Managing Multiple Accounts

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Managing Multiple Accounts

 

A question for the Triple-A-er community. Particularly those with multiple devices in a family environment. I had a similar issue in the Apple world and it's something that I'm not sure anyone has solved satisfactorily. I hope to be educated otherwise.

 

My wife and I each have our own S3's. We each have Google accounts. I used mine for purchasing things in the past, but when we switched to Android devices, I created a "family" account.

 

With the family account we buy applications, music (now an All Access subscription), etc. I buy SwiftKey and it goes on both phones. We share a single library although she has her playlists and I have mine.

 

Is this what everyone else does?

 

The problem is this. If I reset my phone, the first Google account you add becomes the primary. That's our personal accounts. Then I add the family account later. I assume Google Play apps and settings backups are handled by the primary account, but it doesn't have access to the purchased family account apps. Determining which account "owns" an app is challenging.

 

Additionally, in the Play Store app, I try to keep the family account active so I don't accidentally buy something with my personal account and lock my wife out of installing it (unless I add my account to her device). But I notice that when I switch to my personal account, all of a sudden I see that there are updates for personally owned apps that I don't see normally. Do those apps get updated automatically regardless of the currently selected Play account?

 

It also stinks when it comes to reviews and sharing. The family account doesn't have Google+ access and it doesn't allow me to create one with a "fake" identity like "Gehrke Family". I don't want a second account for me or my wife. I suppose one of the cats could have one, but I can't trust them to not buy any kitty porn apps that might be released in the future. (Hey. It's the Internet. You know it could happen.)

 

I can't easily share what I'm listening to in All Access, because the subscription is with the Family account. If I strongly feel the urge to share, I have to find the track/album/artist/app in the Play store with my personal account and share it that way.

 

You're tired of my rambling by now so hopefully you get the gist.

 

Surely I'm not the only one. Or am I?

 

(Sorry for calling you Shirley...)

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

You made a mistake creating a"family" account. Just have a personal account for each person.

 

I add my account to each phone and link the play store/music/movies to it so any app I buy goes to any device. Of you want to control who can buy apps, put a password on the phones you want to control.

 

Whenever there are more than one Google account on a device, you will be prompted which account to use for each app when started the first time and you can always change accounts at any time. This might solve the problem of sharing also.

 

[G+_Ironzey Lewis]

That, along with a few other reasons, is why everyone in my house has a separate account. It would be nice if there was an account type that allowed families (with young ones) to manage sub logins.

[G+_Ironzey Lewis]

We really should be supporting our developers by buying the apps we use. I don't want to be too critical but having one login to share paid apps is a good way to discourage developers.

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Jeremy Haas That doesn't really solve the problem, though. Since each of us do have personal accounts, let's play it out.

 

I already had billing set up with my account so we could just use it for all purchases. The experience is great for me, but what about my wife? Her phone will be backed up with her personal account which doesn't own anything. 

 

Any sharing she does will be as me because she'll be logged into All Access as me.

 

If the significant other ain't happy, then ain't nobody happy. ;)

 

As Ironzey Lewis said, an account type to manage sub-logins would be nice. Actually, something like Netflix has implemented with profiles would be great.

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Ironzey Lewis I've thought a long time about that, actually. Do developers expect you to buy an app for each device? If I own a phone and a tablet, do I pay twice? Technically the family owns two phones. I'm the primary user of one and she's the primary on the other. If we also owned an Android tablet, it would be shared. How does that fit into the equation?

 

Believe me. I buy a lot of apps to support developers and encourage development. If I thought that most developers thought I was cheating them out of anything, I'd change my purchasing habits.

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

Pay an extra $8 a month for sharing.

 

The backup issue is going to be the same whether you do my way or your current way. Most app data is saved in the cloud and you could do a quick titanium backup before she changes a device.

[G+_Ironzey Lewis]

Each device no the Play store isn't set up that way. Each user, it only seems fair and it does seem to be the way the store is setup. 

[G+_Joseph Cappellino]

Tom Gehrke - personally, i put both mine and my wife's account on all our devices. This comes in handy multiple ways. We each get calendar notifications (which I've been excited about since 2.2), we can each share paid apps, etc.

 

Of course, there's the fact that I have to trust her completely, but that's a different issue.

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Jeremy Haas $8 for sharing?

 

Ironzey Lewis So in the case of a 3rd shared device, she's not allowed to use apps that I bought with my account and vice versa? What if I've got kids old enough to have their own accounts?

 

One wife and three teenage kids and we all like to play the same game that costs $5 on a shared tablet. I need to spend $25?

 

As I said, I completely agree with supporting developers, but I can't imagine the majority of them thinking that makes sense.

 

Joseph Cappellino Trust isn't an issue here either. It's more about logistics. The simple act of password management, for instance. I use LastPass and 2-factor authentication. That makes my passwords complex and really adds a wrinkle.

 

It just seems like it should be easier.

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

Subscribe to all access on her account also.

 

Game save data is not tied to the purchaser. Buy a game once and everyone gets thier own game. It will either be stored locally or saved to the cloud by signing in to Google, Facebook, origin, etc. Which everyone will have their own personal account for.?

 

Also you can setup profiles on android since 4.1 i think on a shared device which will keep all app data separated and let everyone customize the device to their liking.

[G+_Ironzey Lewis]

Tom Gehrke That case may be an extreme. If it is a shared device you don't need to buy it each time for every user.  You all are sharing the device so I doubt you would really need to by five copies of the game. The dev would probably love you for spending that much, not to mention it's cheaper than taking five people to the movies and they are getting a lot more out of the app than the latest "Lord of the Rings" movie.

As a side note, I rarely buy my 8 year old apps, that is what his allowance is for. As for my 4 year old, her free loading days are almost done. 

Rather than nitpick each particular scenario I'll just say, Let you conscience be you guide.

Developers have to buy apps too. 

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Jeremy Haas What about music that we both own? CDs that we ripped and uploaded. I suppose we could upload that to each account.

 

But now if I buy an album digitally through Google Play (granted, not super likely with All Access, but it could happen), do I need to buy the same album for her? Does she switch Play Music to my account to listen to it?

 

The backup data I'm concerned about is really just the basic, device-specific stuff. 

 

I know I'm being argumentative, but I'm not intending that to be in the negative context of the word. I agree in varying degrees to pretty much everything you guys are saying and I absolutely appreciate your willingness to walk through this with me. It's certainly educational. :)

 

And maybe these things can be show topics if the hosts find them interesting. So far we've identified:

 

* "Family" Accounts: Good/Bad/Necessary/Unnecessary

* Household vs. User vs. Device Licensing: Spirit of "The Law", Letter of "The Law" and Developer Intent

* Multiple Account Management Techniques on Shared Devices

 

Not sure those are developed enough thoughts yet.

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Ironzey Lewis "Let your conscience be your guide." Roger that! :)

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

I find it easier to share a play music account. I just don't think sharing straight from play music is really that big of a deal.

 

I know you like to share but does your wife really care? If not, tie the music to your account.

 

Of she is hell bent on sharing then set her up with her own account and show her the 4 clicks needed to check out an album you bought.

 

If she really likes it and can't stand the 4 extra clicks needed to hear it, download it to the PC, and upload it back to her music account.

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Jeremy Haas You're right in that "social sharing" is my thing and not hers. But there's still the question of access.

 

The system is current weighted heavily towards account-centric ownership. (Which is Ironzey Lewis's point, I believe.)  My assertion is that there are moral & ethical use cases which, I believe, require something different.

 

What I'm trying to figure out is whether that opinion is shared opinion or if I'm just crazy.

 

Starting to think that maybe I'm just crazy. ;)

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

Google music can be shared with up to 5 devices I believe. There is no moral debate on using those 5 devices as you choose unless you think you would need to buy a seperate CD for each CD player you own. ?

[G+_Mark Scholes]

Never buy anything with DRM, problem solved

[G+_Santos Cardona]

This post is going south. A family account is a great idea. Currently I just share personal accounts over multiple devices. I consider my primary account as the family account and just shut off syncing for calendar, contacts etc. Buying the same app for multiple accounts in the same family is just crazy. Ironzey Lewis #moneytoburn #givemesome. Tom Gehrke have you checked to see what the reddit hive says?

[G+_Ironzey Lewis]

And with that I'm out

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

Santos Cardona note the difference between a family account and a personal account you share with your family

[G+_Santos Cardona]

Jeremy Haas I had my primary account since my nook color days and had no android phone. I bought everything with this account and then my wife and I both got phones and she needed an account. So I share my account with her for SwiftKey, titanium backup, green power premium, and SD maid. I don't see anything wrong with saving $15.

[G+_Jeremy Haas]

Santos Cardona Neither do I. But that is not a family account situation like Tom was doing. That is just sharing a personal account which I endorse.?

[G+_Tom Gehrke]

Not sure things have gone south here. Everyone has shared good points as far as I'm concerned.

 

As far as a personal main account and a family go, the problem remains if you're not the main account user.

 

So yeah... I could solve my problem by using my personal account as the main account, but that's not a great recipe for a happy family environment. ;)

 

If f is the number of people in the family and p is the number of people with problems, my approach with a family account looks like this:

 

f = p

 

Using my account as the primary changes the equation to look like this:

 

f - 1 = p

 

In both cases p is something greater than 0.

 

And now this post has gone south. ;)

 

I know people make it work. I'm making it work. I'm getting all my content and sharing and being all Androidy and still happily married. The question is whether there's a better way of making it work.

 

In spite of all the great input, I'm gathering that there's not.

 

I'll post this in the reddit and see what kind of response it gets there.

 

Thanks, guys!