iCloud vs iTunes App Store: what families should know

The time has come when more than one person in a household has an iOS device. A couple of iPhones, iPods, iPads, Macs, etc. What do you need to know about iCloud, iTunes Store, App Store, and Mac App Store? A lot unless you are made of money and love chaos.

Each person should have their own iCloud account

I make no guarantees regarding the legality of what you are about to read. In fact, some of this may go against past, present, or future Apple User Agreements. I am not aware of any problems arising from these setups but it is better to state this up front.

It is more complicated than you may at first think when it comes to setting up accounts with Apple for all the different services and stores. I am going to help you understand what you are doing before you do it so you don't cuss yourself years later for not doing things differently.

Lets get Eric's rule of iCloud memorized. Every person needs their very own iCloud account. There are no exceptions to my rule. A husband and wife should NOT share an iCloud account. A single person, teenager, whatever, must have their own iCloud account. iCloud controls a lot of person and device specific details that should not be shared between people. Email, documents and data, Keychain, Find my iPhone, Photo Stream, Photo Stream, and Photo Stream.

If you snap a photo it goes directly to your photostream unless you have this option turned off. Most people have Mac's that import the Photostream photographs to their iPhote library in order to backup their iOS device photographs. In this day and age, it is best to keep your photogaphs seperated from your parents, spouse, or children. It just gets messy and you are exposed to double the information and it will cause you to go crazy. Of course, for those celebrities taht love to take photographs of themselves in the bathroom mirror in less than appropriate clothing, this should not come as a surprise that you need your very own iCloud account.

Next blog, setting up iTunes Store, App Store, and Mac App Store accounts.