Heads Up People: No Need to Use One Apple ID to Share Purchases Among Family

[newagemac]

With the new iCloud, I keep seeing people wondering how they are going to be able to keep sharing purchases among their family members using one Apple ID since the way iCloud works encourages you to have your own.

The problem is, people think to share purchases among their family members they have to use a single Apple ID. That is not true at all.

If you set up Home Sharing in iTunes, you can share purchases among family member computers and devices that are using different Apple IDs. Many people don't understand that although Home Sharing requires you to use a single Apple ID to connect everyone, all of your family members can continue to use their OWN Apple IDs in iTunes and in their iDevices. The Home Sharing account just links up multiple different Apple IDs for you.

Edited to Clarify: Home Sharing among family members with different Apple IDs is NOT limited to just music. You can share purchased apps, books, tv shows, movies, etc. too. Basically anything in your iTunes library. And that includes sharing iOS apps.

[Fernandez21]

Thanks for the heads up, I will try this out tonight!

[maclaptop]

Those of us who can read and have the initiative, agree with you. It's all spelled out at Apple.com.

[spidertaker23]

hmmm iTunes home sharing just streams music throughout your house? I don't think that has anything to do with apps?

The idea behind people like myself that use one apple ID for more then one person in their family is so you don't have to pay multiple times for an app for people in your immediate family.

[newagemac]

Originally Posted by spidertaker23

hmmm iTunes home sharing just streams music throughout your house? I don't think that has anything to do with apps?

The idea behind people like myself that use one apple ID for more then one person in their family is so you don't have to pay multiple times for an app for people in your immediate family.

See, that's the problem. I'm not trying to sound harsh but you are simply wrong. iTunes Home Sharing allows you to share music, apps, books, tv shows, movies, podcasts, and basically everything in your iTunes Library. And yes iOS apps are included.

You can even set it up to automatically sync purchases from family members who of course are using different Apple IDs.

[mrtune]

As I understand it though, home sharing doesn't help those of us who don't live under the same roof.

Last year I moved. I still share apps with my family by utilizing one apple ID. I don't have the option to use home sharing. So I will continue to do it the way I have been doing it.

The reports I been reading today show that we can still setup all the devices with one ID and use a different newly created @me.com account for iCloud services is encouraging for those in my position. I was getting nervous initially that I would no longer be able to share music and apps in order to use iCloud.

[MaxBurn]

Cool, I did not know that.

[iKennett]

Originally Posted by MaxBurn

Cool, I did not know that.

+1

Great to find this out! I'm not sure how it impacts my set-up but will consider!

[newagemac]

Originally Posted by mrtune

As I understand it though, home sharing doesn't help those of us who don't live under the same roof.

Last year I moved. I still share apps with my family by utilizing one apple ID. I don't have the option to use home sharing. So I will continue to do it the way I have been doing it.

The reports I been reading today show that we can still setup all the devices with one ID and use a different newly created @me.com account for iCloud services is encouraging for those in my position. I was getting nervous initially that I would no longer be able to share music and apps in order to use iCloud.

Ok in your situation that makes sense. But actually now that iCloud does not require you to physically sync your device to a computer with an account using your iTunes Apple ID, even a person in your particular situation could probably still make it work.

[xAnthony]

Nice post. I did not know this. I have 3 family members set up on my account, so I'll definitely need to do this once iCloud is officially released.

[newagemac]

Well you all are not alone. It really is amazing how many people simply do not realize this. I bet more people actually don't know this than do.

[geiman]

Originally Posted by spidertaker23

hmmm iTunes home sharing just streams music throughout your house? I don't think that has anything to do with apps?

The idea behind people like myself that use one apple ID for more then one person in their family is so you don't have to pay multiple times for an app for people in your immediate family.

/sigh.... Can't we read? Or is it comprehension that is suffering?

[Ubuntu]

That's great news. Sharing my account with my sisters does have its issues...



Cheers.

[CmdrThor]

Will Home Sharing put all of the purchase history for the Apple IDs participating in each others' iCloud? If not I still think purchasing everything under one ID is the way to go. I don't want to have to manually sync my iPhone to my wife's computer to get access to the music she buys. And if we buy something from my phone, she should be able to download it to her computer without syncing my iPhone.

Now if Home Sharing allowed you to access all the purchase history of everyone, not just the devices currently on the same network, that would be awesome.

[stewart715]

Originally Posted by CmdrThor

Will Home Sharing put all of the purchase history for the Apple IDs participating in each others' iCloud? If not I still think purchasing everything under one ID is the way to go. I don't want to have to manually sync my iPhone to my wife's computer to get access to the music she buys. And if we buy something from my phone, she should be able to download it to her computer without syncing my iPhone.

Now if Home Sharing allowed you to access all the purchase history of everyone, not just the devices currently on the same network, that would be awesome.

This will not work with iCloud. However, the iPhone has a home sharing option, so you would need to manually update your devices via home sharing or Wifi/USB sync.

[wordoflife]

Originally Posted by Ubuntu

That's great news. Sharing my account with my sisters does have its issues...



Cheers.

Hahahahaha

[CosmoPilot]

The problem is Home Sharing is via WiFi at home.

The concern is being able to take full advantage of the Cloud by having access to an app or song from anywhere that my family buys. Will different Apple IDs allow this too?

I know it works with a single Apple ID, because I'm half way around the world right now and just downloaded 5 apps and 15 songs my wife just purchased recently.

I don't want to lose this capability. I.e., I like it!

However, I don't want our bookmarks, pages, keynote, reading lists, etc., shared. Those are more personal. So, can a different Apple ID be used for those features (all those not centered around media content)?

[Panch0]

OK, I went and read the Apple support pages about Home Sharing, but I guess my comprehension is slipping...

What does this really mean to me?

Does it mean that I could have different iTunes Store Accounts ( for my iMac, MBP, iPad and iPhone) for making purchases, but use a single ID on all of them for Home Sharing? If that is the case, and Home Sharing allows me to copy selected items purchased on different accounts into other Libraries, am I still authorized to use the item on both devices?

Say I use AppleID.0 for the Home Sharing account on all of my Devices.

If I buy "True Grit" on my iMac using AppleID.1 and copy it to my Library on my MBP which uses AppleID.2, through Home sharing, is the DRM going to allow me the movie from my MBP? What if I take the MBP on the road so that I'm no longer connected to Home Sharing; am I still allowed to play the movie?

What about an App purchased on my iPhone? Would I be able to use it on my iPad without repurchase?

Does Home Sharing extent to the Mac App Store as well?

[rick98761]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/534.32 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8F190 Safari/6533.18.5)

Its much easier to share an account. With home sharing you will have to use the computer and transfer stuff around. By using one accout you can just jump right on the app store and download the app or music again it you want. Either way works gone though.

[newagemac]

Originally Posted by Panch0

OK, I went and read the Apple support pages about Home Sharing, but I guess my comprehension is slipping...

What does this really mean to me?

Does it mean that I could have different iTunes Store Accounts ( for my iMac, MBP, iPad and iPhone) for making purchases, but use a single ID on all of them for Home Sharing? If that is the case, and Home Sharing allows me to copy selected items purchased on different accounts into other Libraries, am I still authorized to use the item on both devices?

Say I use AppleID.0 for the Home Sharing account on all of my Devices.

If I buy "True Grit" on my iMac using AppleID.1 and copy it to my Library on my MBP which uses AppleID.2, through Home sharing, is the DRM going to allow me the movie from my MBP? What if I take the MBP on the road so that I'm no longer connected to Home Sharing; am I still allowed to play the movie?

What about an App purchased on my iPhone? Would I be able to use it on my iPad without repurchase?

Does Home Sharing extent to the Mac App Store as well?

Yes to all your questions. But why would you put different Apple IDs on all of your own devices? Home Sharing is really best used to share purchases between other people who of course have different Apple IDs. You really shouldn't be using different Apple IDs for your own purchases. Besides being unnecessary, it reduces your ability to share with others in your family because you are limited to 5 computers being Home Shared together (iDevices don't count).

[MaxDrago]

Originally Posted by Panch0

Does it mean that I could have different iTunes Store Accounts ( for my iMac, MBP, iPad and iPhone) for making purchases, but use a single ID on all of them for Home Sharing? If that is the case, and Home Sharing allows me to copy selected items purchased on different accounts into other Libraries, am I still authorized to use the item on both devices?

Yes, though you are still bound by the limits imposed regarding how many devices can be active for a given AppleID. As in, each device will need to be authorized to play the content. I have no idea how this will work going forward (since computers have been demoted to the level of mobile devices)... It used to be 5 Computers and I believe 20 mobile Devices. I have stuff purchased on 3 different AppleID's, all on multiple machines and devices.

HomeSharing just lets you move items around easily. The Authorization limits still stand, at least for now.

Note: As for using it from remote locations, get a router that supports VPN... HomeSharing can't tell the difference between local and remote when they're connected via VPN (2 VPN capable routers can even act as one network... like many businesses do). Just make sure your bandwidth limit is high enough for all the extra traffic back and forth.

[newagemac]

Originally Posted by CosmoPilot

The problem is Home Sharing is via WiFi at home.

The concern is being able to take full advantage of the Cloud by having access to an app or song from anywhere that my family buys. Will different Apple IDs allow this too?

I know it works with a single Apple ID, because I'm half way around the world right now and just downloaded 5 apps and 15 songs my wife just purchased recently.

I don't want to lose this capability. I.e., I like it!

However, I don't want our bookmarks, pages, keynote, reading lists, etc., shared. Those are more personal. So, can a different Apple ID be used for those features (all those not centered around media content)?

I'm not exactly sure but even that probably isn't a limitation. Remember, Home Sharing can be set up to automatically sync a purchase made by your wife to your own computer. You can even choose for instance that you want music and apps to automatically sync but be able to sync tv shows and books manually. And since iCloud syncs stuff on your computer to the cloud automatically then that means her music and app purchases should be available to you on your iDevice even if you are not at home. You are forgetting that with iOS5, you don't have to physically sync with your computer anymore to get the stuff that's on it.

However, I actually wouldn't want to do this. I don't want my wife's stuff cluttering up my purchase history because we have different tastes. Having your own Apple ID gives you the option though that sharing an Apple ID does not.

[f00f]

We've been touching on these topics over here for the past couple days, just FYI.

[Rollzlx]

So does this basically mean that even your ripped CDs (asumming you're using iTunes match) would be sent to your family's devices, if they are on your home share network?

[drgreenberg]

Originally Posted by CosmoPilot

The problem is Home Sharing is via WiFi at home.

The concern is being able to take full advantage of the Cloud by having access to an app or song from anywhere that my family buys. Will different Apple IDs allow this too?

I know it works with a single Apple ID, because I'm half way around the world right now and just downloaded 5 apps and 15 songs my wife just purchased recently.

You've never needed a common Apple ID to do this. My wife and I have separate accounts and share apps all the time. If I want one of the apps she's purchased, I go to Store in Settings, sign out, change to her ID and then download the app. Once it's downloaded, I change back to my own ID. The need for the correct ID applies only to authorize the download, not to use an already downloaded app. The only caveat is that you'll need to learn your spouse's password, both to sign in initially and potentially to authorize any updates of that app (although, if such an update is only one of several and the first one is on your own ID, your phone will typically only ask for your own password and take that as sufficient confirmation of your intent to update the entire list of updates).