a while now. If a kid loses their tablet, whoever finds it potentially has access to all your Google stuff.