How to See a Purchase History for iTunes on an iPhone

By Aaron Parson

When you have a large media library, you can't fit every album and movie on your iPhone at the same time, but as long as you use the same Apple ID, iTunes lets you re-download old purchases for free. You don't even need to use your computer to see your old purchases: the iTunes Store app in iOS 8 has a complete list that shows you either your entire library or the specific items that aren't already on your iPhone.

Step 1: Sign In

Run the iTunes Store app on your iPhone. Scroll to the bottom of the page, tap Sign In and log in with your Apple ID. If you're already signed in to the correct account, you don't need to do anything. On the other hand, if you're signed in but want to check purchases on a different account, tap Apple ID and choose Sign Out.

Sign In in the iTunes Store app.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Apple

Tip

It doesn't matter whether you log in from the Music, Movies or TV Shows tab.

Step 2: Open Purchases

Open the More tab in the iTunes Store app and tap Purchased.

Tap Edit on the More tab to rearrange the tabs.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Apple

Step 3: Choose a Media Type

Pick either Music, Movies or TV Shows.

Purchased media types.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Apple

Tip

As an alternative route to the same destination, open the Music, Movies or TV Shows tab in the iTunes Store app, scroll to the bottom of the page and tap Purchased.

Step 4: Browse Purchases

Choose either All, to see all iTunes purchases, or Not on This iPhone, to limit the list to purchases that aren't currently downloaded or synced to the phone.

The list sorts alphabetically by artist.
Image Credit: Image courtesy of Apple

You can't search or change the sorting of the purchase list, but tap any item to see more details. For example, in your music purchases, tap an artist's name to see albums and songs you've bought. Tap Recent Purchases to see the 250 most recent purchases. After opening a particular item that isn't currently on your iPhone, tap the cloud icon to re-download the purchase for free.

Tip

  • Hidden purchases won't show up in the list. To unhide a purchase, open your account info in iTunes for PC or Mac and click Manage on the Hidden Purchases line. Click Unhide to unhide an item and then reopen the purchased list on your phone.
  • To see app purchases, tap Purchased on the Updates tab of the App Store app instead.
  • If you're looking for details about each transaction -- such as date of purchase and cost -- open your account information in iTunes for PC or Mac instead. Alternatively, visit Apple's Report a Problem website in the Safari app on your phone to see information for transactions in the last 90 days.
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