My Childs iPad keeps getting my messages when the settings seem correct

Question

My Childs iPad keeps getting my messages when the settings seem correct

iPad (18.7.3) and Iphone 14pro (26.1) We were trying to play a Netflix game last night and the iPads parental controls weren't cooperating, kept saying my screen time code was wrong (it wasn't) so I logged out of my daughters account and logged into mine. When I logged out and logged back into hers all my text messages were still there. I've spent hours this morning and can't figure out why.

My message sharing to other devices is off - has never been on.

Edited to add it doesn't even list the iPad as an option to share to.

My iCloud doesn't back up my messages anyway.

When I logged out it asked about keeping things on the device and I stated No.

I restarted everything. No changes.

I did a full RESET on the iPad and signed in using her email and not my phone.

It STILL kept trying to download my messages. I turned off my wifi/bluetooth. If I delete the messages it says it will delete them from all devices. I checked her iwatch that is signed in with her info and it doesn't have my messages. It makes zero sense to me where the mix up is. After scrolling through the forums this seems like a common problem that keeps happening. I hate that the only fix seems to be turning iMessage off?

Posted on Dec 17, 2025 10:03 AM

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Answer 1

Dec 17, 2025 10:23 AM in response to notamacperson

When you signed-out of your Apple Account you will have seen a prompt where you were offered the opportunity to download and keep a local copy of your iCloud data in several categories - such as Messages, Calendar, Reminders etc.

Having successfully signed-out from your Apple Account, any downloaded copies of your data will have been merged with your Daughter's account when you subsequently signed-in again to her Account.

The data-merge is irreversible. If this is what has occurred - and given your description is highly likely - your only option is to manually identify and delete your data from hers.

If you sign-out from an Apple Account with the intention of signing-in to a different User's Account, it is essential that you decline the opportunity to download/keep a local copy of iCloud data.

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Answer 2

Dec 17, 2025 10:41 AM in response to LotusPilot

That's what I don't understand... I was very careful to select No.. and especially after the full reset... I see no reason why they should have been on there. None of our messages are connected to the cloud.

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Answer 3

Dec 17, 2025 10:58 AM in response to notamacperson

Your iPhone and iPad are presumably synchronised using Messages in iCloud. Evidence suggests that, despite your intended care, a mistake was made somewhere within the process that you performed.

You may wish to check your iPhone settings:

Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding - verify the devices that are configured to receive message forwarding

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Answer 4

Dec 17, 2025 11:07 AM in response to notamacperson

Adding that I toggled iMessage and changed the send/receive to only my phone number and not my email. This seems to have worked but it still doesn't make any sense since the email I use is different than the Apple ID my daughter uses. I am the "organizer" for the parental controls but not sure why this wouldn't have been a problem previously?

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Answer 5

Dec 17, 2025 2:23 PM in response to notamacperson

notamacperson wrote:

As I have stated in my original post - Message forwarding is not on... has not been on and doesn't even list the iPad as an option. Same with iCloud - messages are not backed up to the cloud.

To reiterate, Message Forwarding is configured on your iPhone - not iPad.

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Answer 6

Dec 17, 2025 11:04 AM in response to LotusPilot

As I have stated in my original post - Message forwarding is not on... has not been on and doesn't even list the iPad as an option. Same with iCloud - messages are not backed up to the cloud.

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Answer 7

Dec 17, 2025 12:13 PM in response to notamacperson

Basic question: Do you share an Apple ID with your daughter? That is another possible cause.

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Answer 8

Dec 17, 2025 12:37 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

We have completely separate Apple IDs completely different email addresses

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