Apple creates dedicated portal for users to remove unwanted U2 album

With hordes of iTunes customers loudly voicing their displeasure at having received 22-time Grammy-award-winning rock group U2's latest album for free in recent days, Apple responded to the cacophony on Monday with a new single-purpose web portal that will allow disgruntled users to remove the album from their iTunes accounts.

As detailed in a new support document, unhappy customers can now do away with the album in a simple three-step process. The support update was first noted by Re/code.

Users should first visit the special Songs of Innocence removal page at http://itunes.com/soi-remove. They will then need to click "Remove Album," before signing in with the Apple ID that they have associated with purchases from the iTunes Store.

The album created quite a stir after Apple and U2 announced a pact to give it away for free to every iTunes customer. Unfortunately, users who enabled the "Automatically download new purchases" option in iTunes saw their new purchase automatically downloaded, causing consternation among a vocal portion of Apple's customer base who alternately claim to never have heard of U2 —  a band that has sold more than 150 million albums —  or to simply not want the LP.

Those who did purchase the album by clicking on the "Free" download link in the iTunes Store, but who now wish to rid themselves of it, will find the album hidden from their Purchased list after visiting the removal portal. If they desire its future return, it can be unhidden at any time.