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iTunes: 1 account or separate?

Discussion in 'Technology' started by jimshadow, Jul 6, 2012.

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  1. jimshadow

    jimshadow F1 Veteran
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Feb 19, 2006
    6,251
    Indiana/North Carolina
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    JIM
    #1 jimshadow, Jul 6, 2012
    We have a house full of Apple products now and my girls just got new iPhones. (They are 11 & 13) I currently manage iTunes through 1 central Apple ID, but they are begging for separate accounts. I've read tons online but cannot come up with a reason TO do it or NOT to do it......It's all very very vague!!

    How are you guys managing iTunes/Apple ID's with you families and multiple Apple products?

    TIA,

    JIM
     
  2. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
    Owner

    Nov 5, 2002
    8,489
    #2 Dom, Jul 6, 2012
    Hi Jim,

    We are currently using one account, since my kids are young (11, 8, and 3). None of them know the password, so if they want to download something, they have to ask me or my wife. This way, I know what they are listening to/playing.

    Hope this helps.
     
  3. tjacoby

    tjacoby F1 Rookie

    Nov 1, 2003
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    Vancouver Canada
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    tj
    #3 tjacoby, Jul 6, 2012
    it becomes a pia when they want to buy their own tunes on their own laptops. our son is into ipod games, our daughter into tunes. family members would give them itunes cards, and became impossible to manage. we ended up splitting their accounts and effectively starting over on the son's account. there may be a more elegant way to do this - no idea.
     
  4. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

    Sep 25, 2006
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    Ian Anderson
    #4 Fast_ian, Jul 6, 2012
    +1

    It may also be worth noting that you can apply "parental controls" and/or "spending limits" to each account also. [I've never done it, but apparently it works well.]

    FWIW, they should probably also have their own iTunes libraries or things will get "ugly" in the expected fashion! ;)

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  5. Etcetera

    Etcetera Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Dec 7, 2003
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    C6H14O5
    #5 Etcetera, Jul 6, 2012
    Nothing wrong with letting the monsters have their own iTunes accounts. Give them each a pre-paid iTunes gift card so they don't blow up your credit card. If you are concerned about what media they are consuming, you can set a password for purchases that you and your wife can keep to yourselves. Further, each iTunes account can only have 5 computers authorized to use iTunes content. This could be an issue in the future as your family's collection of hardware grows; letting each monster have their own iTunes account obviates the authorization limits.
     
  6. Innovativethinker

    Innovativethinker F1 Veteran
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    Aug 8, 2009
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    Mark Smith
    #6 Innovativethinker, Jul 6, 2012
    Back in the day of Napster and Limewire, I created one Apple ID for my four kids to share.

    So far it has worked out great, they can only hook up five computers, but each of those computers can link to 5 devices, so their Ipads and Iphones all carry the Itunes, and we can recover any lost songs as well (for when the computer dies or goes missing).

    The only weird thing, or feature based on how you consider it, is when one of them buys an app it pops up on everyone's devices.
     

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