A step-by-step guide to managing your subscriptions on both iOS and Android devices
Once we have a smartphone in our hands, everything seems to become incredibly easier. We can watch our favorite movies or listen to music with a few taps on the screen. However, many convenient applications often require a monthly/yearly membership fee if you want to use their services. Therefore, it is advised that you occasionally inspect your subscriptions and unsubscribe to some of them if you don’t use them anymore. Here is a complete guide about how to manage your app subscriptions as well as how to cancel unwanted ones.
How to manage app subscriptions on your iOS devices?
Whether it be Apple Music or Apple TV, you know that down the road, a subscription plan is awaiting. Also, know that it is possible to purchase (or rent) music and movies through iTunes or the official online store. All of these applications usually come with monthly or yearly plans and they will be renewed automatically without even asking your permission. Thus why we suggest you manage your subscriptions to avoid unnecessary expenses.
Below is a step-by-step guide to track your purchased items on your iPhone/iPad:
- Open the “Settings” app on your iOS mobile.
- Tap on your profile name on the top right bar.
- After that, you will be forwarded to your Apple ID account page. Tap on “Subscriptions” and all active applications will be displayed on the screen.
- Tap on the item to see more details, for instance, the next billing date. Moreover, you can also renew, upgrade, or stop the subscription as well.
- In case you desire to remove some subscriptions from Apple One (a monthly package that bundles all Apple services), just tap on “Choose Individual Services” and tap on “Cancel”.
How to manage Apple subscriptions on Mac?
For MacOS, you can monitor your app subscriptions as well and cancel undesirable ones easily by following the steps below:
- After opening the AppStore, click on your profile photo in the bottom left corner.
- Then, all downloaded applications, including active and inactive ones, will be displayed on the screen.
- Click on “View Information” in the top panel. Thereafter, you will see your Apple ID summary.
- Scroll down and tap on “Manage” in order to modify your subscriptions, for example, Apple Music, Apple TV, etc.
What should you do if you cannot find the subscription you want to delete?
After trying the steps above, if the subscriptions you aim to remove don’t display on the list, this is mainly due to the following reasons:
The subscription was purchased with a different Apple ID.
In case you share a device with your family member, it is possible that the subscription was paid with a family member’s account. Therefore, just ask that person to sign in and cancel the unwanted services for you.
Services are provided by third-party companies.
On the Apple ID account page, it shows only subscriptions provided by Apple/iTunes because those from third-party companies, such as Netflix or Amazon Kindle, are billed directly by their owners. This is the reason why they can’t be purchased nor canceled through the AppStore.
In conclusion, if you would like to change or discontinue the membership plan, you will have to go to their official website to manage your subscription.
How to change your iCloud storage plan?
iCloud is considered a must for iOS users, especially if they have an abundance of media files like photos or videos. There are 3 plans with different monthly pricing: 50 GB, 200 GB, and 2 TB. If you want to modify your iCloud storage subscription on your iPhone or iPad, you can follow our instructions below:
- Start by opening “Settings”.
- Go to your Apple ID account and you will see the “iCloud” menu under “Subscriptions”.
- Tap on it to view your iCloud storage information.
- Then, select “Manage Storage” and “Change Storage Plan”.
- Thereafter, all subscription plans will be shown on the screen. You can choose the one you prefer, or tap “Downgrade Options” at the bottom.
- Next, you will need to input your password to sign in with your Apple ID.
- Lastly, select a new storage plan and “done”.
For Android users, how can you inspect your subscriptions?
For Android users, it is important to check your ongoing subscriptions on your Google account as well. Let’s see the step-by-step instructions below:
- First, you have to go to “Settings” on your smartphone and then choose “Google”.
- Tap the “Manage your Google Account” option.
- Next, select “Payments & subscriptions”
- Then, select the “Manage subscriptions” option in the “Manage purchases” menu.
- In this step, you will see a list of all installed applications on your device. Tap an item to view more details, upgrade/downgrade or cancel the plan.
Keep in mind that although you already uninstalled the applications, their subscriptions still remain active. Thus, the best solution is to follow the instructions mentioned above to permanently disable unwanted subscriptions, otherwise, they will always deduct money from your bank account every month or so.