Apple Music is a subscription-based music streaming service developed by Apple. It allows users to stream over 90 million songs, download music for offline listening, and access exclusive content like new releases and curated playlists (Source). Deleting an Apple Music account means removing all personal data associated with it, including playlists, favorites, listening history and other preferences.
This article will provide an overview of what happens when you choose to delete your Apple Music account. It will cover what account data is removed, how to download your content beforehand, the account cancellation process, effects on purchased music, loss of personalization, possibilities for recovering data, creating a new account, and alternative music streaming options.
Account Data
When you create an Apple Music account, various types of data and information become connected to your account. This includes:
- Playlists you have created
- Your music library containing songs you have added
- Listening history and recently played tracks
- Liked songs
- Stations you have created based on artists, songs or genres
- Album and artist followers
- Personalized daily playlist recommendations generated by Apple Music based on your listening preferences
- Account profile information such as name, profile photo and username
According to Apple, your Apple Music profile, followers, posts and media you upload is considered public content that can be accessed and shared by others. However, your library, playlists, listening history and preferences remain private information associated only with your account. Apple does not learn or store information from your contacts when checking for friends to recommend.
Downloading Content
Before deleting your Apple Music account, it’s important to download any playlists, albums, or songs you want to keep access to. According to discussions on the Apple forums, any music you’ve uploaded or added to your library will be removed if you cancel your subscription. So you’ll want to download anything you want to keep.
To download content from Apple Music, open the app and find the playlist, album, or song you want to save. Tap on the three dots next to the item and select “Download.” This will save a copy of the content to your device storage. You can also use the download option in the context menu when viewing an album or playlist. Go through your entire library and tap to download anything you may want in the future.
Downloaded music will remain on your device even after you delete your Apple Music account. Just be sure to finish downloading anything you want to keep access to before canceling your subscription.
Account Cancellation
To fully cancel and delete your Apple Music account, you need to go through a few steps. First, you’ll need to cancel your paid Apple Music subscription if you have one. To do this, go to music.apple.com and click on your profile icon, then select “View Apple ID” and manage your subscriptions. Click “Cancel Subscription” and confirm. This will stop future billing but your account will remain active until the end of your current billing period [1].
Once your subscription is cancelled, you can delete your Apple Music profile. Go to music.apple.com, click your profile and select “View Apple ID”. Then go to “Manage” and scroll down to “Delete Apple Music Profile”. This will remove your playlists, favorites, listening history and other personal data from Apple Music [2]. However, this will not delete your Apple ID or any music purchases you’ve made.
To fully delete your Apple ID and all associated data, you need to go to appleid.apple.com, sign in, and select “Delete Your Account”. This is permanent and will remove all of your Apple Music data, purchases, and other Apple services [3]. So be certain before deleting your entire Apple account.
Effect on Purchased Music
When you delete your Apple Music account, any music you purchased through the iTunes Store will not be deleted. According to discussions on Apple’s support forums, music that has been purchased and downloaded can still be accessed even after canceling your Apple Music subscription.
For example, one user on Reddit explained that they canceled their Apple Music subscription but were still able to access purchased music on their iPhone that was offline during the cancellation:
“I canceled my Apple Music subscription and re-subscribed a month later. I still had playlists downloaded to my old iPhone that was offline. Those playlists didn’t get deleted. I resubscribed, connected that phone to the internet, and still had all that music.” (Source)
However, any music you added to your library just from the Apple Music catalog will no longer be available after cancellation. Only songs and albums actually purchased on iTunes will remain accessible.
Loss of Personalization
One significant downside to deleting your Apple Music account is that you will lose all of the personalization and customization associated with your account. This includes your playlists, favorite songs and artists, listening history, and personalized recommendations.
The Apple Music algorithm gets to know your musical tastes over time and serves up customized playlists and suggestions tailored just for you. But once you delete your account, all of that data is wiped out. You’ll no longer have access to the playlists you’ve created over time or receive recommendations based on your prior listening activity (1).
Favoriting songs and artists is another way to personalize Apple Music and easily find music you love. But favorites aren’t stored on your device – they’re connected to your Apple Music profile. So if you delete your account, your favorites will be deleted as well.
Losing these personalizations means starting from scratch if you ever sign up for Apple Music again. The service will no longer “know” your tastes upfront and you’ll have to put in work again to train recommendations and rebuild playlists.
Can Data be Recovered?
Unfortunately, once an Apple Music account is deleted, the account data and information cannot be recovered. According to discussions on the Apple forums, there is no way to restore a deleted Apple Music account or retrieve its data from a local device backup.
When an Apple Music account is cancelled, all of the account details, preferences, and personalization data is permanently erased from Apple’s servers. The Apple ID may still work for other Apple services, but the Apple Music profile will be gone.
Likewise, any Apple Music content that was downloaded onto a local device will also be inaccessible and cannot be recovered if the account is deleted. This is because the Apple DRM licensing gets removed when the account is cancelled. Essentially all Apple Music data is irrecoverable after account deletion.
The Apple discussions forums strongly suggest that once an Apple Music account is accidentally deleted, there is no way to get it back. The only option is to create a brand new Apple Music account and start fresh.
Sources:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253855114
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8557619
Creating a New Account
If you decide to delete your Apple Music account, you will need to create a new account if you want to resubscribe to the service. Unfortunately, Apple does not allow you to simply reactivate a deleted Apple Music account. Once an account is deleted, all data and personalization associated with it is permanently erased from Apple’s servers.
When creating a new Apple Music account after deleting an old one, the process will be the same as signing up for the first time. You’ll need to agree to the Apple Music terms and conditions, choose the subscription plan you want, and enter your payment information. The setup process will also involve selecting your musical tastes and preferences from scratch so that Apple Music can make customized recommendations.
The downside is that all of your old playlists, saved albums, listening history, recommendations, and other personalization will be lost. According to discussions on Reddit, even after resubscribing to Apple Music, previously downloaded content will no longer be available and your musical profile will restart from zero (source).
In summary, deleting your Apple Music account means having to completely start over if you ever want to use the service again. Be certain before cancelling, because there is no way to recover or restore a deleted Apple Music profile.
Alternative Options
Deleting your Apple Music account is not the only option if you wish to stop using the service. Here are some alternative options to consider:
Disable auto-renew on your subscription so it does not continue billing you each month. You can do this by going to Settings > Your Name > Subscriptions and toggling off auto-renew for your Apple Music subscription. Your subscription will then expire at the end of the current billing period. According to discussions on the Apple website, this will allow you to retain your Apple Music profile and data while no longer paying for the service (source).
Take an extended break from Apple Music. You can cancel your subscription but keep your Apple ID intact. This allows you to take a break and potentially resume the subscription later, while retaining your profile, playlists, and other data.
Consider switching to an Apple Music alternative instead of fully deleting your account. Options like Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, and others allow you to get access to streaming music. According to a Reddit discussion, the key considerations are being able to keep your music library organized and getting music onto your iPhone (source). These alternatives may better suit your needs if you wish to move away from Apple Music.
Summary
To recap, here are the key things to know if you delete your Apple Music account:
- All of your personal data like playlists, preferences, recommendations, etc will be permanently erased
- Any music you purchased through Apple Music will remain in your iTunes library and is yours to keep
- You’ll lose access to any Apple Music songs you saved and didn’t purchase
- Your listening history and analytics will be deleted and cannot be recovered
- You can create a new Apple Music account in the future, but will start fresh without any of your old data
- Consider downloading any important content and exporting playlists before deleting your account
- Alternatives like Spotify allow you to deactivate rather than completely delete an account
Overall, deleting your Apple Music account erases all personal data and preferences, but music you purchased will remain yours. If you think you may use Apple Music again in the future, consider deactivating instead to retain your data.