The two scenarios I hear about the most from readers and friends are when two (sometimes more) people have opted to share an Apple ID to sync data and purchases, or when someone finally gives up on having multiple Apple IDs and wants to migrate as much as they can to a single Apple ID—sometimes a new one.
This chapter provides advice for both those tasks, although I want to warn you upfront that the results can be disappointing. Apple doesn’t provide help for either process, which means any split or migration will be by necessity incomplete.
As the writer of a how-to column about Mac, iPhone, and iPad issues, I never expected to hear a lot about people’s relationships, but that was apparently naïve. Our digital devices are, after all, part of our sometimes complicated lives. I frequently receive emails from people with a shared Apple ID who no longer want to share it. The cause can be a breakup, a sibling or child leaving home for school, or just the realization that an individual account will work better for them.
This section offers advice that helps in these cases:
Permanently separating data (as with a breakup or divorce)
Creating a second personal account that will continue to share some data, such as recurring calendar events or photos
Sharing a single Mac currently (with one or more Apple mobile devices shared or each), but with a plan to use separate Macs or have separate accounts in macOS that use different Apple IDs
Using different Macs (or accounts on a single Mac) that are currently signed in to the same Apple ID, but which will be signed in to separate ones
The point of view of the instructions below is the person setting up or transitioning to a new Apple ID, thus “taking” data from the current Apple ID.
If you use your Apple ID only for purchases or free downloads, this section won’t help you. Apple has never offered any way to transfer ownership of digital assets purchased by an account, nor a way to mark data in an account that could be used to split it. Read the sidebar just below for one potential strategy.
After you have all the copies you need of everything, it’s time to set up a new Apple ID on a new macOS account or new Mac.
If you were already logged in to the old shared Apple ID on a separate account or Mac or into any of your iOS, iPadOS, Android, or Windows hardware, first follow these steps to log out of the old ID:
In macOS:
Go to System Preferences > Apple ID > Overview (Monterey) or System Settings > Account Name and scroll to the bottom (Ventura or later), click Sign Out, and follow prompts. I didn’t cover every form of data in the discussion above, so you may want to keep data from more services than I mentioned.
Open Messages. Choose Messages > Settings/Preferences> iMessage and then click Sign Out.
Open FaceTime. Choose FaceTime > Settings/Preferences > Settings and then click Sign Out.
Open Mail. Choose Mail > Settings/Preferences > Accounts, select iCloud, click the minus button, and confirm removal.
Open the Music app. Choose Account > Sign Out.
Open the TV app. Choose Account > Sign Out.
Open the App Store and choose Store > Sign Out.
Open the Books app and choose Store > Sign Out.
Go to System Preferences > Internet Accounts (Monterey) or System Settings > Internet Accounts (Ventura or later), select secondary iCloud accounts one by one, and remove them by clicking the minus button.
In iOS or iPadOS:
Go to Settings > Account Name > Find My and disable it.
Go to Settings > Account Name, swipe up and tap Sign Out.
Go to Settings > Account Name, tap Media & Purchases, tap “Apple ID: account email”, and tap Sign Out.
Go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive, tap “Apple ID: account email”, and tap Sign Out.
Go to Settings > FaceTime, tap “Apple ID: account email”, and tap Sign Out.
In Windows:
Open the iCloud app and click Sign Out.
In iTunes, choose Account > Sign Out.
In Android:
App-specific passwords: If you’re using third-party contact, calendar, or email software on any platform, you may also need to sign out of or delete your app-specific passwords from those locations. See Use App-Specific Passwords.
If you don’t have another Apple ID you’re already using with iCloud, create a new Apple ID by going to the Create Your Apple ID page. Then, log in using Settings in iOS or iPadOS or by going to System Preferences > Apple ID (Monterey) or System Settings > Account Name (Ventura or later) in macOS.
If you exported data in sections above instead of turning off sync, you can now import that data:
Contacts, Calendar, and Mail: Import the respective data files within those apps.
Photos: Hold down Option before launching Photos and select the copied Photos Library.
Music: Check your settings in Music > Settings/Preferences > Files. Do you want to “Copy files to Music Media folder when adding to library”? Or keep the files in the same location as they are now and have iTunes reference them? Check the box accordingly. Then use File > Import to select your imports.
Sometimes, there are too many memories—or too many problems and spam messages and account errors—associated with an Apple ID. Rather than try to fix it, some people choose to start fresh, and create a new Apple ID with none of the old problems.
The provisos about purchases aside, migrating from one account to another can be substantially easier than trying to split up an account.
It’s possible to accomplish this within iOS and iPadOS, but I find it more nerve-wracking, as it’s harder to know and see exactly what’s going on. I prefer to use a Mac, partly for more granular control and partly because it’s easier for me to back up files.
You can opt to switch off iCloud services individually in System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud (Monterey) or System Settings > Account Name > iCloud (Ventura or later) by unchecking each setting; or you can click Sign Out on the main Apple ID or Account Name tab. Whichever choice you make, always choose to keep all data when prompted for each service or for iCloud as a whole. If you’ve gone the checkbox-at-a-time route, finish with clicking Sign Out.
Now individually log out of Messages, FaceTime, Music, TV, Books, and the App Store (as described in Set a New Apple ID and Import).
You can remove an iCloud email account from System Preferences > Internet Accounts (Monterey) or System Settings > Internet Accounts (Ventura or later), or within Mail (Mail > Settings/Preferences > Accounts), but it’s not critical if you want to still receive messages from that account.
In Photos, if you’re using iCloud Photos, first make sure that you have full-resolution data fully downloaded to your Mac. (See the Photos portion of the previous section.) Then uncheck iCloud Photos in Photos > Settings/Preferences > iCloud. If you’re prompted to download media, agree just in case.
Now, use your new Apple ID to log back in to all the places where you want to use it, starting at System Preferences > Apple ID (Monterey) or System Settings > Account Name (Ventura or later).