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Every Family Member Needs Their Own Apple Account

Apple Accounts are personal and shouldn’t be shared. For secure family device management, every family member should have their own Apple Account. Sharing Apple Accounts can compromise privacy and personal data. With Apple Family Sharing, families can share purchases, subscriptions, apps, and media while keeping personal information like emails, messages, and passwords private. Using individual Apple Accounts with Family Sharing ensures safe, organized, and seamless Apple device use for everyone in the family..

A shared account should not be confused with a family member using their Apple Account across multiple devices exclusively for themselves, such as an iPhone, iPad, and Mac. In fact, this practice is highly beneficial. However, it’s important to avoid using the same Apple Account between devices belonging to different family members.

Why Sharing an Apple Account Among Family Members Causes Problems

When family members share an Apple (iCloud) Account it can create a range of issues, including:

• Synced Data Confusion: All devices will share contacts, photos, messages, calendar events, music, Apple store, Books and iTunes purchases. podcasts, call history, and fitness and health details, leading to clutter and confusion.
• Privacy Concerns: Personal messages and photos might appear on the other family member devices.
• Device Management Challenges: Managing settings, apps, and backups becomes complicated when multiple devices share the same Apple Account.

To maintain privacy, organization, and smooth device operation, each family member should use their own Apple Account.

How to Separate Apple Accounts on iPhone and iPad

To create individual Apple Accounts, all family members – except the shared Apple Account owner – should sign out of the shared account on all of their devices and choose to keep their local data. Each person can then create a new Apple Account and sign in with it. Afterward, Apple Family Sharing can be set up to safely share purchases, apps, and content from the original account while keeping personal data, calls, messages, and device settings separate.

Back Up Your Data

Before making any changes, it is essential that all family members back up their data to ensure nothing gets lost during the separation process.

1. Open the Settings app and tap [Your Name]. 
2. Tap iCloud, then tap iCloud Backup.
3. Toggle on iCloud Backup and tap Back Up Now.

Apple Watch Data Backup: Your Apple Watch data is automatically backed up to the iPhone it’s paired with. As long as your iPhone and Apple Watch are near each other, backups happen automatically, so you don’t need to take any extra steps to keep your watch data safe.

Sign Out of the Shared iCloud Account

All family members – except the shared Apple Account owner – must sign out of it on all of their devices.

1. Open the Settings app and tap [Your Name].
2. Scroll down to the bottom and tap Sign Out.
3. If prompted, enter your Apple Account password;
4. Tap Turn off, in upper right corner.
5. Toggle on all data items to keep a copy on your device.
6. Tap Sign Out, in the upper right corner.
7. Tap Sign Out again to confirm that you want to sign out of iCloud.

Sign Out of iCloud on All Your Apple Devices: Learn how to sign out on your Apple Vision Pro, Mac, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and even iCloud for Windows here to ensure your Apple Account separation is complete and secure.

What Happens When You Sign Out of iCloud: When you sign out of iCloud, you’re automatically signed out of the App Store, iMessage, and FaceTime. Your device is also removed from your Apple Account and unlinked from iCloud, ensuring your account and data are no longer connected to that device.

Create a New Apple Account

Each family member should now create their own Apple Account.

Creating a Child’s Apple Account: A parent must create their own Apple Account first, as it’s required to set up an Apple Account for a child under 13. The child’s account is created under the parent’s Apple Account after Family Sharing is set up, giving the parent control to set restrictions and monitor the child’s activity for safety and privacy.

1. Open the Settings app and tap Apple Account.
2. Tap Don’t have an Apple Account.
3. Enter your First Name, Last Name and Birthday, then tap Continue.
4. Enter your email address.
5. Toggle on or off whether you want to receive announcements from Apple and tap Continue.
6. Enter and verify your email address password and tap Continue.
7. Verify that your phone number is the one that will be used to verify your identity and tap Continue.
8. Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
9. When prompted, enter the device passcode.

You will now be signed into your new personal Apple Account. Your name and Apple Account will appear at the top of the main Settings screen.

Pro Tip: If a family member doesn’t have an iPhone or iPad, learn how to create an Apple Account on a Mac, Vision Pro, Windows PC or on the Web here.

Transfer Data to the New Apple Account

If you chose to keep a copy of all data when signing out of the shared Apple Account, that data will remain on your device even after you sign in with your new personal Apple Account.

Review and Clean Up Your Device Data: The data you kept on your device includes everything from the shared Apple Account, some of which you may no longer need. Now is a good time to delete unwanted Contacts, Calendar events, Health data, Keychain passwords, Safari bookmarks, Wallet passes and tickets, photos, and more to keep your device organized and secure.

Recovering Data After Switching Apple Accounts: If a family member notices missing data after signing in with their new Apple Account, they can still retrieve it from the shared account owner using methods like AirDrop, email, or exporting the data.

How to Set Up a Family Sharing Group on iPhone and iPad

Because all downloaded content is tied to the original shared Apple Account, family members creating new Apple Accounts have two options: repurchase the content or use Apple Family Sharing. Once each family member has their own Apple Account, set up Family Sharing to share apps, music, subscriptions, and other purchases. This approach keeps personal data, apps, and media separate while still allowing family members to share the content they want.

Set Up Family Sharing

The shared account owner is the family organizer that sets up Family Sharing and can invite up to five family members to join.

1. Open the Settings app and then tap [Your Name].
2. Tap Family, then tap Continue.

Invite People to Join Your Family Sharing Group

The family organizer can easily invite family members who have an Apple Account.

1. Tap the Add Member icon, in the upper-right corner.
2. Tap the Invite button from the suggested list of contacts or scroll down and tap Invite Others.
3. Choose to invite the family member by AirDrop, text or email.
4. After invitations are sent, tap Done.

Check Status of a Family Sharing Invitation

After sending a Family Sharing invitation, you can view its status by tapping the family member’s name.

Join a Family Sharing Group on iPhone and iPad

Family members added to the Family Sharing group will receive an invitation to join by email or in a text message. They can respond right from the invitation, or if they miss the email or text invitation, use the steps below to respond from their device. Family members can be a part of only one Family Sharing group at a time.

1. Open the Settings app and then tap [Your Name]
2. Tap Invitations.

To accept an invitation, follow the onscreen instructions. When the family member joins a Family Sharing group, they might be asked to confirm their Apple Account information and to opt in to any features or services that are set up in the Family Sharing group.

If a family member can’t accept the invitation: If a family member can’t accept the invitation, check if someone else joined a Family Sharing group with their Apple Account. Remember, they can only join one Family Sharing group at a time, and they can only switch to a different Family Sharing group once per year.

Set Up Child Account in Family Sharing on an iPhone and iPad

Children under 13 can’t create an Apple Account on their own. But if you’re the Family Sharing organizer or a Family Sharing parent or guardian, you can create an Apple Account for your child on your device. To verify that you’re an adult, you might need a credit card.

1. Open the Settings app and then tap Family, right below your name.
2. Tap the Add Member button, in the upper-right corner.
3. Tap Create Child Account.
4. Add the child’s name and birthday, then tap Continue.
5. Tap Verify You’re an Adult, then verify your identity.
6. Review and agree to the Family Privacy Disclosure and the Terms and Conditions.
7. Enter the Child’s Apple Account email address and tap Continue.
8. Enter and verify the child’s email address password and tap Continue.
9. Choose a phone number to receive verification codes for your child’s Apple Account, then tap Continue. (Your phone number is shown by default).
10. Tap Continue to set up parental controls and Screen Time.
11. Set your desired content restrictions.
12. Next, choose a passcode so only you can make changes to the child’s Apple Account.
13. By default you are able to approve your child’s purchases. If you do not want to approve their purchases, tap Turn off Ask To By, or tap Continue.
14. Tap Share Location to share your child’s location with family members, in the Find My app, or choose Skip.
15. Finally, if desired choose an additional adult or guardian and tap Done when finished.

How to Share Apps and Purchases With Family Sharing on iPhone and iPad.

The Family Sharing organizer is the only member that can turn on purchase sharing for the entire family group. Other members within the group can choose to enable purchase sharing on their device or decline to participate. When the family organizer turns on purchase sharing and other family members in the group also turn on purchase sharing, they get access to each other’s shared content, such as apps, music, movies, and more. The family organizer pays for everyone’s purchases unless they turn off purchase sharing.

Family members can find shared content on the Purchased page in the App Store, iTunes Store, Apple Books, or Apple TV app. In-app purchases aren’t visible on the Purchased page, even if they’re shareable, and some items can’t be shared.

1. Open the Settings app and then tap Family, right below your name.
2. Tap Purchase Sharing.
3. Tap your name, then turn on Share My Purchases and follow the onscreen instructions.
4. To confirm the payment method, tap Purchase Sharing again and check the Shared Payment Method information. This becomes the family organizer’s default payment method.

What Happens Next

• Shared Purchases: Once set up, all family members can access and download apps and other purchases made by other family members without paying again. 
• Payment: Purchases are charged to the family organizer’s payment method, though individual Apple Account balances can also be used first.
• Accessing Shared Apps: Family members can download shared apps by going to the App Store, tapping their profile icon, selecting “Purchased”, and then choosing “Family Purchases” to find and install the apps. 

Important Considerations and Additional Tips for Managing Apple Accounts

• Data Loss: When changing Apple IDs, there can be some data loss. Ensure you keep the data on your device when signing out.  
• iCloud Data: Items synced to iCloud, like photos and contacts, may not be fully transferred if they don’t fit on the device. You might need to share them using photo sharing or other methods.
• Optimize iCloud Storage: Regularly review and delete unnecessary files or upgrade your storage plan.
• Avoid Accidental Syncing: Turn off unwanted sync options in Settings > iCloud for more control over your data.