We generally associate one-stop shopping with convenience. We generally want to be able to buy all our groceries in the same store, listen to all of our music via a single music service, and pay all of our bills using one banking service.
That's the idea behind the Apple ID subscription manager — Apple has tried to centralize all of your recurring payments for music, in-app purchases, and similar subscriptions in one place on your iPhone.
You should follow these steps to, at the very least, remind yourself what subscriptions you are paying for every month. You might be surprised to find that you are still being billed for some long-forgotten subscriptions. Once there, you can eliminate the ones you no longer need.
Just remember that this only applies for subscriptions that you signed up for using your Apple ID account. If you go through these steps but can't find the service you're looking for, it means that you didn't use your Apple ID to sign up for it.
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How to cancel a subscription on an iPhone
1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone and tap your name and Apple ID at the top.
2. On the Apple ID page, tap "Subscriptions." You may need to enter your password or use Touch ID or Face ID to log into your account.
3. Review the list of active subscriptions. If you see one you want to learn more about or cancel, tap it.
This screen lists both active subscriptions and any old, cancelled subscriptions you've had in the past.
4. On the subscription page, review the details about your subscription. To cancel this subscription, tap "Cancel Subscription" and then confirm your choice. If you are in the middle of a free trial, you might see a message like "Cancel Free Trial" instead.
Be aware that you when you cancel a subscription mid-cycle, you will typically still have access to that service through the end of the current billing period. For example, if you cancel a service on February 15, but the subscription would normally be renewed on the first of every month, in most cases you will be able to continue using the service until the start of March.
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How to restart a cancelled subscription on an iPhone
Regret choosing to cancel a service and want it back? No problem — you can easily do that by returning to the same place in Settings.
1. Open the Settings app and then tap your name and Apple ID at the top of the screen.
2. Tap "Subscriptions."You may need to enter your password or use Touch ID or Face ID to log into your account.
3. Look for the list of expired subscriptions at the bottom of the screen. Tap the one you would like to reactivate.
4. On the subscription page, tap the subscription option you want and then confirm your choice. You'll now be re-subscribed.
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Freelance Writer
Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.