Google Play's about to share its family with yours

Google Play is amping up its efforts to help users share their purchases with friends and/or family, with the introduction of Family Library.

Google Play product manager Raj Iyengar announced the new service in a blog this week. The Family Library will allow up to six members to share Google Play product purchases, ranging from apps, games, movies, TV shows or books. Anything in Google Play is now shareable across devices, with no additional signup fee.

"Today's families have a lot of devices, and it should be easy to share content no matter where we are or what we're doing," Iyengar says.

If people want to watch and share the latest movie release with their family, they can add it to Family Library, where it can be accessed across Android devices, while others can even be viewed via iOS devices and the internet. Family Library also allows selective sharing, so users can choose what to share and what they want to keep private.

To keep family members' spending simple, users can use one credit card as a 'family' payment method, or members can use their own credit card. Purchase approvals can be set up to keep spending in check.

Google has also launched the Google Play Music family plan. The plan is a $14.99 per month subscription service, where up to six family members can stream songs on-demand across Android devices and the web.

Family Library will be launched in New Zealand over the next few days, while the Google Play Music family plan is available today.