My parents won't create another account. How do they join our family board?
Last updated: 2026-08-29
They type a six-digit code. Once you have created the family, Family Magnet generates a six-digit code for each relative; you read it out to them or send it in the family chat, and they type it into their browser. They need no email address, no password, and nothing from an app store. The code is valid for seven days.
Why this is the step where families give up
Almost every family app asks each member to create their own account: enter an email, set a password, wait for a verification code, install the app. For the person who organizes everything that is nothing. For a relative who is not comfortable with phones, any one of those four steps can end the attempt. The real obstacle is never willingness — it is finishing the signup.
A read-only link is not the same as a member
Some tools do let people in without signing up, but what they hand out is a read-only share link: the relative can look, not write. Someone who joins with a six-digit code is a full member — they can post a note, add an event, put something on the shopping list, and react to what others wrote. That is the difference between seeing the board and being on it.
So who does need an account
Only the first person — the one who creates the family — needs an email address, which identifies the account and lets them receive a reset email if they forget their password. That happens once, and it is normally the person who already organizes things for the family. Nobody else ever needs an email address.
How to do it
1. Create the family
Sign up with an email and give your family a name. About a minute.
2. Generate a six-digit code
Generate a code in the app for the relative you want to invite. One code per person; they are not interchangeable.
3. Give them the code
Send it in the family chat, or just read it out on the phone — six digits are easy to hear and easy to hold on to.
4. They type it into a browser
They open homefamilyboard.com, choose “I have an invite code”, type the six digits, and they are on the board.
Where the limits are
The code is valid for seven days; if it expires, generate a new one and send that instead. A code is meant for one specific relative — don't treat it as a public join link. And the first person still needs an email address to create the family; that step cannot be skipped.
Related questions
Do family members have to download an app?
No. The web version opens in any phone or desktop browser, which is also the easiest way to get a relative who isn't comfortable with phones onto the board. Family Magnet's Android app is on Google Play if they want it, but nothing stops working without it.
How long is the six-digit code valid?
Seven days. If it expires, generate a new one and send that instead.
Once they join, can they see everything my family writes?
No. One family can have several boards — one for you and your partner, another for you and your parents — and a note only goes to the boards you pick. The separation between boards is enforced in the database, not just hidden in the interface.
Does joining cost anything?
No. Notes, the calendar, shopping lists and expenses are free, with no limit on how many family members join.
More answers
You can try this now
Creating a board takes about a minute. Then send the six-digit code to your family.
Get started