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Ambrosia7177

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 6, 2016
2,072
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Hello.

I would like to try out Filmic Pro to shoot video.

Silly question, but...

How do I purchase apps from the App Store? (Have never done this before.)
 
Apple has handy support articles on this topic - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204266

So is there a credit card associated with my AppleID or when I go to purchase the app, do I get a regular e-commerce checkout experience where I enter billing details?

Also, am I stuck with an AppleID for life, or can I get a new one or do things like UN-associate an old email address with an AppleID and associate a new email with an existing AppleID?
 
So is there a credit card associated with my AppleID or when I go to purchase the app, do I get a regular e-commerce checkout experience where I enter billing details?

Also, am I stuck with an AppleID for life, or can I get a new one or do things like UN-associate an old email address with an AppleID and associate a new email with an existing AppleID?

You need to supply a payment type before you do anything:


You can change email addresses but I personally wouldn’t recommend it unless there is a real need (and no, concern/paranoia doesn’t count).
 
UN-associate an old email address with an AppleID and associate a new email with an existing AppleID?
I've done this, it does work. Log in to appleid.apple.com and click on the edit button in the top section and you can change your email address.

You know, you could start the process and never click the actual complete button to see what you get. It would first try to use the already-linked credit card.
 
You need to supply a payment type before you do anything:
This is a common misconception. You do not need to provide a payment type when you sign up for a new Apple ID. I have 7-8 different Apple IDs and only one has a payment method associated with it. At least one of these payment-free accounts I have used frequently for downloading free apps.

You can disassociate payment types as well, change payment methods, etc.

If you want, you can add credit to your account using App Store (iTunes Store) gift cards, the physical kind they sell at supermarkets, drugstores, etc. Pay how you want: cash, check, credit card, debit card, etc.

I occasionally buy discounted (often 15% off) App Store gift cards from online merchants such as eBay. Pay with a 2% cash back credit card and you've effectively saved 16.7%. Then redeem the card on iTunes Store/App Store. When you make a purchase, your account will be debited. Note that this works for app/content subscriptions. I have annual subscriptions to iTunes Match and MLB At Bat that debit this way.

Unsurprisingly, the Microsoft Store also does not require a payment method for registration. In the same way, I bought an XBox Store gift card from the drugstore and redeemed it at the Microsoft Store.
 
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This is a common misconception. You do not need to provide a payment type when you sign up for a new Apple ID. I have 7-8 different Apple IDs and only one has a payment method associated with it. At least one of these payment-less accounts I have used frequently for downloading free apps.

For anything like paying for apps. This last bit never made it on the post for some reason.
 
Great, I wasted my time explaining this.

I hereby bow out of further discussion of this conversation.
 
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I suppose that has changed (again).
When I last set up a new AppleID (about a year ago (?)), choosing a payment method was required for the new account.
After account was set up, I edited the account information to remove the payment method (so there is currently no payment method assigned). Maybe there is a different requirement for different countries...
 
I suppose that has changed (again).
When I last set up a new AppleID (about a year ago (?)), choosing a payment method was required for the new account.
After account was set up, I edited the account information to remove the payment method (so there is currently no payment method assigned). Maybe there is a different requirement for different countries...

I believe the credit card is used for identity check or similar purpose. When I downloaded a free El Capitan installer app with a newly created AppleID, my credit card was charged $1 (but eventually got refunded).
 
I suppose that has changed (again).
When I last set up a new AppleID (about a year ago (?)), choosing a payment method was required for the new account.
After account was set up, I edited the account information to remove the payment method (so there is currently no payment method assigned). Maybe there is a different requirement for different countries...

I begrudgingly signed up for an AppleID maybe 5 years ago - maybe I bought iTunes or wanted a copy of macOS?

At the time, it seemed very INTRUSIVE to me, and it seems like not only did Apple want my credit card details and a Billing Address, but maybe also a Physical Address? (If so, then I lied to Apple...)

The reason for this thread is that I would like to buy Filmic Pro, and some other software like Final Cut Pro X, but the e-mail associated with my AppleID is one that I am trying to phase out.

So being a privacy nut, I wasn't sure if I should try and create a new AppleID, or if I could just change the e-mail to the one that I now use solely for online purchases, or maybe some other approach?

Since Apple has my "Cardholder Name" and "Billing Address", I guess that is all Tim Cook needs to send the dog out to get me, but it never hurts to keep fighting the battle for greater privacy and anonymity...
 
I suggest you edit your existing Apple ID, rather than create a new one as your current ID is associated with your Macs and iPhone. I have two Apple ID’s and I wish I didn’t as I accidentally mixed my iTunes purchases on both accounts. Stick With one ID if you can.
 
fighting the battle for greater privacy and anonymity.
I get it, but there's only so far you can take that while still expecting to get support for a device, product or service you're actually paying for. There are also restrictions put in place by credit cards to help prevent fraudulent transactions on your card(s), if you don't use the information the credit card company is expecting your charge is likely to get rejected.
 
I get it, but there's only so far you can take that while still expecting to get support for a device, product or service you're actually paying for.

Understood.

I came up with the idea about 6 months ago to get an email dedicated to online purchases. It doesn't have my name in it, and it would hard to tie it to me.

Would like to use that for any App Stories purchases, and phase out my dirty AT&T email account, but alas Apple has that email already. Which is why I started this thread...


There are also restrictions put in place by credit cards to help prevent fraudulent transactions on your card(s), if you don't use the information the credit card company is expecting your charge is likely to get rejected.

Well, I don't mind giving my Billing Address, but I would *never* give a physical address to anyone!! (If Apple did ask for a physical address years ago, I definitely faked it. But for the Billing Address, obviously that needs to be correct, and since it is a PO Box, I'm okay with sharing that.)

I have lots of online account, but for some reason having an AppleID makes me feel like I'm being stalked/tracked - not sure why...
 
You can certainly change your AppleID e-mail address, I had to do that a couple years ago when Verizon phased out their e-mail service. But, man, I just hate changing anything related to my AppleID (e-mail, password, etc). It's easy to do, but then all my devices nag endlessly about so many different things, forcing me to use the new password, etc. It's amazing how many different places this comes into play and gets very annoying if you have a bunch of Apple products. :)
 
You can certainly change your AppleID e-mail address, I had to do that a couple years ago when Verizon phased out their e-mail service. But, man, I just hate changing anything related to my AppleID (e-mail, password, etc). It's easy to do, but then all my devices nag endlessly about so many different things, forcing me to use the new password, etc. It's amazing how many different places this comes into play and gets very annoying if you have a bunch of Apple products. :)

Can you please explain that some more?

I'm not sure why I even have an AppleID. I mean you don't need one to buy things from Apple.com, right?

Like when I bought my MacBook Pro or my iPhone, that didn't require an AppleID, right?

I think I broke down and got an AppleID because I wanted to get a copy of Mountain Lion or something like that before Apple changed how they did OS's.

And being an anti-cell phone person, I don't do the iTunes store or any of that other jazz. And I would never do iCloud or any of that other stuff.

I also do NOT use my iPhone as a phone - it's just a camera/video-camera, so I am never logged into anything Apple based.

However, i would like to buy Filmic Pro and get the trial version of Final Cut Pro X this weekend, so will I need an AppleID to do that?

If I did change my e-mail before buying those, what would happen?

Would I have the problems you describe?


Eventually I'll have to either get a new AppleID or change my email associated with this current AppleID as I want to close out my AT&T email account. So I'm not sure what is the best way to approach that?
 
The AppleID is used to sign into all of Apple's services, such as iTunes (or the Music and TV apps on newer systems), iCloud, the App Store, iCLoud e-mail an AppleTV box, and pretty much everything on an iPhone or iPad. It would be easier if this was all consilidated in one place, but these different things each nag me if I change anything. None of this is really a "problem", it's just annoying because one at a time I get alerts on all of my devices (4 Macs, an iPhone, iPad and two Apple TV's.

But I have not used iCloud keychain for my passwords in the past, so maybe that simplifies it? I did set it up when I got a new Mini two months ago, so maybe next time I make a change, things will go better?

I didn't think you could even setup an iPhone unless you had an AppleID. Could be wrong about that however. In your case, doesn't sound like you would have much of a problem since you don't use many of Apple's services.
 
The AppleID is used to sign into all of Apple's services, such as iTunes (or the Music and TV apps on newer systems), iCloud, the App Store, iCLoud e-mail an AppleTV box, and pretty much everything on an iPhone or iPad. It would be easier if this was all consilidated in one place, but these different things each nag me if I change anything. None of this is really a "problem", it's just annoying because one at a time I get alerts on all of my devices (4 Macs, an iPhone, iPad and two Apple TV's.

When you say "nagging," what exactly does that mean?

Each of those devices nags you ONCE that your e-mail and/or password changed?

OR you end up getting "nagged" until the end of time?



But I have not used iCloud keychain for my passwords in the past, so maybe that simplifies it? I did set it up when I got a new Mini two months ago, so maybe next time I make a change, things will go better?

I'm still on the fence about password managers, and prefer to memorize mine...


I didn't think you could even setup an iPhone unless you had an AppleID. Could be wrong about that however. In your case, doesn't sound like you would have much of a problem since you don't use many of Apple's services.

I bought an iPhone for responsive design in late 2016. That ended up not happening, so it sat in my closet for 3 years. Then last year I started using it for photos and now video this year.

When I broke down and got a mobile plan with AT&T in July - so I could get a Twitter account for my business - all I recall having to do was have the AT&T store swap out my SIM car from my AT&T hotspot to my iPhone and do some AT&T account stuff.

I am 99.9% sure that I have never logged into anything using an AppleID, and I haven't needed an AppleID to get security text codes from Twitter or to make a few test phone calls.

All I use my iPhone for is as a replacement for my old dedicated hotspot, and to get 2FA codes, and photos and video.

No phone usage. No surfing the Internet. No email. No texting. Now music listening. No downloaded. Nada.


On a side note...

Is macOS on my Macs linked to my AppleID? Could I have issues there?
 
@Boyd01 has already covered most of it. An Apple ID is your Apple Identity and Apple uses it to link your Music and Film purchases in iTunes and TV. It is also used to link any purchases you make in the App Store, so you will definitely need to have one to purchase Filmic Pro and Final Cut Pro X Trial.

You should be able to change your email address linked with your existing Apple ID. If you go into settings on your iPhone you can see the Apple ID that is linked to right at the top of the settings window.

Here is a guide for changing your email address associated with your Apple ID. Note if this is already set to a me.com, Mac.com or iCloud.com you will not be able to change the email address associated with your ID.

You should not have a problem changing your email address. Any other devices that use your Apple ID may ask you to reconfirm your password but that is about it.
 
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Is macOS on my Macs linked to my AppleID? Could I have issues there?

You can set up a Mac without an Apple ID

Screenshot 2020-08-22 at 19.45.58.png

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When you say "nagging," what exactly does that mean?

Each of those devices nags you ONCE that your e-mail and/or password changed?

OR you end up getting "nagged" until the end of time?

Normally just the once :)
 
If your Apple ID email address is an @iCloud.com account, you cannot change it to another @iCloud.com email address. Your Apple ID email address must be a third party email address, in order for you to be able to change it.
 
If your Apple ID email address is an @iCloud.com account, you cannot change it to another @iCloud.com email address. Your Apple ID email address must be a third party email address, in order for you to be able to change it.

Yeah, it is my old AT&T email address.
 
So I think maybe it's best to not fiddle with my AppleID right now. (I'm in a hurry to download and learn FilmicPro so I can hopefully take better videos, and then FCPX so I can start producing videos for others to watch.)
 
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