You can get free apps without a credit card. You want to purchase a free app but still your device; iPhone 18 Pro or Mac; is asking you to update your credit card info. You may ask yourself, if it is a free app, why does Apple need your credit card details? Because since it is free, you are not supposed to pay anything.
Fix:
This happens because your credit card in your Apple Account has changed. This means that you already entered your credit card details previously (perhaps because you bought a paid app?). And your credit card info has modified / changed. For example, your credit card has expired or your address has changed or your credit card number has changed etc.
There are two things that you can do to resolve this issue:
- Simply update your card info. This is a good option, if you frequently buy paid apps: Simply update your details. If you are trying to get a free app, you will not be charged. If your card expired, it just will not work. So if you want to use your credit card in the future, try this option.
- Change your Apple Account settings and remove your credit card details as explained below. Please note that you can create your Apple Account without a credit card and thus you can get free apps, books without a credit card. If you have already associated a credit card with your account, you can remove it easily. Here is how:
How to remove your credit card details
iPhone 18 Pro
- Go to Settings > [your name] > Payment & Shipping. You may need to enter your password.
- Tap Edit. Tap the Delete button next to the payment method. Tap Remove to confirm. If you can’t remove a payment method, this may mean a few things:
- this may mean you have an unpaid balance. Pay your balance.
- this may mean that you have an active subscription. Cancel this.
- this may mean that you are using Family Sharing.
