Sharing control of your home 

Invite people to control your home, edit their permissions or grant them permission to control your home from any location. You can do all of this through the Home app.



Before you begin

Inviting others to control your HomeKit accessories: 

  • You and the people you have invited need an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that has the most recent version of iOS, or a Mac that has the most recent version of macOS. 
  • You and the people you invite must be signed in to iCloud on an iOS device or Mac and must enable ‘Home’ in the iCloud settings. 
  • You must configure a HomePod, Apple TV or iPad as a home hub if you want to invite people to control your home when you are not home. With a configured home hub, you can also edit the permissions for these people.* If you did not configure a home hub, you can only invite others if you are home and connected to your WiFi network. See our FAQ section to find out how to configure a home hub.


* HomePod and Apple TV are not available in all countries and regions.


Inviting someone to control your home 

Follow these steps for your device:



On an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch 

  1. Open the Home app and tap the  in the upper left corner. If you have set up multiple homes in the Home app, tap ‘Home Settings’ and then tap the home that you want to invite someone to.
  2. Tap ‘Invite’ under ‘People’. 
  3. Enter the person’s Apple ID that they use with iCloud. 
  4. Tap ‘Send Invite’.


On a Mac 

  1. Open the Home app
  2. In the menu bar, go to ‘Edit’ > ‘Edit Home’. If you have set up multiple homes in the Home app, click on ‘Homes’ in the upper left corner, then click on the home that you want to invite someone to. 
  3. Tap on ‘Invite’ under ‘People’. 
  4. Enter the person’s Apple ID that they use with iCloud. 
  5. Tap on ‘Send Invite’.



Accepting an invitation to control a home 

When someone sends you an invitation to control their home, you will get a notification in the Home app on your iOS device or Mac. Follow the steps below to accept the invitation.



On an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch 

  • Open the Home app and tap the  .
  • Tap ‘Home Settings’. 
  • Tap ‘Accept’ and then ‘Done’.


After you accept the invitation, tap theicon, then tap the name of the home to control it.

 

On a Mac

  • Open the Home app and click on the  in the toolbar.
  • Click on ‘1 Invitation’. 
  • Click on ‘Accept’ and then on ‘Done’.


After you accept the invitation, click on the  in the toolbar. Then click on the name of the home to control it.


Allowing remote access and editing permissions for users 

If you configure a home hub, you can manage remote access and edit permissions for people that you invite to control your home. If you have not configured a home hub, others can only control your accessories while they are at your home, connected to your home WiFi network and within range of your HomeKit accessories. To edit remote access and permissions for a user, open the Home app on your iOS device or Mac and follow the steps below:


On an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch 

  1. Tap the. If you have set up multiple homes in the Home app, tap ‘Home Settings’ and then tap a home.
  2. Under ‘People’, tap the person for whom you want to edit permissions; then choose the following:
    • ‘Control Accessories Remotely’: if you enable this, users can control your accessories from any location. Disable this to allow users to only control your accessories while they are at your home. 
    • ‘Add and Edit Accessories’: Enable this to allow users to add and remove accessories, scenes, automations, and other users.* 
  3. Tap ‘Back’, then tap ‘Done’.


On a Mac 

  1. In the menu bar, go to ‘Edit’ > ‘Edit Home’. If you have set up multiple homes in the Home app, click on ‘Homes’ in the upper left and then click on a home. 
  2. Under ‘People’, click on the person for whom you want to edit permissions, then choose the following: 
    • ‘Control Accessories Remotely’: if you enable this, users can control your accessories from any location. Disable this to allow users to only control your accessories while they are at your home. 
    • ‘Add and Edit Accessories’: Enable this to allow users to add and remove accessories, scenes, automations, and other users.*
  3. Click on ‘Back’, then click on ‘Done’.


* Shared users cannot add a HomePod, Apple TV or smart TVs or speakers that are compatible with AirPlay 2 to the Home app. You can only add these devices if you are the owner of the home in the Home app.


Removing a person or leaving a home 

To stop sharing your home with someone: 


On an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch:

  • Tap theicon.
  • If you have set up multiple homes in the Home app, tap ‘Home Settings’ and then tap a home. 
  • Under ‘People’, tap the user, then tap ‘Remove Person’.


On a Mac:

  • Go to ‘Edit’ > ‘Edit Home’. 
  • If you have set up multiple homes in the Home app, click on ‘Homes’ in the upper left and then click on a home. 
  • Under ‘People’, click on the user, then click on ‘Remove Person’.

Leaving a home you were invited to share


On an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch:

  • Tap theicon
  • Tap ‘Home Settings’ 
  • Tap the home that you want to leave
  • Scroll down and tap ‘Leave Home’


On a Mac:

  • Go to ‘Edit’ > ‘Edit Home’. 
  • Then click on ‘Homes’ in the upper left. 
  • Click on the home that you want to leave, 
  • Scroll down and click on ‘Leave Home’.