Forums | MacLife

Once purchased:
You can download an app from Apple's servers for as long as that app is available. {1,2,3}
Any apps that you have purchased and have available on your computer can be installed on any new iPhones.  There are not currently any restrictions on the number of devices or how those devices are associated with your computer. {4}
Passwords can be reset by visiting Apple's service web page.  If you aren't able to reset in this way, I'm sure calling would resolve the issue.
I'm pretty sure that that backup strategy should work.

1: Redownloads are only available from a computer which is associated with your iTunes account.
2: If the app is removed from the App Store by apple or the developer, it will no longer be available for download.
3: Apple may at some point in the future decide that you are not allowed to redownload apps, as is the case with music, etc.  They have already restricted redownloads directly to the iPhone.
4: Currently, the only way to install apps on an iPhone or iPod Touch is by synching the phone with the iTunes library.  Performing this with phones which aren't yours is likely against the terms of use and would probably cause problems with existing data on the phone.

To be honest, I have no idea.  I'm not sure if you can just drag apps back into iTunes to activate them.  I'm pretty sure they're encrypted, so you'd have to authorize each account and I'm not sure what the restrictions are with trying to use apps from multiple accounts on multiple devices.  Read the license agreement and give it a try.

Apple hasn't stopped offering music or movies at all.

As long as the app is available you should be able to re-download.

specv4life wrote:

so wait, are you saying it would be possible to, say, copy an application I purchased for my phone also onto my dad/sister's iPhone through iTunes, though it may be in violation of the license agreement?

I think the reason Apple stopped offering MP3s and Movies is because of music/movie company DRM bullsmurf and either Apple comply with their demands or not be able to offer the affected movies/music. Fortunately they have primary control over the distribution of Apps so if the developers don't like their App being available for re-download, Apple can say "shove it" and not do business with them, although that could mean the app getting pulled and me being SOL should this happen with an App I already bought.

Still, the gist of what you're saying is I bought it, its mine, I may not have a physical copy but I do have rights to it as long as I have a device to play it on and can re-download as necessary, correct?

Yeah. You can install an app you downloaded for your iPhone on any iPod Touch or iPhone whether it is yours or not. It is really the only way to share apps. The only con for that is that the device must be connected to your computer and iTunes must be open. I have done this thousands of times with my sister. In fact before I disabled automatic sync all her new apps or all of my apps, music, videos, etc, would copy to each device even if we didn't want it. Fact is we both have different tastes. So we decided to create separate playlist for each of us so that none the of each others music,pics,movies, music videos, would be installed on the wrong device.

The thing that I don't know is whether my friends can sync the new stuff to their computer.