- Apple made it possible to move purchases between two Apple IDs for the first time
- This is designed for a single user to consolidate purchases under a single account
- The process requires that the two accounts be connected to the same iPhone or iPad
Apple allowed the migration of purchases between two Apple identification accounts for the first time, allowing users to transparently move applications, songs, films, books and other purchases purchased from an account to another.
The new feature has been revealed with little fanfare via an official Apple support item which lists the several conditions that must be met for migration to be possible.
In order to consolidate purchases under a single account, the two accounts must be connected to the same iPhone or iPad – it doesn’t matter if you use an iPhone 16 or iPhone SE, as long as the two accounts are signed on the same device.
The main account – This is the account to which you move purchases – must be connected to iCloud, while the secondary account – the one you move purchases – must be connected to the media and purchases settings.
Finally, the two accounts cannot belong to different family sharing groups. Once all these conditions are met, it becomes possible to consolidate purchases on the main account.
How to migrate purchases between two Apple accounts
First, open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad. Press your name, then press the media and purchases. Press Display the account and connect with your secondary account if the prompt appears.
Then press Migrate Purchases, take a moment to examine the information that appears on the screen and follow the instructions on the screen.
Once the process is finished, you will see a message appear that is seen as follows: “Purchases have been migrated”.
Finally, disconnect from the secondary account in the media and purchases menu and connect with your main account.
As the Apple assistance page notes, the purchasing migration functionality is intended for users with several accounts to consolidate their purchases under a single Apple identifier, rather than sharing purchases between several users.
Historically, it was impossible to move the purchases from one account to another – users had to rely on bypass solutions such as sharing the iCloud family. In this case, this is exactly what I do with two of my own Apple accounts in recent years, and even if it has worked well for me, I would always have preferred to have everything under a virtual roof.
The new purchasing migration feature is not yet available in the United Kingdom, the European Union or in India, but for other regions, the functionality should be available now.
In any case, I am happy to see a new example of the cohesion of the ecosystem which makes the use of the best iPhones and the best iPads such a fluid experience. Are you going to move your purchases to an Apple identification account? Let us know in the comments below.
