Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Oversubscribed to apps, services? How to tell and fix it

Let’s say you’ve been thinking about food coupons, and you get an ad for a meal discount app! Or maybe you’ve been meaning to catch up on current affairs and you find an affordable news subscription service! 

It’s so exciting to find a new app or a super-relevant subscription service, especially if it claims to offer what we’ve been seeking. It’s tempting to hit download or subscribe. The dopamine hit of novelty is unparalleled. 

But soon you realize you’ve gone overboard. Downloading one or two apps here and there eventually ends up in a phone full of apps you barely open. Think of all the newsletters and subscriptions you’ve paid for, feeling all giddy. You promise yourself you’ll look at them when you have some free time, but it’s been weeks (or months!) since you last used these services. So why are you keeping them? Why not get rid of all the apps and services you’re oversubscribed to?

When you’re looking at all those colorful apps and services on your phone, it’s easy to lie to yourself and say, “oh, I need this,” aboutevery app, especially if you’ve already paid for it. Sometimes it can be genuinely difficult to separate rarely used apps from the ones you just don’t care about. Fortunately, there are many apps and services to help you figure out which apps to keep and which to let go of. Here’s a list of the best tools to manage and cancel your subscriptions.

Your phone’s app manager

If you’re sick of downloading apps, check out your phone’s built-in app manager. Most devices offer a list of apps that you can order based on your last usage time. So if you use Facebook daily but hardly open Tinder, Tinder will be displayed at the bottom with a “not used in 3 months” tag. 

This feature can help you quickly weed out apps and services that you haven’t even touched for months. 

App Store

Apple app store subscriptions option.

Another alternative to directly cancel subscriptions without installing a new app to do so is by directly unsubscribing to apps and services from the app store. 

If you’re using the Apple app store, visit Settings > Subscriptions. Choose the service you want to cancel and select Cancel Subscription

Android users can select Payments & subscriptions > Subscriptions on the Google app store. Then click on an app or service you want to cancel and tap Cancel subscription. You can also unsubscribe temporarily by selecting Manage > Pause payments to put the payments on hold for a few weeks or months until you’re ready to use the app or service again.

Truebill budget and bill tracker

This handy (and FREE!) app lets you easily categorize your expenses and cancel all unwanted subscriptions in one click. It also lets you manage your subscriptions if you just want to track them for a while before unsubscribing. 

Truebill is available on the Apple app store or on Google Play

Trim

Trim app homepage is visible on a phone sitting on some folders on a desk.

Going through all your subscriptions can be tedious. The good news? Apps like Trim will do the job for you. Trim analyzes your transactions to find your recurring subscriptions. If you find unwanted apps and services you’re paying for, Trim will cancel them for you in one click. Even more good news? The app can also negotiate bills on your behalf if you want to save money without canceling your subscriptions. 

Visit the Trim website for details.

DoNotPay

A graphic of three cell phones detailing the uses of the DoNotPay app.

The name gives it away — this app is all about saving money when you don’t need to continue paying extra. It helps you cancel all digital subscriptions you hardly use, right within the app. The app has a built-in chatbot that gets information, negotiates on your behalf, and unsubscribes you from apps and services that are just draining your bank account. 

DoNotPay is available on the iOS App Store.

Track My Subs

A Track My Subs cancel subscription cartoon features a blue character and subscription details.

If you don’t want to link your bank account and have an app automatically view your payment data, you can use websites like Track My Subs that ask you to enter your subscriptions manually. The app shows the cost of each subscription along with the date of renewal on an easy-to-use dashboard. From here, you can track subscriptions, set up notifications, and view the payment history to decide whether to continue using the app or service. 

Visit the TrackMySubs website for details.

Editors' Recommendations

Sakshi Udavant
Sakshi Udavant is a freelance journalist and marketing writer covering technology, business, wellbeing and lifestyle. She…
This app fixes my biggest problem with the Oppo Find N2 Flip

The Oppo Find N2 Flip is my favorite clamshell-style folding phone. I prefer it over the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4 because it lasts longer on a single charge, exhibits minimal crease on the main display, and has a bigger outer screen. But I wasn’t too impressed by the outer display because it lacks support for individual apps. It only allows you to view a few widgets with access to the camera, weather, timer, and reminder.

Not being able to access apps on the cover display or reply to notifications was my biggest annoyance with the Find N2 Flip. But I came across an app that (almost) fixes the issue completely. It’s called CoverScreen OS, and here’s how it has enhanced my experience of using the phone.
Transforming the cover screen

Read more
I just found the perfect ChatGPT iPhone app, and it’s free
Someone holding an iPhone 14 Pro, with Perplexity AI running on it.

Stop me if you've heard this one before: ChatGPT is huge right now. After exploding in popularity in late 2022, the AI chatbot has been on an enormous rise, with no sign of slowing down. One of the ways we've seen ChatGPT expand is its continued integration into smartphone apps. Whether it's Bing Chat coming to mobile or a ChatGPT iPhone keyboard, it's all been fascinating to watch unfold.

One of the latest ChatGPT mobile apps to hit the scene is one called "Perplexity AI," which is an iPhone app that brings ChatGPT directly to your smartphone -- no need for a web browser. And it does so with a sleek interface, helpful features, and zero ads. Best of all? It's 100% free to use. I've been playing with the app on my iPhone 14 Pro for about a day now, and I'm seriously impressed with what I'm seeing.
Getting started with Perplexity AI

Read more
These Android apps are spying on you — and there’s no easy way to stop them
Illustration of a giant eye stalking through a phone

Android’s security woes need no introduction, but another threat that hasn’t received its fair share of awareness relates to spyware and stalkerware apps. These apps can secretly be installed on a victim’s phone to monitor their activity and can be exploited to harass victims of domestic abuse and engage in online stalking. All someone needs is physical access to the victim's phone to install these apps, which is not too difficult in cases of domestic abuse.

Call it an app-fueled version of AirTag stalking, but on steroids, because these spyware apps can steal everything including messages, call logs, emails, photos, and videos. Some can even activate the microphone and the camera, and secretly transfer these recordings to a remote server where the abuser can access it. Since Google Play's policies don't allow stalking apps, these apps are sold via third-party websites and need to be sideloaded.

Read more