Apple ID sharing can create a digital mess. Here’s how to clean it.

I had my first Apple device when I was 12, an iPod Touch with a shiny silver back.

While I was setting it up, it asked me for an Apple ID, the email and password combination that today links iMessage, FaceTime, digital purchases and more. As a preteen who came of age before Family Sharing, I didn’t have my own Apple ID, let alone a credit card. So I logged in with my dad’s account.