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New year, new you: How to clear out unwanted app subscriptions.

Author

Leander Kahney
January 03, 2025

I have a lot of bad habits that do not serve me well. One example: I never look at my bank statements (especially now that they are all digital).

Years ago, I discovered AOL had been charging me $14 a month or whatever it was for more than two years for a service I never used! I was livid, of course, and embarrassed.

Naturally, I managed to learn nothing whatsoever from that episode and still don’t check my statements to this day.

I did, however, recently check my app subscriptions in iCloud. I discovered, to my fury, that my kids have been subscribing willy-nilly to all kinds of stuff on the shared family account.

Plus, there were a couple of free trials that had morphed into paid subscriptions, and a couple more services that I no longer used.

To Apple’s credit, unsubscribing to this stuff is almost as easy as subscribing in the first place — it usually takes just a single click.

All in all, it was very satisfying to clear out my unwanted subscriptions.

If you suspect you're subscribed to stuff you’re not using — or family members have gone crazy with the credit card on file — here’s how to perform your own subscription audit on your iPhone.

Also in today’s newsletter:

  • Just in time to put those New Year’s resolutions into action: The beautiful Apple Watch Series 10 with its great big screen is on sale at its lowest price ever.

  • Apple Watch is great with Apple Fitness+ workouts, which have been expanded for the new year and now sync with the Strava app.

  • I’m a huge fan of portable CarPlay screens, like this 10-inch monster that’s on sale for less than $100.

  • Apple TV+ is free for everyone this weekend, making it the perfect time to binge a series or two, or check out some shows you might be missing. I personally recommend the first season of Slow Horses, and I really enjoyed actor Lee Pace as the villain in Foundation. And Servant, which I’ve never seen, comes very highly recommended. Here’s our updated list of the best shows on Apple TV+.

— Leander Kahney, EIC.

Cancel unwanted subscriptions and save money

Find and cancel subscriptions you don’t want or need anymore in Apple’s App Store. It’s easy: Just follow this guide.

Apple Fitness+ bulks up activities for 2025

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Try these sobriety apps to win Dry January [Updated]

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The best shows on Apple TV+

Some of the world's best actors, directors and writers are making shows for Apple TV+. These are the best Apple TV shows.

Today in Apple history: Apple becomes a corporation

On January 3, 1977, Apple Computer Co. was born. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak were listed as co-founders in the Apple incorporation.

Not all multiport Thunderbolt 4 docks cost a fortune [Setups]

Looking for a cheap Thunderbolt 4 dock? Today's MacBook Pro user connects and powers devices with a 13-port device that goes for $170.

Tweets of the day

Wallpaper of the day

One more thing ...

❝

Sure enough, when we took [the original iMac prototype] to the engineers, they said, “Oh.” And they came up with 38 reasons. And I said, “No, no, we're doing this.” And they said, “Well, why?” And I said, “Because I'm the CEO, and I think it can be done.” And so they kind of begrudgingly did it. But then it was a big hit.

— Steve Jobs, 2008.

Today’s poll

What's your favorite show on Apple TV+ at the moment?

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Results from yesterday’s poll: Will you miss anything Apple killed off in 2024?

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