How to cancel a subscription on iPhone or iPad

Signing up for a subscription service like Apple Arcade through iOS or iPadOS is kind of fun. A menu pops pop, you activate Face ID or Touch ID, and the world’s most satisfying ding lets you know your purchase was successful. It’s simplicity itself.

As for unsubscribing? That’s not so simple, but it’s better than it used to be. For years, Apple would make you venture into depths of the Settings app that you probably never even knew existed in order to find your list of subscriptions. Now, though, Apple lets you access your subscriptions directly through the App Store app. It’s still not incredibly intuitive, but it’s a massive improvement over the hoops we used to have to jump through.

Regardless of whether you want out of HBO Now, Match.com, or your free trial of Apple Arcade, here’s what you need to do to cancel a subscription. Below, we’ll show you how to cancel your subscriptions through either the App Store or the Settings app.

Updated 10/21/19: Updated to reflect changes in iOS 13.

The easy way

You can access all your app subscriptions from your profile in the App Store app. This is by far the easiest way to cancel (or renew) a subscription. Here’s how to do it.

1. Open the App Store app.

2. Click on your profile icon in the upper right-hand corner.

3. Press Subscriptions.

4. You’ll see a list of all your active and expired subscriptions.

5. If you want to cancel one, press the desired active subscription and then press Cancel Subscription toward the bottom. You’ll then be done.

6. If you want to renew one, click the desired expired subscription. You’ll usually see a list of different plans. Press the one you want, and then iOS will prompt you to approve an Apple Pay payment.

Leif Johnson/IDG

The long way

With iOS 13, Apple also simplified “the long way” of managing your subscriptions through the Settings app. As you can see below, it’s no longer quite so long anymore.

1. Open the Settings app.

2. Tap your Apple ID “card” with your name and profile image at the top of the menu. 

3. Press Subscriptions.

4. You’ll see a list of all your active and expired subscriptions.

5. If you want to cancel one, press the desired active subscription and then press Cancel Subscription toward the bottom. You’ll then be done.

6. If you want to renew one, click the desired expired subscription. You’ll usually see a list of different plans. Press the one you want, and then iOS will prompt you to approve an Apple Pay payment.

Leif Johnson/IDG

How to re-subscribe to a service

To resubscribe, repeat steps 1 through 4 above. 

Leif Johnson/IDG

This will bring you back to your Subscriptions panel, where you’ll find your Expired subscriptions underneath your Active subscriptions. Just select the service you’d like to resubscribe to, and then select one of the available plans.