'Zombie subscriptions’ are a silent killer – here are 3 ways to fix them for 2026 in minutes

Digital subscriptions are everywhere now: you need them for streaming services, fitness programs, desktop software, cloud storage, news websites, and more. A few dollars here and a few dollars there can add up to a pretty hefty bill by the end of the month.

As the new year gets underway, it's the perfect time to run an audit on just how many subscriptions you're signed up to, and how much it's costing you. With the hectic pace of modern life you'd be forgiven for signing up for certain apps, sites, and digital services, and then forgetting all about them.

This is something I've done recently and it really made me reassess how many of these digital subscriptions I actually need – the amount of money I've been spending each month is actually quite scary.

The good news is that a subscription detox doesn't have to take a long time, especially if you know the right tools for the job – which I've covered below. By investing a few minutes at the start of 2026 to sort this out, you may well find that your bank balance is much better off by the time that 2027 rolls around.

Method one: check your emails

The subscriptions that you're signed up for will often ping you with an email when it's time to renew again for another month or another year – and if there are any that don't extend you this courtesy, then it's another reason to ditch them. If you get the option to enable these email reminders when you sign up, make sure you do so.

A quick search through your inbox can reveal numerous subscriptions you'd forgotten about. Look for words like "renewal", "renew", or "subscription" and see what turns up. In the mobile app for Gmail, for instance, just tap in the search box at the top and start typing. If you spot these emails as they arrive, flag or star them so you've got a list you can refer back to later.

The Apple One subscription is an example of a monthly bill you'll get an email about, if reminders are switched on: The sender will be "no_reply@email.apple.com", you'll get details of how much you're paying and for what, and the emails contain the word "renewals" so will show up in your searches.

Method two: use the feature built into your phone

Both Google and Apple give you quick and easy ways to check on the subscriptions you've signed up to on phones and tablets. These will only show up for apps and services that are managed through the Google Play Store or the Apple App Store, but it's another way of checking what you're paying for.

On an Android device, open the Play Store app, then tap your profile picture (top right) and choose Payments and subscriptions > Subscriptions. You'll see a list of current active subscriptions, as well as ones that have expired – tap on any entry in the list to find more details, and options to cancel the subscription or remove it from view if it's expired.

Over on iPhones and iPads, you need to open up Settings, then tap your name at the top, then Subscriptions. As on Android, you get a list of your active and expired subscriptions, as well as a toggle switch for turning email reminders on or off. Tap on any subscription listed to see more details and to cancel the subscription if you want to.

Method three: use a dedicated app

There are several third-party apps that will help you root out subscriptions you don't need – though admittedly a lot of them require a monthly fee of their own.

We recently wrote about one of these apps, Subee (Android and iOS): subscriptions can be added manually or via a scan of your emails, and you can see how much you're spending and cancel accounts with a couple of taps. Managing more than five subscriptions requires a premium membership at $19.99 / £12.99 (about AU$29.85) per month or $29.99 / £29.99 (about AU$44.80) per year.

Then there's TrackMySubs, which works on the web. Add your subscription renewal dates and prices, and you get a really well done overview of what's going out and when – and it can track all those free trials you sign up for as well, so you don't get any unexpected bills after the trials are over. If you want to track more than 10 subscriptions, you'll need to sign up for a premium plan, yours for $10 (about £7.40 / AU$14.95) a month or $99.99 (about £73.95 / AU$149.35) a year.

Another option is Trim, which is also a web app – though it's only available in the US for now. The app can connect directly with your bank account to build a list of the subscriptions you're signed up for, and then you can dig into your monthly spending and the subscriptions that are becoming due, and see which subscriptions you might be able to live without.

The service is free to use as well, as it makes its money by recommending you deals on insurance and other products.

Here's how much I'm saving next year

So, does any of this actually work? In fact, it does: while I haven't found many subscriptions I'd completely forgotten about during this audit process, it has made me think twice about just how many subscriptions I need (which to be honest, tend to increase in number because of all the apps and services I need to write about for my job).

Once Stranger Things season 5 finishes, I think I'll have some time off Netflix – especially as your viewing history and recommendations get preserved for 24 months – which is saving me a hefty £18.99 per month ($24.99 a month for those of you in the US).

I also don't really need ChatGPT and Gemini, so that's another £20 (or $20) a month saved. Finally, after binge-watching Inspector Morse again, I think I can live with ads on ITVX again, which is an additional saving of £5.99 (about $8) a month.

A not inconsiderable saving of £44.98 per month then, which I can put towards something else – that works out as £539.76 or roughly $730 every year. Go through the same process yourself using the tips above, and you might be surprised at how much you can save.

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