FAQ on Family accounts
What are Family accounts?
A Family account (formerly Team account) at mailbox enables multiple users to share functions in mailbox. They can then manage and synchronise content like calendars and contacts.
Each member of a Family account can create their own folders, mailboxes, and tasks. The Family account allows these data to be shared and collaboratively edited among the group members.
The user who created the Family account can also act as an Admin who manages the members and grants them access to data. It is possible to combine up to 10 accounts in one Family account.
There is a charge for each individual account within a Family account – both for the administrator and the accounts of the respective members.
Shared storage space
All members of a Family account have shared storage space. The total available storage space is calculated based on the sum of the megabytes of all individual plans booked.
Email storage space
Each member of a Family account has their own email storage space in accordance with the plan they have subscribed to.
Drive storage space
All members of a Family account share a common Drive storage quota (requires the Standard or Premium plan). The total available storage space is calculated as the sum of the megabytes allocated to all individual plans subscribed to.
If the Family account is billed jointly, all members of the Family account share a common Drive storage space. It is not possible to restrict or allocate Drive storage space to individual members.
If the Family account is billed separately, each member can, if required, purchase their own additional storage, which can only be used by that member.
Administrative rights
The user who created the Family account receives a special role as administrator. The administrator can manage the permissions and access rights of family members and reset the password for the account.
Anonymous accounts
If one of the members in the Family account has an anonymous account, i.e., an account without stored personal data, the administrator can take important security measures, such as receiving password reset links. This function is especially useful if a Family account member accidentally loses access to their account.
What do Family accounts cost?
There is a charge for each individual account within a Family account – both for the administrator and the accounts of the respective members.
The total cost of using a Family account depends on the respective plans that the individual members of the account have subscribed to. The Family account administrator pays the cost of their own chosen plan (Standard or Premium).
When new members join the Family account, they are assigned the Standard plan by default. This plan can be changed after a new member has first logged in. The resulting costs can either be covered centrally by the Family account administrator or individually by the respective family members.
There is no free trial month for new members.
Billing of Family accounts
You can choose from two different billing methods for a Family account: joint billing or separate billing.
The administrator can change the billing method at any time in the main account under All settings > Family account > Billing type (see Creating a Family account).
Joint billing
With joint billing, both the Family account administrator and all members can make payments. If no member of the Family account makes a payment before the end of the contract period, all members of the Family account will be deactivated.
Separate billing
With separate billing, each member of the Family account pays only for themselves and receives their own invoices. The administrator of the Family account also pays only for their own account. They can see the costs of family members, but cannot make payments for these accounts.
Family accounts for Business customers
Although the Family account was originally designed for private customers, Business customers can also use it. However, a mailbox Business account offers many advantages that the Family account does not provide, such as:
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Extended support: Business customers receive dedicated support.
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Invoicing and direct debit: Business customers can customize invoices and process payments via direct debit.
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Central admin interface: For business customers, there is an admin interface where accounts for new employees can be created, passwords reset, and many other administrative tasks can be performed.
Business customers with more than ten members in a Family account cannot migrate from a Family account to a Business account.
How is the term calculated for joint billing?
With joint billing, the administrator is responsible for the length of the Family account's term. If another family member joins, the remaining term is divided among all members.
For example, if an account has a term of 12 months and the Family account holder adds a member to the Family account, this period is halved: the term for both accounts is therefore 6 months each. If a third account is added, the term is 4 months each, etc.
mailbox bills exactly by the day: If a second account is added after 10 months, the remaining term for the two accounts is split into one month each. At the end of the term, the accounts are placed in a limited status, which is described in the article My plan period has expired - what now?.
Each member can extend the term for the entire Family account by making a payment under All settings > Contract and payment > Upgrade plan.
Which accounts are shown under "Contract and payment"?
The display of information under All Settings > Contract and payment depends on the plan and the chosen billing method in the Family account:
- With joint billing, the Family account administrator sees the costs for all accounts broken down individually (members and their own account).
- With joint billing, members see the costs for their own account and the total costs for family members (including the Family account administrator).
- With separate billing, the Family account administrator sees the costs for all accounts broken down individually (members and their own account).
- With separate billing, members of the Family account only see the costs for their own account. The costs of other member accounts are not displayed, including those of the Family account administrator.
Can I also link a custom domain for family members?
Regardless of the plan used, each Family account member can use their own email addresses (from their own domains) within the Family account, as described in this article: Using emails with a custom domain
A family member has forgotten their password, what can we do?
Open https://login.mailbox.org/en/passwordrecovery and follow the steps described in the article Forgotten your password. If a family member has saved no contact data and thus no reset method, only the Family account administrator can receive the reset link.
Can I delete a Family account?
Only family members themselves can delete or cancel their own accounts. If a family member does not want to or cannot delete their account, the only option is to move to a new family account – the contract terms can then be transferred by the mailbox Support. Changing to separate billing can also help, because an account is deleted if it is not paid and its contract term has expired. Once the unwanted account has expired and been removed, the billing method can be switched back to joint billing.
Old plans
In older mailbox plans (until 2020), the administrator was solely responsible for paying for the entire Family account. The following applies to these older plans: The costs for the family members' accounts are debited monthly from the administrator's account. If there is no longer sufficient credit on the administrator account, the family members will be placed in limited status in the order in which they were created. You can convert a restricted account back to an active account by making a deposit, see My plan period has expired - what now?.
Further information and support
You can find detailed information about the functions and management of family accounts in the article Creating a Family account.
