Q: I used my iTunes account on my ex’s iPhone. When we broke up I deleted his iPhone from my iTunes devices. However, as I’ve just brought myself an iPhone, I found out that my apps, music, etc, are still syncing with his iPhone. How do I stop this?
– Gillian
A: Unfortunately, removing an iOS device from your Devices list in iTunes doesn’t actually disassociate the device with your iTunes in the Cloud account as far as the device itself is concerned. More specifically, the device still has your Apple ID and password stored so it can still log into your iTunes Store account and assumes that it’s still allowed to do so.
In fact, the device will eventually reappear in your devices list the next time a new iTunes music or app purchase is automatically downloaded by it, or the next time it syncs with iTunes Match.
The best way to permanently disassociate the device from your iTunes Store account is simply to change the password for your Apple ID. Once you’ve done this, any devices associated with your iTunes Store account will prompt the user to sign in again the next time they want to access your account.
Changing your password is probably a good idea anyway for security reasons, but keep in mind that this password may also be used for services like iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, and Game Center. This means that you may end up needing to re-enter it in several places once you’ve changed it.
Your iPhone and the iTunes and iCloud apps on your Mac or Windows PC should automatically prompt you for the new password as required.
If you don’t want to change your password for some reason, your only other option is to talk to your ex and ask him to log out of your account on his device. This can be done from the iTunes & App Stores section under Settings.
Simply tap on the Apple ID shown at the top of this screen and choose “Sign Out” from the pop-up menu that appears.
Once you’ve done either or both of these things, you should go back into your Devices listing in your iTunes Store Account Settings and remove the iPhone from here again, as it will probably have reappeared.
