If you've been buying music, movies, apps, or subscriptions in the Apple ecosystem for years, chances are you've got a real mess of old iTunes purchases, legacy licenses, and charges you've completely forgotten about . When it comes time to do an audit, whether for internal control, accounting reasons, or simply personal organization, the feeling is usually one of total chaos.
The good news is that Apple offers several official tools to scrutinize all these transactions. From the old iTunes Store to Apple Music, the App Store, and the Apple Business platform. In this article, we'll walk you through a complete procedure, step by step, for auditing past purchases and licenses in iTunes and related services , from both Mac and Windows, as well as iPhone and iPad. This includes how to download CSV reports, how to identify which Apple ID purchased each item, and how to troubleshoot common authorization issues.
What does it mean to audit past purchases and licenses on iTunes?
When we talk about auditing in this context, we mean systematically reviewing all purchases, downloads, and licenses associated with your Apple ID or your organization's account. This includes music, movies, TV shows, apps, books, subscriptions, and any other content purchased from the iTunes Store, App Store, Apple Books, Apple Music, or Apple TV.
The objective of this review is usually twofold:
- On the one hand, verify what has actually been purchased and when (purchase history, amounts, payment methods).
- On the other hand, check which devices or computers have been authorized to reproduce or use that content.
In business environments, the control of licenses for apps and books distributed through Apple Business also comes into play.
This audit is also commonly used to organize old iTunes libraries filled with songs or albums purchased over a decade ago that you no longer want to see. In these cases, the task involves identifying, filtering, and managing these old purchases —not only to hide them or delete them from the library, but also to keep them recorded but without them getting in the way of your daily routine.
In parallel, there's a third important area: checking for unexpected charges or discrepancies . Apple provides online and on-device tools to review the details of each transaction and to flag a specific charge as a problem when necessary.
Audit past purchases from Music on macOS
On modern Macs, the old iTunes app has been split into several applications. However, managing your past music purchases is still integrated into the Music app . From there, you can review what you've purchased from the iTunes Store, what's in your library, and what's available to download again.
The first thing you should do before starting the audit is to make sure your computer is authorized to play purchases from your Apple account . If you don't, some songs or albums may not play, or the system may constantly ask for authorization, complicating the review process.
Once you open the Music app on your Mac, you'll find the iTunes Store section in the sidebar . If it's not there, you'll need to go to the Music menu, access Settings (or Preferences, depending on your version), go to the General tab, and check the box for iTunes Store, then accept the changes to make it appear in the sidebar.
Within the iTunes Store, the key option for auditing is the Purchased section , which is displayed on the right side of the window. From there, you can see a list of all items that are available for re-download.
Purchase history can be organized by song, artist, or album, allowing you to analyze your history from different perspectives.
When you want to retrieve an old purchase, simply click the download icon associated with the item. This process is crucial in an audit because it allows you to verify that old licenses are still available and that you can access that content again if needed, even if you deleted it from your hard drive years ago.
For iOS or iPadOS devices (iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch), downloading previous purchases is managed through their respective user manuals, but the logic is the same: log in with the appropriate Apple ID, go to the purchases section, and see which items can be downloaded again.
Audit iTunes and Apple Music purchases on Windows
In Windows environments, Apple has been replacing the old iTunes with the new Apple Music app for Windows , which also integrates access to the iTunes Store. The auditing procedure is very similar to that of macOS, with some differences in the interface.
The first step is to open the Apple Music app and authorize your computer with your Apple ID . If you need to create one, see how to create an Apple ID on Windows . If you don't, you might find that when you try to play a purchased song or access certain older purchases, the app asks for authorization repeatedly, or simply won't let you play the content.
You should see the iTunes Store shortcut in the app's sidebar . If it's not there, tap the settings icon or the settings menu at the top of the sidebar, go to Settings, then to the General section, and make sure the "Show iTunes Store" option is enabled. Confirm the changes to make the iTunes Store appear.
Within the iTunes Store, the Purchased button or link is once again the central hub for your audit. Clicking it displays a list of purchases available for download. You can browse your entire history or focus only on items not yet in your local library. As on a Mac, items that are already downloaded will not be shown as available for download.
Review of purchase history for audits in Apple Business
In a corporate environment, auditing isn't limited to songs and movies. Organizations that use Apple Business to manage apps and books need to regularly review what has been purchased, how many licenses have been acquired, and how they have been distributed. This information can be essential for internal or external audits.
Access to this data is not available to just any user. You must be logged into Apple Business with an account that has the Organization Administrator role or a custom role that includes permissions to license apps and books. The Apple Business documentation itself details which roles and permissions exist and what each one can do.
Once you're logged into Apple Business through your browser, navigate to Settings > Payments and Billing. Within this section, you'll find Purchase History , which centralizes information on all your purchases, including those associated with your configured payment methods.
Depending on the payment method and your role within the organization, you will see more or less detail, but in general you will be able to view purchases of applications, books and other content for business purposes.
This CSV file is pure gold for audits because you can open it in Excel, Numbers, or any other spreadsheet program and filter, sort, and cross-reference data according to your needs: by date, content type, amount, department to which the license has been assigned, etc. If you are documenting a license report or software expenditure control, this level of detail is usually essential.
How to view and filter your purchase history from reportaproblem.apple.com
For audits focused on specific charges or billing issues, one of the most direct options is reportaproblem.apple.com . This online tool is designed both to resolve issues and to clearly review what has been charged and why.
The basic flow consists of this:
- Access that URL.
- Sign in with your Apple ID and password.
- Wait for the list of purchases associated with that account to be displayed.
From there you can locate specific transactions, especially useful if you know the exact amount you have been charged but are not sure which product or subscription it corresponds to.
If you can't find the item you're looking for or you see charges that don't match your account, Apple says you can also review your purchase history directly on your devices. Even so, reportaproblem.apple.com serves as a quick first step in verifying the amounts, dates, and descriptions of the charges.
It's important to note that if you have more than one Apple ID, you might be viewing the history of the wrong account. For more thorough audits, it's advisable to check all accounts you use or have used , by logging into each one independently.
Audit purchases from iPhone and iPad: detailed history on iOS
For a long time, the complete purchase history could only be viewed from a computer, but Apple added a very useful option in iOS 11: viewing the payment history directly from the iPhone or iPad . This makes it possible to perform a significant part of the audit without needing a Mac or PC.
To review all your purchases, both paid and free, you have two main options. One is through Settings: open the Settings app, go to iTunes & App Store, tap on your Apple ID, and then select the option to view your Apple ID. At the bottom of that screen, you'll find the link to Purchase History , where all transactions are listed chronologically.
The other way is through the App Store itself . Open the app, tap the login button or your profile picture at the top, and once you're logged into your account, select Purchase History. The system may ask you to authenticate again, especially if it's been a while since your last login.
This section displays your purchases in an organized way, including apps, subscriptions, and other content. If you know the charge amount but can't remember what it was for, you can search for it directly within this history, which is incredibly useful for a quick review. Additionally, you can tap the "Last 90 days" option at the top to change the period and access older purchases.
Purchase history on Mac from the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV
On macOS, in addition to the Music app, you can also audit purchases from the App Store, Apple Music, and Apple TV . All of these apps share the same logic of accessing your account and viewing the associated history.
In the Mac App Store, the process involves clicking your name at the bottom of the sidebar and then clicking Account Settings . You'll usually be prompted to sign in again. Once signed in, on the account information page, scroll down to the Purchase History section. Next to "Most Recent Purchase," you'll see a "View All" link to see all recorded transactions.
From the Apple Music app or the Apple TV app on macOS, access is similar: click your name at the bottom of the sidebar and choose View My Account . You may need to re-enter your Apple ID and password. Then simply scroll to the Purchase History section and click "See All" to load the complete list. It may take a few moments to appear, especially if your account has several years of activity.
If you can't find an item in your usual purchase history, Apple recommends checking that you're using the correct Apple ID . It's relatively common for long-time users to have more than one account (for example, an older one associated with a different email address), and some of their older purchases may be linked to that previous ID. It's a good idea to sign in with each account to complete the audit.
Advanced authorization management: reproduce old purchases on different devices
A very common obstacle during an iTunes audit of old purchases is that, when trying to play songs or videos purchased years ago, the program asks for authorization repeatedly or won't let you play them at all. This is usually due to problems with computer authorizations or because the items belong to a different Apple ID than the one you currently have active.
The safest way to proceed is to authorize purchases from an administrator account on the computer. On systems with multiple user accounts, as is common in business environments or shared computers, you should first log in with the administrator account and ensure you have the latest version of iTunes or the corresponding app installed . Finally, use the Store menu to authorize the computer with your Apple ID.
In the authorization window, you'll be asked for your iTunes account name (your Apple ID) and password. If you manage multiple accounts, you'll need to authorize your computer with each one separately , as older songs or movies may have been purchased with different Apple IDs over the years. Once you've completed the authorization process from the administrator account, log out and log back in with the user account you actually want to use to play your purchases. Then, open iTunes or the equivalent app to verify that they play without any issues.
