Family Sharing is Apple's answer to 'how do we manage all these devices without losing our minds?' and on paper, it's solid—share subscriptions, set limits, approve purchases, track locations. The money-saving aspect alone is worth it for families deep in the Apple ecosystem.

But here's the thing: it only works when it works. The October 2025 Wired investigation revealed what many parents already knew—sometimes the controls just... stop working. Your kid suddenly has access to apps you blocked, or the time limits don't kick in, or the approval requests never arrive. When you're relying on these tools to keep your 8-year-old from stumbling into inappropriate content, 'mostly reliable' isn't good enough.

Setup is also a special kind of hell, judging by the Reddit threads. And once your kid hits 13, they can start taking control of their own account, which is developmentally appropriate but also terrifying.

Bottom line: Family Sharing is a useful tool in your parenting toolkit, but it's not a substitute for actual supervision and ongoing conversations about digital wellness. Think of it as a seatbelt, not a self-driving car.