How to Find and Cancel Your Unused Subscriptions

Subscriptions have become an integral part of our lives and seem to have spiraled out of control. While monthly payments used to be limited to a few services, today we pay for music, cloud gaming, AI chatbots, meal delivery services, professional networks, and much more. Almost every app or service offers its own subscription. This guide will help you locate and cancel those subscriptions that are no longer serving you, so you don't pay for something you don't use. It's surprising how many unnecessary subscriptions can be discovered, and canceling them always brings a sense of relief.

It's noteworthy that signing up for a subscription is often much easier than canceling it—this is seemingly by design. There have been attempts to introduce rules requiring companies to simplify the cancellation process, but these efforts never came to fruition.

This means that getting rid of unused services will still require some effort. However, there are effective tactics that can make the process easier. Here are our recommendations for finding and canceling your unneeded subscriptions.

First: Find Out What Subscriptions You Have

Before proceeding, you need to find out what subscriptions you actually have. Many people are unaware of how much money quietly leaves their accounts each month due to stealthy charges. One of the most reliable ways is to carefully review your bank and credit card transactions for the past full month. You might have to scroll through many entries, but each monthly subscription will definitely appear there at least once.

Annual subscriptions are trickier to track down. They can often be found through the initial emails that services send upon sign-up. Try using advanced search in your email for terms like "welcome" or "thank you" in the subject line, as well as "annual," "subscription," or "membership" in the general search. This will help you get an idea of your active services, although you might need to filter through promotional messages. This approach can save time compared to reviewing a year's worth of bank statements.

Sometimes it's helpful to simply see a list of common subscriptions people pay for (and often forget about). Here are a few categories:

• Entertainment: Video streaming services, music streaming, channels.
• Gaming: Subscriptions for gaming platforms.
• Work/Productivity: Premium accounts for professional networks, cloud storage, office suites, planners.
• Dating: Dating applications.
• Food: Meal kit delivery services, delivery passes.

How to Cancel Subscriptions

For the most part, the way you signed up for a service is the way you'll cancel it. If you subscribed through an app store (iOS or Android), you'll need to cancel it there. If you subscribed via the service's website, the cancellation will be done there. Sometimes, even the device you used to subscribe matters.

Once you've determined where to go, the cancellation process almost always involves logging into your account, navigating to your profile or account settings section, where you can view and terminate your subscription.

Below are the steps to cancel some popular subscriptions.

Through Apple App Store or Google Play Store

When you pay for a subscription through an app store, the transaction will likely be listed as a payment to either Apple or Google, which makes it harder to identify the specific service from bank statements. Here’s how to see what you've subscribed to and how to cancel through these marketplaces.

How to cancel subscriptions through Apple's App Store

1. Open the "Settings" app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on your profile box at the top.
3. Tap "Subscriptions." Here, you'll see your active and inactive subscriptions listed.
4. Select the one you want to cancel and follow the prompts.

How to cancel subscriptions through Google Play Store

1. Open the Google Play app.
2. Tap your profile circle in the upper right.
3. Tap "Payments & Subscriptions."
4. Tap "Subscriptions."
5. You'll see your active subscriptions and can decide which ones you no longer want.

How to cancel Amazon Prime

A Prime membership offers benefits such as free shipping and access to Prime Video. If Prime is no longer relevant for you, here’s how to cancel it.

Through the Amazon app:

1. Tap the person icon at the bottom of the screen.
2. Tap on the "Your Account" button at the top of the screen.
3. Scroll down to and tap "Memberships and Subscriptions."
4. You'll be taken to a Prime page; tap "Manage Membership" in the drop-down menu at the top.
5. Select the "Update, Cancel and More" option, and tap "End Membership." Here, you can also set a reminder to be sent three days before your next renewal if you don’t want to cancel right away.

Via a web browser:

1. Sign in to your Amazon account.
2. Hover over "Accounts & Lists" to the right of the search bar at the top.
3. Click on "Memberships & Subscriptions" under "Your Account."
4. Click the "Cancel Subscription" button.

How to cancel Paramount Plus

If you subscribed to Paramount Plus through Prime Video or the App Store, you'll need to cancel it through the same platform.

1. Log in to your Paramount Plus account via a web browser.
2. Select your username in the upper right corner.
3. Click on "Account" and scroll down to "Cancel Subscription."
4. Click "Cancel Subscription."

How to cancel Apple TV+

Apple TV+ requires an Apple ID to sign up, so the easiest way to cancel is through the "Settings" app on your Apple device. If you didn't subscribe via a Mac, iPad, or iPhone, and don't use an Apple TV box, follow the PC instructions.

On an iPhone or iPad:

1. Open the "Settings" app.
2. Tap your profile box at the top.
3. Tap "Subscriptions."
4. Tap either Apple TV+ or Apple One membership, depending on how you initially subscribed.
5. Select the subscription you want to cancel, then click the "Cancel Subscription" button.

On a Mac:

1. Open the App Store app.
2. Click on your name and profile image at the bottom left.
3. Click on "Account Settings" at the top of the screen.
4. In the pop-up window, scroll down to the "Manage" section and click the "Manage" link to the right of "Subscriptions."
5. Select the "Edit" link next to the subscription you want to cancel, then click the "Cancel Subscription" button.

On an Apple TV box:

1. Open the "Settings" app from the home screen.
2. Click on "Users & Accounts."
3. Click on "Subscriptions."
4. Find the subscription you want to cancel and follow the prompts.

On a PC:

1. Go to tv.apple.com and sign in.
2. Click on the account icon at the top of the page.
3. Click on "Settings" and scroll down to "Subscriptions," then click "Manage."
4. Choose "Cancel Subscription."

How to cancel an Audible membership

If you downloaded Audible as part of a free trial or for a short trip but haven't used it much since, here's how to stop paying. If you didn't subscribe via Amazon or Audible but instead through the App Store or Google Play, follow the instructions for canceling subscriptions through Apple's App Store or Google Play Store above.

Through Amazon:

1. Sign in to your Amazon account.
2. Hover over "Accounts & Lists" to the right of the search bar.
3. Click on "Memberships & Subscriptions" under "Your Account."
4. You'll see your Audible membership listed; click the "Audible Settings" button.
5. Scroll down to "Membership Options & Help" and click on "Cancel Membership."

Through Audible (on a browser):

1. Sign in to your Audible account.
2. Hover over the link that says "Hi [your name]" and select "Account Details" from the menu.
3. You'll see a box with your membership details; click on "Cancel Membership."
4. Answer the "reason for canceling" question and follow the prompts.

How to cancel Spotify Premium

If you want to revert to the free version of Spotify, here’s how. You can change your payment tier through the app. However, to cancel the subscription, you'll need to use a web browser. Technically, you can cancel via the app, but this involves deleting your account and all its data. To preserve your playlists and simply switch to the free version, use a mobile or desktop browser.

1. Go to Spotify via a web browser and log in.
2. If you haven't logged in via the web before, you'll see a button for "Web Player" or "Account Overview"; select "Account Overview."
3. If you're already in the Web Player, click either the gear icon (mobile browser) or your profile image (desktop browser) in the upper right corner and select "Account."
4. Your subscription will appear in a box labeled "Your Plan"; click that box or scroll down to "Manage Your Plan" and click.
5. You'll see your plan details, click the "Cancel subscription" button.

How to cancel YouTube TV

If the price of YouTube TV has become too high, you can always cancel your subscription (the absence of a contract remains one of streaming's major advantages). YouTube TV actually allows you to cancel directly through the app.

On an Android device:

1. Open the YouTube TV app.
2. Tap your profile circle at the top right.
3. Tap on "Settings," then tap on "Membership."
4. Under your membership details, tap "Manage."
5. Click on "Cancel Membership" and follow the prompts.

Via a web browser:

1. Go to YouTube TV.
2. Log in and click your profile circle in the top right.
3. Tap on "Settings," then tap on "Membership."
4. Under your membership details, tap on "Manage" next to "Base Plan."
5. Click on "Cancel Membership" and follow the prompts.

Apps for Managing Subscriptions

There are financial applications that can help you track and manage your subscriptions. Some of them connect to your bank account and offer budgeting and expense tracking features, as well as subscription management. However, it's important to note that using such apps for automated subscription cancellation might come with a fee, which seems paradoxical when you're trying to cut costs. Furthermore, you'll need to provide them with your banking information, and your data might be shared with third parties.

Other applications do not request banking details. Instead, you manually enter your subscription information. This is a more private method, but it might not save you much effort in the long run, as maintaining up-to-date data requires diligence. You could just as easily use a spreadsheet or built-in reminder applications.