There are two kinds of subscriptions on an iPhone, and they live in different places. Knowing which is which saves a lot of searching.
Subscriptions billed through Apple
Anything you subscribed to inside an app from the App Store is managed by Apple. To see them:
- Open Settings.
- Tap your name at the top.
- Tap Subscriptions.
Active subscriptions are listed with their renewal date and price. Tap one and choose Cancel Subscription. You keep access until the end of the period you have already paid for. Expired subscriptions are listed further down, which is a useful record of what you once paid for.
The same list is reachable from the App Store app: tap your profile picture, then Subscriptions.
Subscriptions billed directly by the service
Streaming services, software, news sites and most things you signed up for on a website bill your card directly. Apple cannot see or cancel these. Each one has to be cancelled on the service’s own website or app, usually under Account or Billing.
This is the half that gets forgotten, because there is no single list. The fix is to keep your own: one place with every subscription, its price, its renewal date and a link to the page where it can be cancelled.
Free trials
A free trial is a subscription with a delayed first charge. Cancelling a trial through Apple keeps it active until the trial ends, so there is no reason to wait — cancel the moment you decide you will not keep it. For trials billed directly, check whether cancelling ends access immediately before you do it.
Keeping it from happening again
The yearly total is what makes subscriptions visible. Once you have it, the habit is simple: a reminder a few days before each renewal, and a decision made on that day rather than discovered on a statement.
Want this number kept up to date on your phone? Subvanta tracks your subscriptions with a reminder before every renewal and before each free trial starts charging. No account, no bank login — the App Store privacy label reads “Data Not Collected”. Free for five subscriptions.
Get Subvanta for iPhone ↗