At last! Google Play Family Library lets you share purchased apps, games and movies with others

It's something that Android users have been begging for -- the ability to buy an app once, and share it with members of the family. Until now, one way around the problem was to create a shared family account that could be used to download everything, but now Google has a better solution: Google Play Family Library.

This new feature not only lets you share purchased apps with up to six family members, but also games, movies, TV shows and books. It's something that could save Android-using families a good deal of money, and it's rolling out right now.

To get started, you'll need to sign up for Family Library in Google Play and then you can begin inviting your family members -- although there's little to stop you from inviting friends as well. In the case of non-app purchases, things you buy can also be synced to iOS devices and accessed online.

Raj Iyengar, Product Manager at Google Play explains how the new feature works:

As with most family matters, flexibility and choice is important. With Family Library, you can choose which items you want to share and which to keep to yourself -- for example, I’ll probably keep my collection of comic books in my personal library. Flexibility is also built into your purchasing options. When you sign up, you’ll select a credit card to share as your family payment method, but your family members will always have the option of buying stuff with their personal credit cards or gift cards. And for your younger family members, you’ll have the option to approve each of their purchases.

Google Play Family Library is rolling out to Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States over the next few days. If you don’t see it yet, just be patient a little longer!

In other Google Play news, Google has introduced a number of new categories: Art & Design, Auto & Vehicles, Beauty, Dating, Events, Food & Drink, House & Home, and Parenting. There have also been a couple of name changes: Transportation becomes Maps & Navigation, and Media & Video becomes Video Players & Editors.