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Home › Guides › How to Cancel a Subscription
Guide

How to Cancel a Subscription

Subscriptions are easy to start and easy to forget. The first step to stopping a charge is finding out who is billing you, because that tells you where to cancel. This guide walks through the most common places and what to do if a company makes it hard.

Where to look: step-by-step lists for Apple, Google Play, Amazon, PayPal, Roku, PlayStation, YouTube, your phone bill and more — Where subscriptions hide →

Start by finding who bills you

Look at your bank or card statement and find the charge. The name on the charge often tells you where the subscription lives. A charge that mentions Apple or Google Play usually means you subscribed through an app store. A charge from PayPal means PayPal is paying the company for you. Any other name usually means the company bills you directly.

Search your email for receipts too. A receipt shows which account was used, which matters if you have more than one email address or account.

iPhone and iPad

If you subscribed through the App Store, Apple handles the billing and you cancel in your settings, not inside the app.

  • Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
  • Tap Subscriptions.
  • Tap the subscription you want to stop.
  • Tap Cancel Subscription. You may need to scroll down to see it.
  • If there is no Cancel button, or you see an expiration date in red, it is already canceled.

Android and Google Play

If you subscribed through Google Play, cancel in the Play Store. Google says plainly that uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. After you cancel, you usually keep access until the end of the time you already paid for.

  • Open the Play Store app.
  • Tap your profile picture.
  • Tap Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
  • Pick the subscription and tap Cancel subscription, then follow the steps.

PayPal automatic payments

If PayPal pays a company for you on a schedule, you can stop that from your PayPal account. On the website, go to Settings, then Payments, then the section for automatic payments or subscriptions. Choose the business and cancel the automatic payment.

Stopping the payment in PayPal may not end your agreement with the company. Contact the company as well and ask it to close the account so you are not billed another way.

Subscriptions billed directly by a company

Log in to your account on the company's website and look for Account, Billing, Membership, or Plan. Many companies put the cancel option there. If you cannot find it, check the help pages or the terms you agreed to, which should explain how to cancel.

Deleting the app, deleting your account login, or ignoring emails does not stop billing. You need to actually cancel.

When a company makes it hard, and keeping proof

If you are sent in circles, stay calm and write everything down. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says to follow the company's steps, keep a copy of your cancellation request, and take notes on any calls. If you still cannot cancel, call your card company and ask it to stop the payments, and consider disputing charges you did not agree to.

  • Take screenshots of the confirmation screen.
  • Save any cancellation email.
  • Write down the date, time, and name of anyone you spoke with.
  • Check your next statement to make sure the charge stopped.

Common questions

If I delete the app, is my subscription canceled?

No. Deleting an app from your phone does not cancel a subscription. Billing keeps going until you cancel through the place that bills you, such as your phone settings, the Play Store, PayPal, or the company's website. Always look for a cancellation confirmation.

Will I get a refund for the rest of the month after I cancel?

Usually not automatically. Most app store subscriptions keep working until the end of the period you already paid for, then stop. Some companies offer partial refunds, and app stores have their own refund request process. Check the company's policy, or ask politely for a refund.

I can't find the subscription in my phone settings. Why?

It may be billed through a different account, a family member's account, PayPal, or the company directly. Search your email for a receipt to see which account was used. Apple notes that if there is no Apple receipt, you likely bought it from another company and should contact that company.

Official sources

General consumer information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Laws and company policies change; check the official sources for your situation.