Cancel a subscription on iPhone and the app can now make you an offer
Apple opened retention messages to App Store developers on Wednesday, November 4, so apps can now show you a message, an image or a discount when you cancel a subscription on iPhone, iPad or Mac. You can still cancel in the same place, but the confirmation screen may try to talk you out of it.
What changes when you cancel
App Store subscriptions are canceled from a subscription details page, such as Apple Account > Subscriptions or the subscription's page in the App Store. When you tap Cancel Subscription there, the system shows a Confirm Cancellation page that can carry the developer's retention message.
From that page you can still finish canceling by tapping Cancel Subscription again. You can also tap Keep Subscription or, depending on the message, redeem an offer or switch to a different plan the developer suggests.
Apple's documentation says the messages show up on devices running iOS 15.1 or later, iPadOS 15.1 or later, visionOS 1 or later and macOS 14 or later.
What developers can show you
Every retention message has a header and body text. Developers can add an image and attach retention offers, which Apple describes as a discount or a free period meant to keep you subscribed. If you qualify for an attached offer, you see the offer instead of the image.
Developers decide who qualifies. They can require a minimum length of paid subscription before an offer appears and set a wait time before the same offer can come back. Each app can have up to 10 retention messages, and each subscription can have only 1 active message at a time.
A separate Retention Messaging API, available by request, lets a developer's server pick a message in real time based on your subscription. It also supports a switch-plan message that suggests a different subscription.
The rules Apple set
Apple reviews the messages, and its App Store Connect help page puts limits on what they can say:
- The header and body text can't mention prices, discounts or free periods, since every subscriber sees that text, including people who don't qualify for an offer. App Review rejects messages that do.
- Developers can say what you lose by canceling, as long as it's factual, such as losing access to downloaded content.
- Apple tells developers to avoid claims that coerce subscribers. Its example: a VPN app can't claim that canceling will lead to a virus infection.
Apple pitches the feature to developers as a way to reduce cancellations by reminding subscribers of a subscription's value.
What it means for you
You can still cancel from the Confirm Cancellation page, so read it before you tap anything. Cancel Subscription goes ahead with the cancellation, while Keep Subscription, an offer or a suggested plan keeps you subscribed.
If you still use the service, an offer can be worth reading before you leave. Check how long the discount or free period lasts and what you'll pay once it ends.