Problem
Cancelling a trial hides three levels deep in Settings.
Approach
Put subscriptions in Wallet, and ask the day before people pay.
Status
Concept. Judged by time to cancel and surprise charges.

The problem

On iPhone, a trial starts with a double-click. Cancelling starts three levels deep in Settings.

People have to remember it lives under Settings, their name, then Subscriptions, and cancel at least a day before the trial ends to avoid the charge.

“Settings → your name → Subscriptions”Where cancelling lives today, according to Apple Support

What I learned

  1. 01

    Wallet already shows where money goes for Apple Card and Apple Cash. Subscriptions, the money that leaves every month, sit in Settings instead.

  2. 02

    The moment that matters is the day before a trial turns paid, not the day it starts.

  3. 03

    In the US, the FTC’s click-to-cancel rule was struck down in July 2025, but other federal and state laws still expect cancelling to be easy.

So the brief became

Explorations

  1. v1

    A clearer Subscriptions screen in Settings.

    Easier once you’re there, but people still don’t know where “there” is.

    SoMove it, don’t polish it.

  2. v2

    A monthly summary email.

    It arrives when nobody is making a decision.

    SoTiming beats completeness.

  3. v3

    Subscriptions in Wallet, and a notice the day before.

    The notice arrives the day before a trial turns paid, with Keep and Cancel right in it. Found where people already look, and asked at the moment it matters.

    SoThe direction I’d take forward.

Trade-offs

Risks

Developers rely on renewals, so the reminder has to be neutral and fair, not a cancel button in disguise. Subscriptions billed by other companies can’t be cancelled from here and need a clear handoff instead.

What it adds to the system

A recurring payment row reusable across Wallet: amount, next date, trial state and one primary action, shared by App Store subscriptions and anything else that renews.

How I’d measure it

  • Time to cancelFrom unlocking iPhone to done.
  • Surprise chargesSupport contacts about unexpected renewals. Should fall.
  • Renewals keptShouldn’t drop for subscriptions people actually use.

Looking back

A respectful exit is part of the product. People come back to services that let them leave easily.

Sources

  1. Apple Support: Cancel a subscription from Apple
  2. JD Supra: FTC click-to-cancel rule struck down by the Eighth Circuit
  3. BrownWinick: click-to-cancel vacated days before taking effect
  4. iGeeksBlog: managing App Store subscriptions on iPhone