Nearly every app and service today wants you to sign up for a subscription. While this spreads out costs over time instead of charging you all at once, it's easy to lose track of your subscriptions and waste money on services you don't even use anymore.

If you typically enroll using your phone or tablet, you might wonder how to check, and then cancel, subscriptions on an iPhone or iPad.

We'll show you how to manage all the subscriptions you've signed up for through your Apple account so you can get them under control.

How to Check Subscriptions on Your iPhone

Apple makes it easy to review all subscriptions you currently have active through your Apple ID. These include any third-party in-app subscriptions, as well as subscriptions to Apple services like Apple Arcade and Apple TV+.

Here's where to find subscriptions on your iPhone:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
  2. Tap your name at the top of the list.
  3. On the resulting page, tap Subscriptions.

While you're here, it's a good idea to make sure that the Renewal Receipts slider is turned on. This will send you an email each time you pay Apple for a subscription renewal, making it easier to track when you pay for these services.

If you don't have this turned on, visit Settings > [Your name] > Media & Purchases > View Account > Purchase History. There you can see everything you've bought from Apple, including subscription renewals and free app downloads.

Read more: How to Master the iPhone App Store's Settings

Next, we'll look at canceling your subscriptions on iPhone.

How to Cancel Subscriptions on iPhone

After you follow the above steps to access the Subscriptions page for your Apple ID, you'll see all active subscriptions that are billed through your Apple account. Tap the subscription you want to unsubscribe from or change.

In the below example, you can see how to cancel Apple Music. Tap Apple Music Membership to see details and change the subscription type, if you want. It shows you what kind of plan you have, when the subscription renews, and your other options for subscribing.

You'll see the Cancel Subscription (or Cancel Free Trial if you're still in the trial period) button below. Tap this and confirm it to unsubscribe from the app's service.

When you cancel a paid subscription, most services allow you to continue using that service until your subscription period ends. This isn't the case for most free trials, though. For instance, if you cancel your Apple Music trial, you'll immediately lose access to the premium service.

Thus, if you want to utilize the entire free trial but don't want to get charged when it's over, we recommend setting a reminder on your device to cancel the app subscription a few days before it ends.

If you ever change your mind about a subscription and want to resubscribe, tap its name in the Expired section on this page. You'll then see options for starting your subscription again. Confirm the one you want, then your subscription will become active once more. And don't forget about Apple One, which lets you bundle several Apple services at a reduced price.

How to Manage Your iCloud Storage Plan

There's one notable exception to the process for checking and canceling a subscription on your iPhone: iCloud storage. Apple will bill you for any iCloud+ plans that include more storage than the 5GB default, but this doesn't appear on the same Subscriptions page.

Instead, to unsubscribe from iCloud+ plans on your iPhone, you'll need to visit Settings > [Your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage. Here, tap Change Storage Plan, then Downgrade Options, to go back to the free plan. You can also change to a different plan tier here.

How to Cancel Apple Subscriptions on Your Mac

If you prefer, you can also cancel an app subscription on your Mac. Starting with macOS Catalina, iTunes no longer exists on macOS. As a result, the functionality to cancel app subscriptions is now located in the App Store.

Open the App Store on your Mac, then click your name and profile icon in the bottom-left corner. Next, select View Information at the top-right. You may need to confirm your Apple ID password to proceed.

Mac View Account Info

Once you see the Account Information page, scroll down to the Manage section. You'll see a Subscriptions entry with the number of subscriptions currently on your account; click Manage to the right of this.

From here, you'll see a very similar panel to that on iPhone and iPad. This lets you change or unsubscribe from an Apple or third-party app subscription, as long as you're signed in with the same Apple ID.

Mac Manage Subscriptions

How to Cancel Apple Subscriptions on Windows

If you use a Windows PC, you can manage your Apple subscriptions through the iTunes subscriptions page. Download iTunes for Windows if you don't have it already, then open iTunes and head to Account > View My Account. This will bring you to a panel similar to the App Store's Account Information above; you may need to confirm your Apple ID before seeing it.

Scroll to the bottom and in the Settings section, you'll see a Subscriptions line. Click Manage next to this. Then you can edit or cancel your subscriptions.

iTunes Windows Manage Subscriptions

Managing Other Subscriptions on Your iPhone

Didn't find the subscription you were looking for using one of the above methods? You'll need to unsubscribe from that service in a different way. The above subscription management only applies to apps that you've subscribed to through your Apple ID. It won't show subscriptions you made through other devices or services.

For example, you might have signed up for Spotify Premium through the Google Play Store on an Android device, or joined Netflix from its own website. While you can enjoy these accounts by signing into their apps on your iPhone, Apple has nothing to do with your subscription.

You'll need to deal with the service directly to manage your subscription. A quick Google search should bring you to the appropriate website so you can log in and manage it.

Spotify Premium Subscription

If you have trouble tracking down where a subscription comes from, check your credit card statement to see what companies you've made payments to. Vendors like "Apple" or "App Store" signify a subscription through your Apple ID, while the company name will likely appear for direct subscriptions. You might have also subscribed using a service like PayPal or Amazon Pay, so look for those too.

Otherwise, if you use Apple's Family Sharing, one of your family members might have signed up for a subscription on their own. You can't manage this from your Apple ID, so you'll need to ask them to look, or use one of their devices to manage that subscription. You may also pay someone else for a shareable subscription and need to talk with them.

Finally, make sure you didn't subscribe with a different Apple ID than the one you're currently using. Check any other email accounts you have for receipt emails from Apple.

A Note on Subscribing Through Apple

We've covered how to cancel app subscriptions on your iPhone, so you're all set to take control of your recurring charges.

Before we wrap up, you should be aware that subscribing to services through Apple often results in paying a higher price. This is because Apple takes a 30% cut of all purchases made through the App Store, resulting in developers charging more to offset that cost.

For example, Spotify Premium costs $9.99 per month normally. However, if you signed up through the iPhone app, you'll pay $12.99 per month instead. There's no reason to do this, as you get an identical service either way.

Thankfully, this has changed a bit as of 2021. Apple now allows certain apps to link to their own signup pages, meaning that you're charged the normal price instead of paying more to subscribe through Apple.

If you have any third-party subscriptions through Apple, we recommend checking the applicable company's website to see if you can get them for a lower cost. You may be grandfathered into paying the higher price for no good reason. This obviously doesn't apply to first-party Apple services.

Cancel iPhone Subscriptions and Save Some Money

Subscriptions are a convenient way to access services you use month-to-month, but they can easily get out of hand. It's wise to take a few minutes to review the subscriptions you're currently paying for on your iPhone to make sure you aren't wasting money.

There are lots of other tools to help you manage existing subscriptions, especially if you share them with friends or family.