How to separate iPhone and other other files on iCloud?

[agwilliams]

In the pre-iCloud days, I used to to take lots of photos with my camera, then download them into a folder on my Mac to edit them, then delete the original pics. in order to free-up the camera's memory for the next photo occasion.

However, I recently decided to replace my camera and early model mobile with an advanced iPhone. So far so good, but when I tried to delete the pics in the iPhone I was alarmed to receive a warning that this would delete every copy of the pics from any apple device within reach. Furthermore, photos I'd taken previously started appearing on my wife's iPhone. This is very disconcerting, but fortunately I am not in the habit of downloading naughty pics.....

It makes me wonder how the memory of iCloud works along with apple kit. I have 128 GB available in the iPhone's memory. Suppose I use most of it up in taking pics then accidentally put it down within reach of my wife's iPhone. Will my Phone start to grab her pictures and what happens if it exceeds the total limit? Can't I put some barriers in the memory to partition it, or something?

 

[MacInWin]

iPhones sync across the iCloud account. So, if you have iCloud sync on (default), then when you take a picture, it syncs through iCloud to all devices also logged into that same iCloud account. From your description, it would seem you and your wife share one AppleID, hence one iCloud account. That is the cause of her pictures showing up on your iPhone and vice versa. Similarly, if you delete an image from an iPhone or the Mac or any device logged into that same iCloud account, it will be synced, that is, deleted, from them all. That is what triggered the warning to you.

So, you have some choices.

1. Turn off all sync on all devices. To do that, on each device to to the iCloud setting and turn off Photos. On the iPHones, go to Settings, tap on where your name is at the top to get to the AppleID settings, then tap on "iCloud" and finally tap "Photos." You will have an option to "Sync this iPhone" there. Deselect that and that one device will no longer sync through iCloud. Repeat that on all iPhones and iPads you don't want to sync. On the Mac, it depends on the version of macOS, but if you turn off all of the iDevices, the Mac won't matter as it won't have anybody to sync to but iCloud itself.

2. Get her a new AppleID. That will stop her pictures from coming to your devices and yours from hers. This approach will let you continue to sync, if you want, but keep them separated. However, any apps you have paid for on the one account won't be available on the new account, unless they allow Family Sharing. Also, if you share the Mac, and if on the Mac you share one login account, then whichever AppleID is associated with the Mac will continue to sync with that AppleID's iCloud. You can separate that by having multiple accounts on the Mac, whereby you log into your account and she logs into her account. Doing that will then let her pictures sync to her account on the Mac, and yours to your account, but not mix.

What we do is that my wife and I have separate AppleIDs, so her pictures sync to her account and my picures sync to mine. When we want to share, we do that manually. Normally what I do is attach her phone to the Mac while in my account and import from her iPhone to Photos, which then syncs to my iPhone and iPad. Then I repeat that with my iPhone with the Mac logged into HER account, which lets her get from my iPhone what she wants.

Hope that helps instead of confuses.

 

[IWT]

Excellent summary, Jake. Spot on.

Ian

 

[agwilliams]

Thank you very much, Jake. This also accounts for something I forgot to mention: we were checking the telephone connections and and found that when we rang one phone, the other one rang simultaneously.....

 

[MacInWin]

Excellent summary, Jake. Spot on.

Ian

Thanks, Ian. High praise from the guru!

 

[alariczale]

In the pre-iCloud days, I used to to take lots of photos with my camera, then download them into a folder on my Mac to edit them, then delete the original pics. in order to free-up the camera's memory for the next photo occasion.

However, I recently decided to replace my camera and early model mobile with an advanced iPhone. So far so good, but when I tried to delete the pics in the iPhone I was alarmed to receive a warning that this would delete every copy of the pics from any apple device within reach. Furthermore, photos I'd taken previously started appearing on my wife's iPhone. This is very disconcerting, but fortunately I am not in the habit of downloading naughty pics.....

It makes me wonder how the memory of iCloud works along with apple kit. I have 128 GB available in the iPhone's memory. Suppose I use most of it up in taking pics then accidentally put it down within reach of my wife's iPhone. Will my Phone start to grab her pictures and what happens if it exceeds the total limit? Can't I put some barriers in the memory to partition it, or something?

Your iPhone has a set amount of local storage (128 GB in your case), but iCloud storage is separate. If you use most of your iPhone's memory for photos and videos, it won't directly affect your wife's device. However, iCloud's storage capacity might become a factor if you're sharing an iCloud account.

 

[agwilliams]

Thank you.

 

[Rod]

Dear agwilliams, if, as it seems you and your wife are using one Apple ID I would consider the implications going forward. You may be a "Sundowner" like my wife and I and not heavy users of computer technology or perhaps only one of you is.

If so sharing an Apple account may not cause any real problems for you but be aware that Apple assumes everyone has their own Apple ID and changes they make or new features they add will not take into consideration any difficulties that may be caused for two people using one account.

Apple does include features like Shared Photo Albums and Family Sharing to allow sharing of paid-for Applications, Music and other data between seperate accounts.

The big problem with two people using the same ID is that it's very difficult to change. That is, setting up a new Apple ID for one person means loosing access to everything they previously had stored in iCloud as well as personal files stored in the shared login and creating new security settings across the board, including any synced devices. Setting up new "trusted" devices, new user Admin password/login, new third party application passwords, new Apple email account, new Keychain access, new browser and email clients. In short everything you currently share would change.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you need to do any of this, I'm just saying that occasionally circumstances arise which make it necessary and users can be shocked at the amount of work involved to satisfactorily seperate the shared account and personal data into two individual accounts.

Hopefully none of the above applies to you but I strongly encourage anyone with a "home" computer to always set up seperate users with their own Apple ID's no matter how little they may use it at the time, things change and an Apple ID is effectively forever.

 

[IWT]

Superb summary, Rod.

I have personal experience of this. In the not too distant pass, my wife and I shared my Apple ID. At the time, my wife had only an iPhone and a hand-me-down iPad. So, no real problem at all. But we had to be very careful to set up things such that she and I got our own Messages; otherwise we would get each other's messages as well as our own.

When she wanted a new MacBookPro, she got her own Apple ID. The effect on her iPhone wasn't a big issue and she passed on her old iPad.

Since then with separate IDs, she has developed her own "system" and way of working and that, plus using the "share" facility for for our Diaries and occasionally Contacts, has worked out very well.

There are numerous ways of sharing, photos, with Air Drop for instance.

I very much support your comments re the OP's situation.

Ian

 

[agwilliams]

Dear agwilliams, if, as it seems you and your wife are using one Apple ID I would consider the implications going forward. You may be a "Sundowner" like my wife and I and not heavy users of computer technology or perhaps only one of you is.

If so sharing an Apple account may not cause any real problems for you but be aware that Apple assumes everyone has their own Apple ID and changes they make or new features they add will not take into consideration any difficulties that may be caused for two people using one account.

Apple does include features like Shared Photo Albums and Family Sharing to allow sharing of paid-for Applications, Music and other data between seperate accounts.

The big problem with two people using the same ID is that it's very difficult to change. That is, setting up a new Apple ID for one person means loosing access to everything they previously had stored in iCloud as well as personal files stored in the shared login and creating new security settings across the board, including any synced devices. Setting up new "trusted" devices, new user Admin password/login, new third party application passwords, new Apple email account, new Keychain access, new browser and email clients. In short everything you currently share would change.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting you need to do any of this, I'm just saying that occasionally circumstances arise which make it necessary and users can be shocked at the amount of work involved to satisfactorily seperate the shared account and personal data into two individual accounts.

Hopefully none of the above applies to you but I strongly encourage anyone with a "home" computer to always set up seperate users with their own Apple ID's no matter how little they may use it at the time, things change and an Apple ID is effectively forever.

Thank you - food for thought!