Most people treat the App Store like a drive-thru: download, close, forget. But these hidden App Store features can save you real money, stop surprise renewals and keep Family Sharing from turning into “who bought $79 in gems.”
This is the practical guide: where the settings live now, what they actually do and which ones are worth enabling once and never thinking about again.
If you want more iPhone settings and OS cleanup guides after this, I’d naturally route you through our Smartphones & Tablets section. This page is meant to be evergreen and screenshot-friendly, so here’s the whole playbook in one table.
App Store Power Features Worth Using
| # | Feature | Where to find it | What to do | Why you care |
| 1 | A real wishlist (Apple removed the old one) | On any app page, tap Share, save the link to Notes or a Quick Note | Make one pinned note called “App Wishlist” and paste App Store links | A clean save-for-later list that syncs across devices, without relying on your memory |
| 2 | Subscription control center | Settings → your name → Subscriptions | Cancel trials you forgot, downgrade tiers, check renewal dates | The fastest way to stop the slow monthly wallet leak |
| 3 | Purchase History (the “what even charged me?” button) | App Store → profile icon → Purchase History | Filter by date range, paid vs free, type, and even family member if you’re the organizer | You can actually identify mystery charges and track spending like an adult |
| 4 | Request a refund | Sign in at reportaproblem.apple.com | Choose “Request a refund,” pick a reason, submit | Saves you from arguing with a chatbot when an app was not what the screenshots promised |
| 5 | Hide purchases (Family Sharing privacy) | App Store → profile → Purchased → swipe left → Hide | Hide an app from your Purchased list (and it won’t show for family re-downloads) | Useful when you want privacy without a group chat debate |
| 6 | Purchase Sharing reality check | Settings → Family → Purchase Sharing | Turn it on only if you understand the shared payment method | When enabled, the organizer’s payment method becomes the default, and the organizer gets billed |
| 7 | Share eligible subscriptions | Settings → Family → Subscriptions → Manage Subscriptions | Turn on “Share with Family” for eligible subscriptions | Some App Store subscriptions can be shared, but only if you flip the right switch |
| 8 | Ask to Buy (kid-proof the App Store) | Settings → Family → child name → Ask to Buy / Parent-Guardian | Require approval for purchases and even free downloads | Prevents “it was only one tap” spending disasters |
| 9 | Manual updates (and release notes) | App Store → profile icon → scroll to updates | Tap Update per app or Update All | Lets you delay buggy updates and actually read what changed |
| 10 | Automatic updates toggle | Settings → Apps → App Store → App Updates | Turn auto updates on or off | Great if you want stability, or if you’re tired of an app updating right before you need it |
| 11 | Privacy labels on app pages | Any App Store listing → App Privacy section | Check what data is collected, linked, or used to track you | The quickest “is this app shady?” sniff test before you install |
| 12 | Apple Account balance and gift cards | Redeem in App Store account area; balance shows in Wallet Apple Account card | Use Apple Account balance for apps/subscriptions where supported | Convenient, but know some purchases and recurring charges have rules/limits |
A few quick “hidden feature” truths: Subscriptions and Purchase History are different tools for different problems (subscriptions stop future billing, purchase history explains past billing) & refunds live on reportaproblem, not inside the subscription screen.
Family Sharing is powerful, but it is also a payment system, so flipping on Ask to Buy is less “parenting mode” and more “basic damage control.”
If you want one habit that pays off: open the App Store profile page once a month, scan updates, scan purchase history and then check subscriptions. It takes two minutes and it beats discovering a forgotten trial when it has already renewed.
