Apple has agreed to pay out $25 million to settle a class action lawsuit over its Family Sharing feature. This feature allows users and up to five family members to share access to purchased apps, music, movies, TV shows, and books. The lawsuit, filed in 2019, claimed that “Apple misrepresented the ability to use its Family Sharing feature to share subscriptions to apps.”
According to MacRumors, Apple denies any misleading misrepresentations and “denies all allegations of wrongdoing.”
Despite this, Apple has decided to settle, deeming it burdensome and expensive to continue defending the action. The tech giant did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
Court documents allege that Apple advertised Family Sharing as an option on apps that did not actually support Family Sharing. “The vast majority of subscription-based Apps, which is a growing percentage of Apple Apps, cannot be shared with designated family members,” the court document reads.
The lawsuit claims that Apple was aware of this discrepancy but still advertised Family Sharing on these apps. As a result, “millions of consumers have downloaded subscription-based Apps believing that they are available for Family Sharing, only to learn after payment has been made that they are not so available.”
U.S. residents who were enrolled in a Family Sharing group between June 21, 2015 and January 30, 2019 and purchased a subscription to an app may be eligible for a payment. Eligible class members will receive an email this week with more information.
Each class member that files a claim is eligible to receive $30, but this may vary depending on how many people file claims. However, the payment will not exceed $50 for each class member, and $10 million from the settlement will go toward attorney fees.
Eligible class members have until March 1, 2024 to file a claim, with a final approval hearing scheduled for April 2, 2024. Read More
