How to Stop Sharing an Apple ID - Apple Club
How to Stop Sharing an Apple ID - Apple Club

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Sharing an Apple ID with family members, or anyone else, is generally not a good practice. Those sharing an Apple ID will probably receive each other's data, messages, and even phone calls. If you're sharing an Apple ID to allow others to download iTunes content from your account so they don't have to pay for it, this could be considered piracy. If you're sharing an Apple ID with family members, sharing iTunes purchases will be covered in this article, as well as how to entirely create and manage separate Apple IDs.

Creating an Apple ID
Each person can create an Apple ID at https://appleid.apple.com. A walkthrough of each step is available in our article here: Creating an Apple ID.

To enter the new Apple ID on your device(s), do the following:
  • On a Mac
    • Open FaceTime, and in your Mac's menu bar, go to FaceTime > Preferences > Apple ID > Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.
    • Open Messages, and go to Messages > Preferences > Accounts > iMessage, click Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.
    • Open the App Store, and go to Store > Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.
    • Open iTunes. In the sidebar (click here if you don't see it), click iTunes Store. After it loads, click on your old Apple ID's email. Click Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.
    • Open System Preferences and click on the iCloud pane. Click "Sign Out" on the left hand side. Sign in with the new ID.
  • On an iOS device
    • Go to Settings > FaceTime > Apple ID > Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.
    • Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive > Apple ID > Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.
    • Go to Settings > iCloud > Delete Account (it just deletes it from the device; newer iOS versions have a "Sign Out" button instead). If you enabled Find my iPhone, you will need to enter the password for the old Apple ID. Then sign in with the new ID.
    • Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store > Apple ID > Sign Out. Sign in with the new ID.

Sharing Content
If your devices are running iOS 8.0 or later, you can use Family Sharing to share content among family members' Apple IDs. Family Sharing allows you to have a shared calendar; see each others' locations in Find my iPhone, Find my Friends, and the Messages app; share iTunes purchases; and require that children request your approval before being able to buy content. You can learn more about Family Sharing in our article here: Family Sharing in iOS 8 and Later, or Apple's article here: http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201060.

The Family Sharing setup screen in the iCloud menu of Settings

One reason you may have been sharing an Apple ID is if you have a child under 13 and you wanted them to be able to use services on their device which require an Apple ID. Normally, creating an Apple ID requires that the user be at least 13 years old. With Family Sharing, you can create an Apple ID for someone under 13 specifically for Family Sharing. See one of the above articles for more information.

If you were sharing an Apple ID to be able to locate someone else's device with Find my iPhone, you can do the same thing with Find my Friends from Apple using separate Apple IDs. This app works on older iOS versions, too. If you are told that it requires a newer iOS version when you try to download it, see the "workaround" section of our article here: App Store: Downloading Older Versions of Apps.

Forgotten Password
If you forgot the password for the old Apple ID which you were sharing, and are prompted for the password before you can sign out, you can reset the password at http://iforgot.apple.com. If you cannot access the email account associated with the ID, or are unable to provide the authentication that the iForgot website asks for, call Apple's main number (1-800-MY-APPLE), and ask to talk to the account security team.



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