These days its seems a “national day” exists for every conceivable thing — and on Saturday, November 30, that includes unsubscribing. In other words, it’s time to unsubscribe from unwanted emails and manage paid subscriptions. For example, do you even open half the emails you get? Do you know how many subscriptions you pay for? Well, there are apps and other tools for cleaning up your subscription life so you can get on with your actual life.
Celebrate National Unsubscribe Day the right way: Clean up your email and paid subscriptions
This year on National Unsubscribe Day — while you’re reassessing your pants’ waist size after Thanksgiving’s excesses — maybe a little straightening up in the form of unsubscribing from unwanted email and services will do you good. As you might guess, there’s an app for that (actually several). And you can learn methods to avoid getting into over-subscription hell in the first place.
When choosing an unsubscribe app, it’s important to select a trustworthy company that uses a secure connection and doesn’t monetize your data. Some free unsubscribe apps may monetize your email data. So if that concerns you, try an app below or follow the advice to clean things up yourself.
And on a practical note, when you can’t resist a retailer’s come-on to subscribe to email to get a discount, set a reminder to cancel those emails after you take advantage of the deal. That will be one less series of annoying emails you receive just because you wanted, say, 10% off an initial purchase.
There are a number of apps that can pledge to help you unsubscribe from emails and manage paid subscriptions to unclutter your life and save money. The email apps below say they do not retain any of your personal data, by the way. However, because email cleaning apps have their limitations, it might pay to take matters into your own hands with the advice below. And at the bottom I’ve included some apps that help you locate and quit paid subscriptions you may have forgotten about.
Apps to help you unsubscribe from email
Clean Email
The Clean Email app helps clean your inbox by scanning it to identify emails to unsubscribe from with one click. It can also help you keep your inbox organized, block senders and get rid of large amounts of email with a few clicks via bulk-delete. You can use the free plan (up to 1,000 emails) or try a free trail of the premium plan, which costs $11.49 per month or $34.49 per year.
Download from: App Store
Mailstrom
Mailstrom — not to be confused with Maelstrom (another app) — is a web-based service that works with many email clients. It allows you to unsubscribe from newsletters, block senders and delete messages in bulk. “Mailstrom identifies bundles of related mail and makes it easy for you to act on them as a group,” the service notes. “Slice through tens, hundreds, or thousands of emails at once.” Veteran tech writer Walt Mossberg recommends it. Pricing plans range from $9 to $29.95 per month.
No download: Use it online
Chuck Email
Chuck Email is a simple app designed for iOS and macOS. You can connect the app to your inbox and click on the Unsubscribe feature in the bottom menu bar. It displays senders in your inbox you can unsubscribe from. Then you select those messages and select Unsubscribe From Lists. Note, however, that the function only works for senders that include an unsubscribe button in their emails. Prices start at $3.99 monthly.
Download from: App Store
AgainstData
AgainstData helps you “exercise your right to be forgotten.” It uses a secure connection and charges a small subscription fee. You log in with a Google account. The algorithm identifies mailing lists and lets you unsubscribe with one click. It can also request personal data deletion from companies on your behalf. You can try it for free, and there are three annual plans starting at $31/year.
Download from: Free trial
Or clean up your inbox yourself
Image: Ascánder/Wikimedia Commons/D. Griffin Jones/Cult of Mac
Some experts dismiss email cleaning services as largely ineffective. They can ask for you to be deleted from lists. They can create filters for spam and set up blocks. But they can’t really guarantee unsubscribing you from email lists. So you might want to take matters into your own hands rather than paying somebody to clean up your inbox.
For this reason, Wirecutter, which has built a good reputation on recommending best products and services, chose not to recommend any email cleaning services. Instead, it offers an explanation why paid services don’t necessarily work well, plus practical advice on making spam-blocking changes to your own inbox, like setting rules and filters and marking items as spam.
Among the recommended changes you can make is to create an email alias that diverts spam away from your main inboxes. You use the alias to sign up for everything rather than your regular email address. Apple iCloud, Gmail and Outlook all allow you to create aliases. Alternatively, some people set up a whole separate free email account with its own address just to sign up for and deal with subscriptions.
You can also use the Sign in with Apple feature to use your Apple ID to sign into third-party accounts without sharing personal information. But that can mean your disguised logins can accumulate in iCould Settings. Fortunately, Cult of Mac writer D. Griffin Jones can help you find, manage and delete those accounts and deal with the Hide My Email service, as well. As he explains, Hide My Email creates a temporary email (which you can use for sign-ups) that forwards to your real one, keeping it free of spam. He also offers advice for managing Apple Mail.
Bonus: Apps to help you unsubscribe from paid subscriptions
Rocket Money
Personal finance app Rocket Money claims to have saved its 5 million members more than $1 billion so far. It finds and tracks your paid subscriptions as well as your expenditures overall. Its “concierge” can cancel services for you and even negotiate bill payments for you if you choose the premium plan. The app supports Apple Wallet. Free basic plan or premium plans for $6 to $12 per month.
Download from: App Store
Hiatus
Calling itself “the all-in-one finance and bill management tool,” Hiatus is a subscription-management service that also allows you to track your net worth, analyze spending trends and compare your rates to others. It finds and organizes all of your recurring expenses, including subscriptions. It can help cancel unwanted ones. The service can also negotiate how much you pay for monthly bills. Hiatus costs $9.99 per month or $36 per year.
Sign up: Hiatus
PocketGuard
PocketGuard is a highly automated money-management platform and budgeting app with subscription-management features that help you cancel paid subscriptions you no longer want. You can try it for free. Annual cost is $74.99 ($6.25/month), or you can pay $12.99 monthly.
Sign up: PocketGuard and download the iPhone app
