How to cancel any subscription billed by Apple on iPhone, iPad or Mac

To cancel an Apple service such as Apple Music, iCloud+ or Apple One, see our Apple page and the guide to cancelling Apple's own services.

Apple keeps one list of every recurring plan billed through your Apple Account. It covers Apple's own services and the plans you started inside apps from the App Store. The list lives in the Settings app on an iPhone, and the steps below follow Apple's own support page for cancelling a subscription.

1. 1

   Open Settings and tap your name

   Your name and Apple Account sit at the top of the Settings screen.

2. 2

   Tap Subscriptions

   This opens the list of plans linked to your Apple Account.

3. 3

   Tap the plan you want to end

   Pick it from the list. If you have several plans, check the name of the app or service on each row before you tap.

4. 4

   Tap Cancel Subscription

   Apple notes that you might need to scroll down to find the Cancel Subscription button. Confirm when the screen asks you to.

Apple's page adds one detail that saves a lot of worry: if there is no Cancel button, or you see an expiration message in red text, the plan is already cancelled. Look at the date in that message. It shows when the plan ends.

Apple's page gives the App Store route for a Mac, and it reaches the same list. In the App Store, click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, click your name again on the page that appears (you may be asked to sign in), click Subscriptions, click the plan and click Cancel Subscription. The same note about a missing Cancel button or a red expiration message applies.

For an iPhone, Apple's page lists the Settings route, so that is the one to use. You can also manage Apple-billed plans on the web: Apple's page links to the subscriptions section of the Apple Account site, where you sign in and choose the plan.

Apple's cancellation page does not set out one rule for when access stops. Its signal is the red expiration message, which names the date the plan ends. For iCloud+, Apple says a cancellation or downgrade takes effect after your current subscription billing period ends. Treat that as a fair guide for other plans too, but read the date on your own screen rather than assume it.

Free trials are different. Apple says to cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends if you do not want it to renew. Cancel on the first day of a trial and look for the red expiration message straight away, so you know the trial will not turn into a paid plan.

Take a screenshot of the plan screen showing the expiration message. If a charge appears after that date, the screenshot shows what the screen told you and when.

A plan that is missing from the list is usually billed to a different Apple Account, or it is not billed by Apple at all. Apple's page suggests this order:

• Search your email for a receipt from Apple or an invoice from Apple.
• Check which Apple Account the receipt shows. If it is another account of yours, sign in to that account to cancel.
• If a family member's account is on the receipt, that person must cancel. Apple says you cannot cancel a family member's subscription.
• If you cannot find an Apple receipt, you may have bought the plan from another company. Check your bank or card statement to identify the biller.
• If a wireless carrier or another provider bills you, contact them for support.

Many apps let you subscribe on their own website, and the charge on your statement then names the company, not Apple. Apple's page is plain on this point: if you find no Apple receipt, contact the company that bills you. Deleting the app does nothing to a plan billed that way, and nothing in your Settings list can end it.

Start with the company's own account page. If it offers no cancel option, hides it behind a phone call or a chat that goes nowhere, write to the company instead. A letter sent by tracked mail gives you the date it was delivered, which is the evidence you need if the charges carry on. Our guide to cancelling a subscription by mail walks through the steps, and how to write a cancellation letter covers what to put in it. The cancellation letter template builds the letter for you.

For the proof, Certified Mail with Return Receipt gives you a mailing receipt and a delivery record. USPS describes both on its page about Certified Mail and other extra services, and keeping them together is what turns a letter into a record.

Apple's own plans follow the same Settings route, with a few extras. Our guide to cancelling Apple services covers iCloud+, Apple One, Apple Music, Apple TV and Apple Arcade. You can also open the company pages for Apple Music, iCloud+ and Apple Arcade. If your phone is not an iPhone, see how to cancel subscriptions on Google Play.

First check which biller is on the statement. A charge from Apple means the plan is still on your list: go back to Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, and look for an active plan you missed. A charge from a company means the Apple route never applied, and the company is the one to write to. If a company bills you after the date it should have stopped, send it the delivery date of your letter and the list of later charges. The FTC's advice on getting out of subscriptions is to keep records and to dispute charges that continue after you cancel. Our guide on what to do when a company keeps charging you explains each step.

Questions about how we handle a letter for you are answered in our help center and on how it works. To see what forgotten plans have cost, try the subscription cost calculator.