Yet another iPhone question...

[njsweetP]

Currently I am the only iPhone owner on our family share plan. In December,
when everyone is due for an upgrade there will be 3 iPhone users. My question is
can the apps that I've purchased (many $$$'s worth) be shared with the new iPhone users on my plan? Or will the new iPhone owners have to purchase their own apps? Would these fall under the 'home sharing' in iTunes?

 

[CourtneyL]

Apps can only be shared between devices if the same apple ID is used on each device. Purchased apps are linked to the apple ID not the device.
If your family members will have their own apple ID and login info then you cannot share apps. While it is possible to just have one apple ID/account, it will be a lot easier and way more practical to have seperate accounts.

I hope that makes sense...

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

I use 3 different apple id's on my phone. My kids & I share the same itunes on the computer but we have our own acct's for purchasing. They can easily download things I bought via computer transfer & vice versa. You just need to know their password when it's time to update.

 

[PatMcDuck]

I think it has more to do with your iTunes account?

I have an iPad, iTouch for my son, and I have an iPhone. The same apps go on all 3, and on my MacBook as well. I keep them all synced to my laptop's iTunes.

You can set it to exclude apps from some devices as well. I have some games only on my son's devices, and some other games (like words with friends) only on the iPhone. I have some photo albums go on the iPad, but not all my photos, etc.

 

[brennicksmom]

There are four iPhones in our family. We all share one iTunes account and we all get any apps or music, etc. with only one purchase being made. It is easy and saves on spending.

 

[MrsJackSparrow4Life]

They can have their own apple ID and still share apps. My dad has his own apple ID so he can have his own iCloud without it messing with my iPhone and iCloud but we are both connected to my iTunes account for purchases so we can share apps and purchases.

From the Apple website:

You can use different Apple IDs for iCloud and store purchases and still get all of the benefits of iCloud. Just follow these steps:

iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:


When you first set up your iOS 5 device, enter the Apple ID you want to use with iCloud. If you skipped the setup assistant, sign in to Settings > iCloud and enter the Apple ID you’d like to use with iCloud.
In Settings > Store, sign in with the Apple ID you want to use for store purchases (including iTunes in the Cloud and iTunes Match). You may need to sign out first to change the Apple ID.

 

[njsweetP]

Thank you everyone! I'm glad to hear the apps can be shared!