So, you purchased an app that you're not too keen on and you’re looking to cancel your subscription. Never fear! The process is fast and simple. Keep reading and get to grips with the steps needed to cancel your app subscription for iPhone today.
Which subscriptions can you cancel?
When you get yourself a new iPhone, certain apps will come with your device and others will need to be manually downloaded from the Apple App Store. It’s entirely possible to cancel built-in apps like FaceTime and the App Store itself, although not recommended as they come in pretty darn handy. Any other subscription that you download off of the App Store (free or paid) can be cancelled as and when you feel like it. This can be done to free up space, speed up the performance, or revamp your existing interface with cool new features, apps and/or widgets.
Keep in mind though that the vast majority of app subscriptions are set to automatically renew unless you go into your device and cancel them manually. If you happen to have a free trial period attached to a subscription and cancel before it ends, you may lose the app immediately. On the same note, if you don’t want to renew a free or discounted trial, it’s advisable to cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends, otherwise, you may end up paying for an app subscription for another month that you have no intention of using.
What Are Apple Subscriptions?
Apple (being Apple) have developed six of their own streamlined services for iPhone users bundled into a paid subscription plan known as AppleOne.
Apple Music: Where you can browse, stream and download 75 million+ different songs, ad-free. You can also listen to a bunch of curated playlists based on your favourite music genre.
Apple TV+: Where you can stream the latest, critically acclaimed “Apple Original'' films, documentaries and series. While they started out slow, Apple has thrown heavy resources behind producing new shows, bolstering their offering for 2022 and beyond.
Apple Arcade: An end to end gaming hub with 200 different titles and counting. The games are entirely ad-free, with zero in-app purchases, and developed to precision by some of the best minds in the business. Apple Arcade is compatible with iPhone, iOS and Mac Catalina.
iCloud+: A world-leading cloud computing service where users can store and backup files, videos, photos, documents, contacts, apps and more. iCloud also has some of the most powerful privacy features on the market to keep your data secure at all times.
Apple News+: Where subscribers can get around the clock access to all the latest news, trends and current events. Apple News+ is also able to unlock entire magazine issues that you can read online or save for later.
Apple Fitness+: Lastly, Apple One subscribers can get active at any time with Apple Fitness+. Powered by Apple Watch, the Apple Fitness+ app tracks your exercise patterns, giving you live metrics like heart rate as well as 11+ different workouts, including mindfulness coaching.
How to cancel a subscription on an iPhone?
Recaps aside, let's get to the crux of the article. How do you cancel an app subscription on iPhone? Here are the steps needed, and remember you can also choose to cancel Apple One specific subscriptions, like Apple TV+, or Apple Fitness+ using the same method.
- On your iPhone, open up the “Settings” app, located on your home screen.
- Tap your name at the top of the screen.
- Navigate down to “Subscriptions” and tap again.
- Locate the subscription you’d like to cancel and hit “Cancel Subscription.”
Keep in mind that if you don't see an option to cancel the subscription, it was already cancelled previously and you won’t be billed for it again. If you're looking to cancel certain subscriptions that come as part of the Apple One package, you’ll need to choose specific services and cancel them individually. These subscriptions can only be cancelled if you originally downloaded them using your Apple ID account.
Keep in mind that your device screen will always show both the active subscriptions and the old subscriptions in the same display. You’ll need to go through the list and pinpoint the app you’d like to offboard. Also, if you’ve picked up any free trials that are still ongoing, you may see an option to “Cancel Free Trial”
How to restart a cancelled subscription on an iPhone
What if you want to restart a previously cancelled subscription on your iPhone. You can easily reinstate your previously cancelled subscriptions using similar navigation in the Settings app.
Here are the steps needed to reinstate or restart a cancelled subscription for iPhone.
- Navigate back to the Settings app on your iPhone home screen.
- Tap your name and Apple ID at the top of the screen and then tap “Subscriptions.”
- Browse through the list of expired subscriptions and see what you’d like to reactivate.
- Tap on the app, confirm your choice and select the option to “Reactivate Subscription.”
That’s all there is to it really. After that, you’ll be resubscribed and you can use the app as normal. You’ll also be able to reinstate subscriptions for the Apple One suite, including Apple TV+, Apple Fitness+ and similar. Keep in mind that you may need to enter your password, Touch ID or Face ID during the above steps.
Follow the above steps every now and then to make sure that you're not still paying for subscriptions on apps that you’re no longer using. The Apple subscription manager has made it pretty easy to keep tabs on current and previous subscriptions by housing them in one place for convenience and quick navigation.
Approve purchases with Family Sharing
You can also approve purchases and subscriptions on the App Store by enabling the Family Sharing feature on Apple. You can set up a Family Sharing account for Apple where you as the organizer are able to approve subscriptions requests made on the App Store.
Family Sharing also gives up to five different family members access to the Apple One Suite, including Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and Apple Music etc. Your family is also able to share music on iTunes, books with Apple Books and see which apps have been approved or denied on the App Store.
Using the “Ask To Buy” feature, kids can send a request to the family account organizer for any new purchase and/or download requests. In turn, the organizer can either approve or deny the request using their iPhone or other Apple device.
To enable the “Ask To Buy” feature, you’ll need to set up a “Family Sharing” account on Apple.
- Navigate to the Settings app on your iPhone home screen
- Tap your name and Apple ID at the top of the screen
- Tap “Family Sharing”, and then tap “Set Up Your Family.”
- Follow the instructions to add family members and set up your “Family Sharing” profile.
Now that you've set up Family Sharing, here's what you’ll need to do to enable “Ask To Buy.”
- Once again, navigate to the Settings app on your iPhone home screen.
- Select “Family Sharing” from the dropdown list.
- Tap “Ask To Buy” and enter the relevant family member's name and use the toggle to activate.