Split or Migrate Apple IDs

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.

Split an Apple ID Between Two People

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.

Manage Local Copies of Shared Data

Start by figuring out where you want all shared data to reside after a split. In all of the cases below, you already have synced copies. What actions you take depend on what you want to keep sharing and whether you’re using a single account on a single Mac or not.

In the instructions below, go to iCloud settings and disable individual sync services by unchecking a box in the preference pane. When you do, you’re prompted about retaining or deleting information, among other choices.

Contacts

If you currently store all your contacts in a single account on a Mac, use the Contacts app to select the entries you want to retain, and then choose File > Export > Contacts Archive to create a file that you can move to another user account that uses a new Apple ID. You can also delete the selected contacts after exporting them to remove them from the shared Apple ID.

If you already have separate Apple ID accounts set up, you can use a simpler technique. On your new computer or account, go to iCloud settings, uncheck or disable Contacts, and choose the option “Keep on My device.” That way you keep a full copy of the contacts list with the new computer or account, but the list is no longer shared.

Calendar

If you’ve both relied on a single calendar, it’s harder to separate these entries, because many of them may have occurred in the past. You may want to start fresh with a new calendar or set of calendars.

Annual events like holidays, anniversaries, and birthdays can be generated from contacts and special calendars, and can thus be repopulated in a calendar if you start from scratch.

If you want to have a full copy of previously shared calendars:

  • In Calendar in macOS, you can export each locally stored calendar one at a time by selecting it in the list at left and the choosing File > Export > Export and choosing where to save the export file.

  • Go to iCloud settings, uncheck or disable Calendar, and choose the option “Keep on My device” to retain existing events and reminders.

In both cases, you will have to go through the calendar manually to find and remove old, current, and upcoming events. Apple used to offer a way to shed events past a certain point, but that’s long gone.

Email

Apple relies on the same email protocols used by any email service to manage iCloud email. The macOS Mail app shows mailboxes in a left navigation bar that reflects all the messages stored on a mail server (or multiple mail servers), as well as an item (typically at the bottom) labeled “On My Mac.” That last entry reflects any messages stored locally on the Mac, and no longer stored on a server.

Splitting up email can be complicated if you’ve intermingled it, but it’s possible for you both to keep copies of your old messages when you start fresh. Here’s a way to untangle it:

  1. Move all of your messages from mailboxes on servers and from On My Mac folders you’re leaving behind into one or more folders in the On My Mac section.

  2. Select each of those folders and choose Mailbox > Export Mailbox. Save the export in a place you have easy access to.

  3. Copy the export to the new account or Mac first, to avoid accidentally deleting mail.

  4. Delete the mailboxes on the copy of Mail from which you exported them. Right-click (or Control-click) a mailbox and choose Delete Mailbox, and then confirm.

Photos

Splitting up photos between two (or more) people is hard enough, but iCloud Photos can make it trickier. That’s because when you use this syncing and cloud-storage option, you likely aren’t storing the full-resolution images and movies on all your devices.

By default, Apple stores only thumbnails on iOS and iPadOS devices and loads them on demand. In macOS, it’s more likely you have full-resolution media downloaded, because that’s the default there—but you may have switched to what Apple labels “optimized” storage if you didn’t have enough disk space remaining for your library.

To split up pictures and videos stored in a Photos library that are synced with iCloud Photos, you need to start by checking your local storage settings. In Photos in macOS, choose Photos > Settings/Preferences > iCloud, and look at the setting for iCloud Photos.

If it’s set to “Download Originals to this Mac,” you’re all set:

  • If you’re moving to a new account or Mac, just copy the Photos Library. (Choose Photos > Settings/Preferences > General and click Show in Finder if it’s not in your Home > Photos folder.)

  • If you’re using a separate account or Mac which already has all the photos and videos downloaded, go to Photos > Settings/Preferences> iCloud and uncheck iCloud Photos. You may be prompted to download your media or delete it; choose download, even if you think you’ve already downloaded everything.

In both cases, you can then delete media that you don’t want to leave behind on the old machine and photos you don’t want to keep on the new one.

If the preference is set to Optimize Mac Storage, you need to make a change to ensure all images and videos are downloaded locally at full resolution.

If you share a macOS user account and want to migrate your photos to a new user account on the same or another Mac, follow these steps:

  1. Select the Download Originals to this Mac radio button. After you make that change, the download process may take a while—possibly a long while.

  2. When complete, copy the Photos Library to the new account or computer. The file contains all the original images and other data.

  3. Back in Photos on the original machine, delete the images that you no longer want in the shared set.

However, if you already have a separate user account or another Mac that’s syncing this library:

  1. Select the Download Originals to this Mac radio button. The download process may take a while.

  2. When complete, go to Photos > Settings/Preferences> iCloud and uncheck iCloud Photos.

  3. You can now delete media from both the old and new Photos library without affecting the other.

Music

Apple lets you sync music files in your library across devices in a bunch of ways. For the purposes of splitting up an Apple ID, the most salient is iTunes Match. (Yes, it’s still called that even though iTunes is gone.) If you subscribe to this service, it syncs both music that you purchased from Apple and anything you’ve purchased or ripped from a CD and added to iTunes directly.

You can use this iMore tutorial to use iTunes Match and Music in macOS to download a full copy of all music synced across any devices. If you’re using a single account on a Mac currently, you can then copy that music to the new account or Mac with which you’ll be using a new Apple ID.

Set a New Apple ID and Import

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:

    • Open the Apple Music app and sign out.

  • 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.

Migrate from One Apple ID to Another

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).

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