Can a family share an ipad

Whether or not a single iPad can be shared by your family will largely be determined by what you intend to do with it.

Unlike other computers with which you may be familiar, that support multiple user profiles - other than “managed” educational environments, iOS/iPadOS devices (such as iPad) are not intended to be shared between users. An iPad and iPhone are intended to be single-user devices - each User having their own AppleID to use with their own device(s).

The security model upon which iOS/iPadOS is based assumes that only the owner of the device, to whom the AppleID relates, has access to the device. All personal and sensitive information is only exposed to the user who has the device Passcode and/or the associated AppleID credentials. Personal data, such as Passwords (stored in the Keychain) and browsing history, can only be accessed by this single-user.

Should you share your iPad with others, while nothing other than knowledge of the Passcode and AppleID Password prevent you from doing so, all personal and sensitive data is exposed to whoever is able to access the device. Email, Passwords, Calendars, Notes, Files, browsing history etc. will be visible - or may be deleted or changed by anyone.

So, if you do not intend to use your iPad for anything where integrity or security of your data matters to anyone - then yes, you might choose to use a shared device.

If instead you intend to access any private or sensitive information, such as your email and passwords, you might rethink sharing a single device between multiple users.

Most contributors here would council against attempting to share an iPad between Users - as it is only a matter time before data is unintentionally deleted or changed, or private information is seen by someone that shouldn’t see it. Your account passwords will almost certainly be seen by those that shouldn’t have access. In short, expect more trouble than you might initially comprehend.