How to Cancel Netflix (and Keep Your Profile for Later)

To cancel Netflix, sign in at netflix.com in a web browser, open your Account page, find your membership or plan section and choose Cancel. Confirm, and Netflix won't charge you again. It takes about a minute, and it works the same on a laptop or a phone browser.

You keep watching until the end of the period you've already paid for, so there's no reason to wait. If you pay for Netflix through Apple, Google Play, your phone carrier or a TV or internet provider, the cancel button lives with them instead. The sections below cover each case.

Menus change from time to time, so if your screens look different, Netflix's help center has the current steps.

The fastest way to cancel Netflix: the website#

This route works for anyone who pays Netflix directly with a card, PayPal or a gift card balance. It's the method most people need.

1. Open a web browser and go to netflix.com. Sign in if you aren't already.
2. Click or tap your profile icon and choose Account.
3. Look for your membership or plan section.
4. Choose Cancel (it may say Cancel Membership).
5. Confirm on the next screen.

When it works, Netflix shows the date your streaming ends and usually sends a confirmation email. Keep that email until the end date has passed. It's your proof if anything goes wrong later.

If you don't see a cancel option at all, that's a strong clue you're billed by someone else. Your Account page often says so, with a line pointing you to the company that handles your billing. Skip to the partner section below.

Before you click cancel#

Take thirty seconds to check two things:

• Which account you're signed in to. If your household has more than one Netflix account, make sure you're cancelling the one that's actually being charged. The email address on the Account page tells you.
• Your next billing date. It's shown on the same page. If it's tomorrow, cancel today. If it's three weeks away, you still lose nothing by cancelling now.

How to cancel Netflix on iPhone, Android, TV and other devices#

Netflix apps are built for watching, not billing. On most devices the app either sends you to the website or doesn't offer a cancel option at all.

On an iPhone or iPad#

Open Safari, go to netflix.com, sign in and follow the website steps above. The Netflix app on iPhone generally can't cancel a membership you pay Netflix for directly.

If you originally subscribed through Apple, the membership is billed to your Apple ID and you cancel it in Settings → your name → Subscriptions → Netflix → Cancel Subscription. Not sure which applies? If Netflix appears in that Subscriptions list, Apple bills you. If it doesn't, Netflix (or a partner) does. Our guide on how to cancel subscriptions on iPhone explains that list in more detail.

On an Android phone or tablet#

Open Chrome or another browser, go to netflix.com and use the website steps. Some people started their membership inside the Android app with Google Play billing. In that case, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, pick Netflix and tap Cancel subscription.

Uninstalling the Netflix app does not cancel anything. For more on the Play Store side, see how to cancel subscriptions on Android and Google Play.

On a TV or streaming device#

Use your phone or a computer instead. TV apps are rarely set up for account changes, and typing a password with a remote is slow anyway. Signing in on the website from your phone takes less time than hunting through TV menus.

If you pay for Netflix through Apple, Google Play or a partner#

Plenty of people don't pay Netflix directly. Netflix is often bundled with phone plans, broadband packages and TV services, and some people subscribed years ago through an app store. In all of these cases the company that charges you is the one that can stop the charge.

Billed through Apple: cancel in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions. Anything billed through Apple has to be cancelled through Apple, even though Netflix has its own website.

Billed through Google Play: cancel in the Play Store app under Payments & subscriptions, or on the web at play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions.

Billed by a phone carrier, internet provider or TV company: sign in to that company's website or app and look for add-ons, extras, entertainment or included services. Some bundles let you remove Netflix on its own. Others include it as part of the plan, so removing it might mean changing plans. If you can't find it, contact the partner's support team.

A quick way to tell who bills you is your bank or card statement:

• A charge labelled with Netflix's name usually means you pay Netflix directly.
• A charge labelled with Apple (often APPLE.COM/BILL) or Google means an app store bills you.
• No separate charge at all, but a bigger phone or broadband bill, often means a bundle.

If you're seeing a Netflix-like charge you can't place, search the merchant name on your statement and check your email for receipts to track it down.

What happens after you cancel Netflix#

Cancelling stops the next renewal. It doesn't cut you off immediately.

• You can keep watching until your billing period ends. The end date is shown on your Account page.
• You won't be charged again unless you restart.
• Downloads stop working once your membership ends, because they need an active plan.
• Your profiles, watch history, ratings and My List are usually kept for a while. That's what makes coming back painless. Netflix sets how long it holds this data, so check its help page if you're planning a long break.
• Extra members or anyone else using your account lose access too when the membership ends, since it's one account.

Cancelling doesn't refund the current period. If you were charged by mistake, contact Netflix support (or Apple, Google or the partner, depending on who billed you). Refund decisions are theirs, so don't count on one.

A worked example#

Say you're on a plan that costs, for example, $15.49 a month, and you watch one show a season. Over a year, that's $15.49 × 12 = $185.88.

If you cancel and only come back for two months a year to catch the shows you care about, you pay $15.49 × 2 = $30.98. The difference is $185.88 − $30.98 = $154.90 a year, and you don't miss anything you would have watched.

That's the idea behind a streaming rotation: keep one service at a time, binge what you want, cancel, then move on to the next.

How to restart Netflix and get your profile back#

Coming back is easier than leaving.

1. Go to netflix.com and sign in with the same email address you used before.
2. Netflix will offer to restart your membership. Choose a plan and confirm your payment details.
3. Your profiles and history should be there, as long as you're within the period Netflix keeps them.

A few tips for a smooth restart:

• Use the same email. Signing up with a new email creates a fresh account with empty profiles.
• Check the plan and price before confirming. Plans and prices change over time, and the plan you had before may not be offered any more. Our guide to subscription price increases explains how to spot changes before they hit your card.
• Restart on the website if you want to pay Netflix directly. Restarting through a partner or app store moves the billing to them.

If you change your mind before your current period ends, you can usually undo the cancellation from the Account page, and nothing changes.

Troubleshooting: when cancelling Netflix doesn't go to plan#

A few more things worth checking:

• Old accounts. If you once signed up with a different email, an old membership can keep billing quietly. Search your inbox for Netflix receipts and note which email they went to.
• Family members. Someone else in your household may be paying for a separate account you thought was yours.
• Gift cards. If you paid with a gift card, the membership stops when the balance runs out unless you add a card, but you can still cancel to be sure.

If a charge keeps appearing and nobody can explain it, contact your bank or card issuer. For a wider sweep of everything you might be paying for, see how to find every subscription you're paying for.

Pausing, downgrading or switching plans instead#

Cancelling isn't the only option if your main goal is spending less.

• Downgrade your plan. Netflix usually offers several plan tiers, and a lower one may be enough if you watch on one screen or don't care about the highest picture quality. You change plans on the same Account page.
• Cancel and rejoin later. Because your profiles are usually kept for a while, cancelling for a few months can work like a pause.
• Split costs fairly. If several people in one household use the account, agree on how to share the bill. A fair split often costs each person less than separate accounts.

Keep track of when Netflix renews#

The hard part with Netflix isn't the cancel button. It's remembering to press it before the next charge, especially if you planned to watch one series and then cancel.

The manual fix is simple: when you sign up or restart, put a calendar reminder two or three days before your next billing date. When it fires, decide if you're still watching.

If you juggle several streaming services, an app like Monthlee keeps them in one list, with reminders on the day or 1, 2, 3 or 7 days before each charge. You add Netflix with one tap, without linking a bank account, and the cancel guides include direct links to cancellation pages for popular services. If you delete a subscription as cancelled, Monthlee counts what you're saving.

The bottom line#

To cancel Netflix, sign in at netflix.com, open Account, find your membership and choose Cancel. If there's no cancel option, check whether Apple, Google Play, your phone carrier or a TV provider bills you, and cancel with them.

You keep watching until the paid period ends, and your profiles are usually kept for a while, so restarting later with the same email picks up where you left off. Cancel as soon as you decide, keep the confirmation email, and set a reminder for any time you plan to come back for a show and leave again.