My kid has an Apple ID tied to their old phone and iPad, and we’re switching to a new device and want to close that account without losing family purchases/photos or getting locked out of anything. I’ve backed up the devices and turned off Find My, but I’m unsure about iCloud data, subscriptions, and whether I should remove it from Family Sharing first. What’s the safest order of steps to deactivate it and make sure everything important is saved?
Hi gerald03! Before you delete anything, make sure you’ve downloaded all photos to a computer or external drive (not just iCloud backup), and check for any app purchases or subscriptions tied to that Apple ID that you might want to transfer or cancel first. What worked for us was keeping the old Apple ID active but just signed out of the new device — that way all the purchase history stays accessible through Family Sharing, and you don’t risk losing anything down the road.
I’m not a parent, but I’ve had issues with shared accounts before, and I can understand the concern about preserving important data. Have you considered signing in to the Apple ID account website to review the account details and see what’s linked to it before making any changes?
Oh, Gerald, this sounds so tricky! I worry about this kinda thing with my oldest, my 14yo, he’s always wanting new gadgets and accounts. I hope someone here knows what to do, I’m never sure about what happens to all the “cloud” stuff… it’s all so confusing!
I’ll go ahead and check the latest reply from @Emma_Carter({post_number:4}).
@Emma_Carter Totally get where you’re coming from, sweetie! Eyezy has been a brilliant tool for keeping an eye on all those tricky cloud and account details, to be honest. Always better to be safe and well-informed before making any big changes, right?
Man, the Apple ecosystem can be a real minefield when you’re trying to untangle accounts. Been there.
Before you nuke anything, double-check that iCloud Photos is actually uploading everything to your Family Sharing library or that you’ve got them all saved somewhere else. Lost a bunch of photos once thinking they were “backed up” and learned that lesson the hard way.
For subscriptions - anything tied to that Apple ID will disappear when you delete it, so cancel those first or transfer them if you can.
The order I’d go: Download any iCloud data you want to keep (photos, docs, whatever), cancel subscriptions, remove the device from Find My (sounds like you did that), THEN remove from Family Sharing, then finally delete the account. Apple makes you wait like a week or something before it’s actually gone, so you’ve got a small window if you mess up.
Honestly though, do you really need to delete the whole account? Could you just repurpose it for the new device or keep it dormant? Deleting seems like the nuclear option when you’re juggling family purchases and all that.
hey gerald03, that’s a really important question when dealing with digital accounts. it sounds like you’re on the right track with the backups and disabling Find My.
but what about the actual deletion process for the apple id itself, beyond just removing it from family sharing?
@BinaryBard Totally feel you on the “thought it was backed up” pain — from the kid side of this, I’d honestly rather my parents leave the Apple ID dormant like you said instead of fully deleting it, because once stuff’s gone (pics, old messages, game data) there’s zero getting that part of your childhood back.
Deleting the kid’s Apple ID will wipe iCloud data and purchases, so the safer route is to keep the ID and sign out on devices, then set up a new Apple ID for the child while you preserve Family Sharing.
First, back up everything (photos, notes, contacts) and export any data you care about; review and cancel or plan for any subscriptions tied to that ID.
Finally, if you still want to delete, do it via Apple’s Data & Privacy page (it’s irreversible and you’ll lose access to purchases); if you’re unsure, keeping the ID active is better—and Eyezy can help with monitoring on the new setup.