(Credit: Amazon)
If you have an Amazon Echo device and want others in your family to use it, you can set up an Amazon Family (formerly named Amazon Household) and add multiple accounts to it. Each family member must have their own Amazon account, but once it's set up, everyone included will have access to the benefits of your Amazon Prime membership.
An Amazon Family can include up to two adults 18 years of age or older, four teenagers 13-17 years old, and four children aged 12 and under. Children can use an Echo through a feature called Amazon Kids. Teenagers can order products online and stream videos, but they won’t have access to your Echo or Alexa through their personal profiles.
Add an Adult to Your Amazon Family
Browse to the Amazon Family website and sign in with your Amazon account. To add someone, click Create your Amazon Family, then enter the full name and email address of the first person you wish to invite. That may be another adult, such as your spouse or significant other. Click Continue, then agree to share payment methods with the other person. You can also skip this step and continue using separate payment methods.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)You can then check or uncheck the items you want to share with the other adult, including games from Prime Gaming, eBooks from Prime Reading and Kindle, and audiobooks from Audible. Click the Send Invitation button to send invite the person to join your Amazon Family.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)The person will receive an email where they'll click Get Prime benefits. That brings them to an Amazon page where they click Accept invitation and continue. They can then set up access to your Amazon Family by agreeing to share their digital wallet and selecting the items they want to share from their library. Your Amazon Family screen will then show them as part of your household.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)Add a Teen to Your Amazon Family
You used to be able to add teenagers to your Amazon Family. But as of April 7, 2025, Amazon retired that option, saying that it’s no longer accepting new teen additions to Amazon Family. Existing teen accounts can continue as a member of an Amazon Family with parental oversight until they turn 18.
Add a Child to Your Amazon Family
You can still add a child to your Amazon Family. To do this, open to your Amazon Family website and click the New button. At the popup window, click Add a child. At the next window, add the child’s first name. Select their date of birth and then choose a profile icon. Click Create.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)You’ll then see the child’s account listed on your Amazon Family page. Click the icon for that account to view it. You can also edit the name or profile picture. From here, you'll now need to set up Amazon Kids to give the child access to a specific Alexa-enabled device.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)To do this, segue the Alexa mobile app. Go to the Devices screen and select the Echo to which you want to add the child. Tap the gear icon in the upper right corner, then tap Amazon Kids under the General section. Turn on the Amazon Kids switch to enable it
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)A screen pops up to explain the feature. Tap Setup Amazon Kids, select the child, and choose Continue. You can also tap Add Child if you need to add another child. Give Amazon permission to collect certain information from the profile, authenticate your Amazon account, and then tap Verify to confirm that you’re an adult.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)Choose I Agree to give parental consent for the child’s account and tap Continue. Amazon explains which recommended settings have been enabled. Tap Continue. The next screen shows you which Echo device can be used by your child. Here, you can add other devices as well. Otherwise, tap Continue and then Continue again. When done, tap Submit.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)After you set up access for the child through Amazon Kids, your Echo automatically switches to their account. That means they can start speaking to Alexa through that particular Echo device. To manage the child's profile settings, open the Amazon Parent Dashboard to view all the interactions the child has with your Echo. Click the gear icon to access settings and modify certain options for the child, such as content, daily time limits, and age filters.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)How to Switch Between Accounts
If you wish to switch between adult accounts, just say to your Echo, "Alexa, switch to [name of adult's] account." Unfortunately, switching from a kid’s account to an adult account isn’t as easy. To switch between child and adult accounts, you're required to open the Alexa app, go to Devices, and select the Echo you want to use. Tap the gear icon, select Amazon Kids, and then disable the feature. After Amazon Kids is disabled, the Echo will revert to the last adult who used the device.
If you ever forget which account is active on a specific Echo device, ask "Alexa, which account is this?" and Alexa will identify the current account.
(Credit: PCMag / Amazon)