It sounds easy on paper. You started an Apple Family Sharing group years ago when you were the only one with a credit card, but now your partner wants to take over the billing. Or maybe you're moving out and want to pass the torch. You go into Settings, look for a "Make Organizer" button, and... nothing. It isn't there. Honestly, it’s one of the most frustrating quirks of the Apple ecosystem.
Because here is the cold, hard truth: You cannot change the organizer in Family Sharing. Apple’s architecture doesn't allow a simple "transfer of power." The Family Organizer is the structural foundation of the group. They own the "slot," they provide the payment method, and their Apple ID is hard-coded as the anchor. If you want a new person in charge, you have to tear the whole house down and build it again.
The Reality of How to Change Organizer in Family Sharing
Since there isn't a toggle switch, the process is manual. It's tedious. You essentially have to disband the group and start over. To change organizer in family sharing, the current organizer must remove every single member, dissolve the group, and then the new person must invite everyone back.
But wait. There is a massive catch that most people miss until it's too late: Children.
If you have a child under 13 (the age varies by country, but it's usually 13 in the US) in your family group, the system basically locks them in. Apple won't let you just "remove" a child because every child account must be part of a family. You can't leave them in digital limbo. To get them out of your current group so you can change the organizer, you have to "transfer" them to another family group or wait until they age out. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem that stops most people in their tracks.
Dealing With the "Child Account" Roadblock
Let’s say you and your spouse are swapping roles. To successfully move a child to the "new" family group (the one the new organizer will create), you need an invitation from that new group first.
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But you can't join a new group while you're in the old one.
Here is the workaround. The new organizer creates a "temporary" family group. They invite the child from the old group. The current organizer approves the transfer. Once the child is moved, the old organizer can finally disband the original group and join the new one. It’s a digital shell game. It feels like filing taxes.
The Nuclear Option: Disbanding the Group
If you don't have kids under 13, the process is a bit more straightforward, though still annoying.
First, the current organizer goes to Settings > [Your Name] > Family Sharing. They have to tap each member and remove them. One by one. It’s like firing your relatives. Once the group is empty, the organizer stops sharing.
Then, the "new" organizer—the person who actually wants to pay the bills and manage the subs—goes into their own settings and taps Set Up Family Sharing. They send out fresh invites. Everyone has to click "Accept" again.
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What about your purchases? This is where people get nervous. Don't worry. Your apps and movies don't disappear. Because of how Apple handles "Purchase Sharing," as long as the new organizer turns that feature on, the family still has access to the shared library. However, the billing for any new purchases will immediately hit the new organizer’s credit card.
What Happens to Your Data and Subscriptions?
One common fear is losing iCloud Storage data. If you’re sharing a 2TB plan and you disband the group, does your 400GB of photos vanish?
No.
Apple usually gives you a grace period. When the family group dissolves, everyone's storage reverts to the free 5GB tier. Your data stays there, but it stops syncing. Once the new organizer sets up the new family and shares their storage plan, everything hooks back up. It’s a temporary heart attack, but the data is safe.
Subscriptions like Apple Music or Apple TV+ are different. If you have a family subscription tied to the old organizer, it might cancel or require a re-subscription under the new one. If the new organizer already has a solo subscription, they’ll need to upgrade it to the Family Plan to cover everyone else.
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Why Apple Makes This So Hard
You might wonder why Apple doesn't just add a "Transfer Ownership" button. From a security and anti-fraud perspective, the Family Organizer is the "owner" of the legal contract for all purchases made by the group.
If someone’s phone was compromised, a hacker could theoretically "promote" themselves to organizer and go on a shopping spree with the original owner’s credit card. By forcing a total disbandment, Apple ensures that every person in the group explicitly consents to being part of a new financial arrangement. It’s a "safety first, convenience never" approach.
Strategic Steps for a Smooth Transition
If you're ready to pull the trigger and change the organizer, do it in this specific order to avoid glitches:
- Check for "Ask to Buy" requests. Clear out any pending app approvals.
- Update your backups. Just in case. Seriously.
- If you have kids, initiate the transfer first. Use a second Apple ID or have the "new" organizer invite the kids before the old group is deleted.
- Remove adult members.
- The old organizer signs out of Family Sharing.
- The new organizer starts a new group.
- Re-enable Purchase Sharing and iCloud+ Sharing.
Check your subscriptions immediately after. Sometimes Apple Music Family plans need a manual "re-join" to recognize the new hierarchy. Also, if you use Apple Home (HomeKit), the person who set up the "Home" is often the Family Organizer. If you change organizers, you might have to re-invite people to the Home app as well.
It is a lot of clicking. It isn't elegant. But until Apple decides to modernize the Family Sharing architecture, this manual reset is the only way to shift the administrative burden to a new Apple ID.
Next Steps for You
- Identify who will be the new organizer and ensure they have a valid payment method on file.
- If you have children under 13, locate their Apple ID passwords; you'll need them to approve the transfer.
- Confirm that the new organizer has enough iCloud storage or the correct Apple One tier to accommodate the whole family's data once the switch is complete.