[adolph]

The trick is that a particular iPhone can't run around to different people's computers slurping the apps they bought on different iTunes accounts. It can only sync with one computer/iTunes account.

For example, my spouse and I could use the same purchased apps (if we used the same stuff) since we share a single iTunes account and library. I could not sync with my next door neighbor and use all their apps at the same time as I use my own.

[ansy]

I think we're describing different things. You're talking about syncing apps with a computer. Sharing libraries between spouses and stuff like that.

I'm talking about this set of steps (on an iPhone/iPad):

1) Go to Settings App

2) Log out of iTunes

3) Log in as Person B

4) Launch App Store

5) Download an app that Person B previously bought. This is a free update.

6) Go to Settings

7) Sign out of Person B's iTunes account

8) Log back in as myself

9) Voila! Launch pirated app which is still on my device without having to jailbreak my phone.

This of course doesn't allow me to update the app because it requires I login as the other person. And yeah, I probably can't sync this rogue app to my computer. But for games and most apps, this is enough. If an app is worth pirating it's probably good enough without the updates. And I turn off app sync because it's annoying. If I really lost my apps I'd just reinstall the ones that mattered.

NB: I don't do this myself. I'm sure if there was a more 'secure' way without being horrible Apple would have done it. Getting apps onto a device for development was/is horrific.

[Jach]

Is Steam horrible? As far as I know you can log in as another account and download games the other account has and play them, and if you log back into your account the game data doesn't go anywhere (so if you buy you don't have to redownload) but you can't launch them from the steam client. Why didn't Apple do something similar?

[rimantas]

No need for single iTunes account and library. There is home sharing feature in iTunes and it allows to share apps simply by dragging and dropping.

[adolph]

Yeah, we started sharing the library before home sharing. I've been thinking about splitting them and using home sharing but the current pain (oh, will you quit iTunes, I need to sync) is less than the pain of changing how we approach things (oh, I need to copy these songs to my Library to put them on the phone).