Apple ID

Using two-factor authentication helps ensure that the accounts associated with your Apple ID are safe. Even if someone has your login name and password, they won't be able to access your accounts without a verification code from a trusted phone number or one of your trusted devices. Once you verify a new device, you won't need to use two-factor authentication again unless you sign out of it completely, erase your device, or change your password. Similarly, when signing in on the web, you can choose to trust that browser so that you don't have to go through the verification process each time you sign into your account on your computer. Let's go over the steps of signing in to a new device or iCloud account with two-factor authentication.

With so many websites requiring usernames and passwords, and most of us using more than one device to accomplish tasks throughout the day, it can be difficult to keep track of all our accounts and login information. And while there are plenty of apps that can do this for you, your iPhone comes with this service built in. iCloud Keychain encrypts, stores, and keeps up to date credit card information, WiFi network information, and usernames and passwords for internet accounts as well as your iOS Mail, Messages, Contacts, and Calendar apps across all your Apple devices on which you've turned on iCloud Keychain. Enabling your iCloud Keychain is a great way to keep yourself organized, so let’s get started learning how to enable it on your iPhone. 

You can't effectively use an iPhone without an Apple ID. It used to be, in the pre-family sharing days, that family members sometimes shared an Apple ID; this created all kinds of complications. If you want to buy apps in the App Store, sign up for Apple Music or an iTunes account, or use iCloud, iMessage, or FaceTime, you'll need your own Apple ID first. Once you've created your Apple ID, you can use it for all of the purchases, services, and accounts I mentioned before; it's really nice not to have multiple login names and passwords to remember. Signing up for an Apple ID is free and easy to do; let's get started learning how to sign up for a new Apple ID on your iPhone. 

If you love podcasts, and also love iPhones, iPads, and other Apple devices, you've probably heard that you can sync your podcasts across your devices. Once your devices are synced you can use the Podcasts app to listen to a podcast on your iPhone, then pick it up right where you left off on your iPad. Syncing across Apple devices includes not only podcast playback positions but also your podcast subscriptions and stations. If this sounds like podcast heaven to you, follow the steps below to sync up your devices and start listening.

It is possible to delete an Apple ID; but first, you need to decide if that course of action is really necessary. Deactivating an Apple ID means that you'll lose access to the connected iCloud Mail and Drive Storage, as well as any iMessages associated with that account. All the purchases you made with the Apple ID you're deleting, including content from iTunes and iBooks as well as the App Store, not to mention your Apple Music Library and Playlists will also be gone. Let's go through some less extreme options for solving problems with your Apple ID, then learn how to deactivate and delete an Apple ID if you conclude that's the step you need to take.

You've already signed up for Apple's Family Sharing, and are the designated organizer for your Family Group. As family organizer, you've learned how to set up Apple IDs for your kids and use the Ask to Buy feature to manage what they purchase in iTunes, iBooks, and the App Store. You've figured out how to access and download shared content from your Family Group through Family Sharing: music, movies, books, apps, the whole works. You even know how to hide your media selections that are too mature from your kids, and keep their less desirable (I'm looking at you, Demi Lovato) choices from your own devices. But the holidays bring a new layer of Apple Family Sharing questions with them, and one question in particular: how do you use an iTunes gift card on a Family Sharing account? Furthermore, how do you make sure the person who received the iTunes gift card is the person who redeems it? How can you check the gift card balance so that you don't start running up charges on your credit card once it's spent? So many questions, so little time before your kids will want to start spending their gift cards from grandma. Let's get started learning how to manage iTunes gift cards in Family Sharing!  

It’s time to get acquainted with the ins and outs of how to change your Apple ID password. In a nutshell, your Apple ID password is what you use to access iTunes, share photos via iCloud, utilize iMessage—the list goes on. But fear not, changing your Apple ID password on iPhone need only require a few easy steps. Whether you’ve forgotten your Apple ID password or want to reset your Apple password for security purposes, knowing how to manage your Apple ID will save you from any potential tech snafus down the road. (Pro Tip: Just so there’s no confusion here, your Apple ID password on iPhone is the same thing as your iTunes Password and iCloud password.) 

If you forgot your Apple ID password or you want to reset your iCloud password, we’ll show you how. First thing to know is that your Apple ID account is the same thing as your iCloud account. So if you forgot your iCloud password, you forgot your Apple ID password. Luckily, it’s pretty easy to reset an iCloud password. There are also a couple different ways to do so. If you have two-factor authentication enabled on your iPhone, changing your iCloud or Apple ID password is incredibly quick and easy. If not, it’s still easy but you’ll (ideally) need to get on a computer and use a browser to reset your password. Alright, if you have forgotten or want to reset your iCloud (aka Apple ID) password, here’s how.

We tend to think of our iPhone getting hacked as a far-fetched scenario, but large tech companies like Apple pay big money to white hat (good guy) hackers to find the bugs and loopholes it can’t see. iPhones can definitely be hacked, even with the ever-increasing layers of security Apple implements to protect our devices. It’s even possible for someone to hack an iPhone remotely via iCloud. While it’s not worth panicking over, it’s good to take precautions and use the security features on our iPhones, and also to exercise caution to not unwittingly allow hackers access to our devices. You can do a lot to secure your iPhone and protect it from possible hackers. The thirteen tips below will ensure you’ve implemented every safeguard possible; here’s how you can protect your iPhone from hackers, both local and remote.

I recently wrote an article on how to turn on Two-Factor Authentication on your iPhone for better security. Apple introduced this feature in iOS 10 And then, with the release of iOS 11, iPhone users were automatically upgraded from Apple's less secure Two-Step Verification feature. Apple ID Two-Factor Authentication requires the use of multiple devices. For example, if you get a new iPhone, when you log into your Apple ID account for the first time, you’ll need to use your Mac, iPad, or old iPhone to receive a six digit Apple verification code to confirm that it’s you logging in and not some stranger trying to access your account on a random device. This is important since your Apple ID is used for everything from storing personal photos to making purchases with your credit card. However, if you don’t feel the need to use this feature, you can use this tip to turn Two-Factor Authentication off. Be careful though, your Apple ID account wil be significantly less secure and you may not be able to use Apple Pay Cash and other Apple features when you turn off Two-Factor Authentication.

Within Settings on iPhone, there are plenty of ways to access your Apple ID. Before iOS.3 on iPhone, you would find your devices, access to Apple ID, storage and iCloud information, and other important device info scattered throughout the Settings app. But when Apple recently released iOS 10.3, that all changed. Now, when you open the Settings app, your Apple ID profile is the first thing you’ll see. Let’s take a quick tour.

Most everything you do on your iPhone centers around your Apple ID. Your Apple ID account is what grants you access to iCloud, iMessage, and Facetime. It's also what allows you to make purchases from the App Store, iBooks Store, and iTunes Store. Since your Apple ID is so important for running your entire Apple ecosystem smoothly, we put an awesome collection together of Apple ID video tips that will make it easy for you to set up and manage your Apple ID account.

Our video tip collections are one of many incredibly helpful benefits of our iPhone Life Insider subscription. When you sign up, you’ll get instant access to this collection and many more features, which I’ll review below. With this post, you’ll get a sneak peak with one awesome video tip from the collection that will help you master your Apple ID account. Here’s our essential tips for setting up and managing your Apple ID account on iPhone or iPad.

For quite some time now, you’ve been able to manage your Apple ID account in Settings on your iPhone. But with iOS 10.3, Apple made it even easier. At the top of your Settings menu, you’ll see your Apple ID profile photo and name. This new option allows you to look at your Apple ID profile in one glance and provides quick access to your Apple ID settings so that you can make any changes you want and manage your Apple ID account overall. Here’s how to manage your Apple ID account in Settings on iPhone.

Have you ever wondered how to turn off iMessage on Mac? The first time I received an iMessage on my Mac, I immediately began looking for a way to disable the feature. My iPhone tends to be right next to me anyway, so broadcasting my text messages on a Mac is definitely something I wanted to deactivate. Luckily, you can stop iMessages from popping up by simply turning off messages on Mac. It’s actually incredibly easy to do. Here’s how to deactivate and get rid of messages on Mac.

The best part of Apple Family Sharing is... sharing! After setting up your Family Group, you can get to sharing all of your content including iTunes purchases like apps, music, TV shows, and movies, as well as books from the iBooks store (well, except for the content that's hidden.) I love sharing music with my boys, but don't care to have any of their apps on my phone. With this tip you can use Family Sharing to share everything you want to and download none of what you don't. Here’s how to access and download shared purchases with Family Sharing.

Parents can create an Apple ID for their kids under the age of thirteen. This allows the child to be a part of the Family Sharing plan on iPhone, which includes access to FaceTime, Game Center, iMessage, iCloud, and iTunes. By creating an Apple ID for your child, you can also enable Ask to Buy, which requires your approval before they can make purchases from iTunes, iBooks, or the App Store. You can add children to the family account on various devices including iPod Touch, iPhone, and iPad. The minimum age for an Apple ID is thirteen, which means if you want your child to have their own iCloud account within Family Sharing, they’ll need to be part of your Family. Luckily, setting up an Apple ID for kids is easy to do. If you’re trying to set up an iPad or iPhone for a child, consider also enabling Restrictions, which will give you control over what they can access and download on their device. Here’s how to create an Apple ID for your child.

The fourth-generation Apple TV has been quite popular, and it's likely that in some households it's being used by multiple individuals, each with their own iTunes account. Fortunately, this new model lets you add each person's Apple ID. Then when someone wants to use the Apple TV to access their media, it's simply a matter of switching accounts.

Your Apple ID is the key to using your iCloud account and making purchases in the App and iTunes Stores. If you want to change your Apple ID, perhaps because it is an email address for an account you no longer use, you'll need to sign out of everywhere you use your Apple ID on all your iDevices. This includes the iTunes, iBooks, and App Store, Apple Music, FaceTime, iMessages, GameCenter, iCloud, Find My Friends, and Find My iPhone.

More than 160 million people use Snapchat every day, and developers keep rolling out new, versatile features to keep Snap fresh. Whether you want to use Snapchat to send a photo, video, or message to one friend or to a whole group of followers, live video chat, or discover short-form content from publishers and celebrities, there's a lot to keep you connected and engaged. Beyond that, Snapchat allows users to send and receive money through Snapcash, create avatars, augment content with filters and AR lenses, stickers, and a drawing feature, and share locations for still shots and live chat. Formerly a non-archival platform, Snapchat now allows users to save photos and videos, called snaps, with their Memories feature. A frustration many Snapchat users share is the inability to download Snap for iPad. Snapchat for iPhone is super convenient, but when you have the ability to use an iPad, it sure would be great to have a larger drawing surface so you can add more detail to your still shots and filters, and have more screen space to explore Stories. Although Snapchat for iPad is not officially available, there's an easy trick to install Snapchat on iPad. Let's get started learning how to get Snapchat on iPad!