Two people sharing an Apple ID - Please help

[Gooner26]

Hi,

I?m just after some advice, tips, hints etc for those of you sharing an Apple ID. I have an iPhone 5 and the wife is looking at getting one next week. Before we set it all up I just wondered if you guys could chip with some pointers to avoid getting in a mess.

I would want to be able to us FaceTime with each other. Is this possible. Also on a side note I am thinking of getting the iPad mini to share.


Thanks in advance

 

[Just_Me_D]

I suggest doing this: Use one Apple ID for "purchases" and then use separate Apple IDs for everything else. By doing so, you both can keep track of what is purchased and can use the purchased & downloaded items, be it music, video, apps & games without having to purchase them twice. In regard to having your own Apple ID for everything else (meaning that with the exception of signing in to the iTunes & App Store with the one Apple ID, you sign in to iCloud, iMessage & FaceTime with your own) you will be able to have your own email stuff and be able to communicate with each other and with others without having your information getting mixed up or having her stuff appear on your device and vice versa. In summary, have 1 Apple ID for purchases between the two of you then each of you use a separate Apple ID for the other stuff like iCloud, FaceTime & iMessages. I hope that made sense.

FYI: You do NOT have to have the same Apple ID for purchases if you don't want to. Many people just find that it is easier on the wallet if you do.

 

[Gooner26]

Like that idea. How would this work with iTunes on our shared laptop?
At the minute I like to back up and sync music, games/apps, videos and pictures etc. Its unlikely she will want to do this, but if she did is this possible with two separate phones and one pc?

 

[Just_Me_D]

(snipped)

I would want to be able to us FaceTime with each other. Is this possible. Also on a side note I am thinking of getting the iPad mini to share.
Thanks in advance

Using the method I stated in my initial reply, you will be able to FaceTime & iMessage each other with ease. As for the iPad Mini, configure it the same. Use the shared Apple ID for purchases and then use your or your wife's separate Apple ID (depending on whose Mini it will be) for iCloud, FaceTime & iMessages.

 

[Fausty82]

Like that idea. How would this work with iTunes on our shared laptop?
At the minute I like to back up and sync music, games/apps, videos and pictures etc. Its unlikely she will want to do this, but if she did is this possible with two separate phones and one pc?

That won?t be a problem. Regardless of which or how many Apple IDs you use, iTunes makes backups related to the device and NOT the iTunes account/login/ID. So you can use the same Apple ID to purchase apps/media on multiple devices without worrying about the backup issue. The limit for number of devices to share the iTunes account is a total of 10 combined devices/computers can share a single iTunes account for purchasing/sharing apps/media.

 

[ckillam3]

Thank you for this discussion as it was one my wife and I had when purchasing our iPhones. We ended up using separate Apple IDs. However, we share the same eaddress with aliases. We share contacts and calendars easily enough.
I wish Apple would develop a way to combine members of a family or couple into one contact. Since they share an address and possibly an anniversary date this would great. How do you all handle this multiplication of data?

 

[Just_Me_D]

Thank you for this discussion as it was one my wife and I had when purchasing our iPhones.

You're very welcome.

We ended up using separate Apple IDs. However, we share the same eaddress with aliases. We share contacts and calendars easily enough.
I wish Apple would develop a way to combine members of a family or couple into one contact. Since they share an address and possibly an anniversary date this would great. How do you all handle this multiplication of data?

It is just easier to share one Apple ID for purchases among your immediately family members because of the money saved by not having to purchase apps, games, music, etc., separately. Giving separate IDs for everything else provide a certain level of privacy especially in regard to text messages. I don't share any calendars and such with my wife, but I do send calendar invites to her.

 

[Fausty82]

It is just easier to share one Apple ID for purchases among your immediately family members because of the money saved by not having to purchase apps, games, music, etc., separately. Giving separate IDs for everything else provide a certain level of privacy especially in regard to text messages. I don't share any calendars and such with my wife, but I do send calendar invites to her.

In my humble opinion and in my experience, this is the only way to go. As far as calendars go, we have about 8 different calendars for different types of events (my work, wife's work, family, medical, bill payment schedules, etc), and we add each calendar to our personal devices as necessary. Currently neither of us have the other's work calendar on our phones, but we could very easily add them if the need arises. We share all contacts - it’s just easier... but you could just choose not to share contacts and keep your own on your device.

It just works.

 

[bunjy]

I use one Apple ID for all iTunes purchases for my all the devices, but each of us has our own iCloud IDs. We perform backups of each of our devices separately, but are able to share purchased content. I haven't had a problem with this yet.

 

[androidluvr2]

I don't share any calendars and such with my wife

Why do you need to hide your calendar from your wife?

 

[Just_Me_D]

Why do you need to hide your calendar from your wife?

Huh? I don't 'hide' my calendar from my wife. We simply don't 'share' a calendar between our devices. She maintains her own and I maintain mine.

 

[Fausty82]

Why do you need to hide your calendar from your wife?

I know that D can speak for himself... but he never said that he needed to hide anything. He simply said that he doesn’t share calendars with his wife. Why try to stir a pot that clearly doesn’t need stirring?

 

[androidluvr2]

Huh? I don't 'hide' my calendar from my wife. We simply don't 'share' a calendar between our devices. She maintains her own and I maintain mine.

ok, it wasn't as clearly stated before.

Also, when someone quotes me in a post on Android forum, I see a notification. On this forum, I don't so unless I remember that I responded to a post, I won't think to check back.

 

[Just_Me_D]

ok, it wasn't as clearly stated before.

Also, when someone quotes me in a post on Android forum, I see a notification. On this forum, I don't so unless I remember that I responded to a post, I won't think to check back.

No harm done...

 

[projectman]

I suggest doing this: Use one Apple ID for "purchases" and then use separate Apple IDs for everything else. By doing so, you both can keep track of what is purchased and can use the purchased & downloaded items, be it music, video, apps & games without having to purchase them twice. In regard to having your own Apple ID for everything else (meaning that with the exception of signing in to the iTunes & App Store with the one Apple ID, you sign in to iCloud, iMessage & FaceTime with your own) you will be able to have your own email stuff and be able to communicate with each other and with others without having your information getting mixed up or having her stuff appear on your device and vice versa. In summary, have 1 Apple ID for purchases between the two of you then each of you use a separate Apple ID for the other stuff like iCloud, FaceTime & iMessages. I hope that made sense.

FYI: You do NOT have to have the same Apple ID for purchases if you don't want to. Many people just find that it is easier on the wallet if you do.

This seems like a useful method. However, I did not have the benefit of this wisdom when my family broke into the Apple universe so we did it differently. We each have our own Apple IDs but it all gets synced to iTunes where all the apps on every family device is available for anyone else to use on their device. Paid apps are available to all in the family and we buy it only once. Not as slick as "D" has done but works just fine.