How to cancel iOS app subscriptions

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It used to be a lot harder to cancel subscriptions.
It used to be a lot harder to cancel subscriptions.
Photo: Charlie Sorrel/Cult of Mac

Did you get a new iPhone or iPad for Christmas? Maybe you got all excited and signed up for a few subscriptions? And now, perhaps, you’re worried that when the free trial periods end, you’ll be stuck paying for them, and that they’ll be as impossible to cancel as an unused gym membership. No problem! Canceling subscriptions on iOS is almost as easy as signing up to them.

How to change or cancel subscriptions on iOS

Why is this section so well hidden, Apple?
If your’e reading this article on a device that’s logged in to the App Store with your Apple ID, then you can use this Apple-provided link to go straight to your subscription management page:

Manage your subscriptions

If not, it’s still pretty straightforward. Just open the settings app, and tap the banner with your name at the top of the screen. Then tap iTunes & App Store. Then tap your Apple ID, and choose View Apple ID from the list. You’ll have to authenticate with Face ID.

Finally, tap Subscriptions.

Once you fond them, the iOS subscription options are easy to use.
Once you find them, the iOS subscription options are easy to use.
Photo: Apple

This is where you manage everything. Just tap on a subscription, and you’ll see its current details, as well as options to change subscription tiers, or to cancel entirely. You can also reactivate lapsed or previously-canceled subs.

And one once ouch is that you can cancel right now, and still enjoy the rest of the currently paid-for subscription period. That means you can sign up for a free trial, and cancel immediately so you’re never billed, and yet still enjoy the entire free trial period.

And that’s it. Now that you’re no longer worried about how subs work, you can go out and sign up for as many trials as you like. Happy New Year etc.

 

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