How to Cancel Subscriptions on Android and Google Play

To cancel a subscription on Google Play, open the Play Store app, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions. Pick the subscription and tap Cancel subscription, then confirm. You can do the same thing on the web at play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions.

Two things trip people up. First, uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. Second, each Google account has its own subscription list, so if you have more than one, check them all.

If a subscription isn't listed at all, it's probably billed directly by the company, and you'll need to cancel it on their website. Here's how to handle every case.

How to cancel a subscription in the Google Play Store app#

This is the quickest route on an Android phone or tablet.

1. Open the Google Play Store app.
2. Tap your profile picture in the top corner.
3. Tap Payments & subscriptions.
4. Tap Subscriptions.
5. Choose the subscription you want to cancel.
6. Tap Cancel subscription.
7. Follow the prompts. You may be asked why you're cancelling; pick any answer and confirm.

When it's done, the subscription page shows when your access ends rather than a renewal date. Take a screenshot if you'd like a record, and keep any confirmation email Google sends.

Menus can shift a little between Play Store versions and phone makers. If your screen looks different, look for anything named Subscriptions under your account, or use the web link below.

How to cancel a Google Play subscription on the web#

You don't need your phone to cancel. This is useful if your phone is lost, broken or out of battery, or if you're helping someone else.

1. Go to https://play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions in any browser.
2. Sign in with the Google account that pays for the subscription.
3. Find the subscription in the list.
4. Select Cancel subscription and confirm.

The web list and the app list are the same, because both show the subscriptions tied to the Google account you're signed in with.

Uninstalling an app doesn't cancel the subscription#

This is the most common way people end up paying for something they think they've stopped.

Deleting an app removes it from your phone. It doesn't tell Google Play to stop billing you. The subscription keeps renewing in the background until you cancel it.

The same goes for:

• Logging out of the app. Your account is still subscribed.
• Switching to a new phone. Subscriptions are tied to your Google account, not the device, so they follow you.
• Clearing app data. This affects the app on your phone, not your billing.

If you've already uninstalled an app you were paying for, open the Subscriptions list anyway. It will still be there if it's active, and you can cancel it without reinstalling anything.

A worked example#

Say you uninstalled a fitness app in January but never cancelled its $12.99 monthly plan. You notice in October. That's ten months of charges: $12.99 × 10 = $129.90 for an app you no longer had on your phone.

Cancelling takes under a minute. Checking your list a few times a year is the easiest way to avoid this. A 30-minute subscription audit is a good way to make it a habit.

If you have more than one Google account#

Many Android users have two or more Google accounts on the same phone: a personal one, an old one, maybe one for work. Each has its own subscription list. A subscription bought on one account won't appear when you're viewing another.

To check another account in the Play Store app:

1. Tap your profile picture.
2. Tap the account switcher (the arrow or the list of accounts shown near the top).
3. Choose the other account.
4. Go to Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions again.

On the web, sign out and sign back in with the other account, or use your browser's account switcher.

If you're not sure which account was used, search each email inbox for a Google Play receipt. The receipt mentions the subscription and is sent to the account that paid.

Subscriptions billed outside Google Play#

Not everything you use on Android is billed through Google Play. If you signed up on a company's website, such as Netflix, Spotify, a news site or a cloud storage service, the company bills your card directly. Google has no record of it, so it won't appear in your Play Store list.

How to tell who is billing you#

Look at your bank or card statement:

• Charges billed through Google Play usually show Google's name in the description, often alongside the app or service name.
• Charges billed directly usually show the company's own name.

If you can't work out where a charge comes from, our guide on how to find every subscription you're paying for explains how to trace it through statements and email receipts.

How to cancel a directly billed subscription#

1. Go to the company's website and sign in.
2. Open your account, billing, membership or plan page.
3. Choose Cancel and follow the prompts. You might be offered a discount first; you can say no.
4. Save the confirmation email or take a screenshot.

Menus change, so check the service's help page if yours looks different. For gyms and memberships that insist on letters or visits, see how to cancel hard-to-cancel subscriptions.

Other places a subscription can be billed#

Some subscriptions are bundled with your phone plan, internet plan or another service. In those cases, the cancellation usually happens through the provider that bills you, so check your phone or internet account.

Pausing, downgrading or cancelling#

Sometimes you don't want to cancel for good. You just don't need the service for a month or two.

Some apps offer a pause option. If one does, you'll usually see it on the subscription's page or when you start to cancel. Whether it's available, and for how long, depends entirely on the app.

Pausing makes sense when:

• You'll definitely come back, for example a fitness app over a holiday.
• You'd lose saved progress or settings if you cancelled.
• You'd have to pay a higher price to resubscribe later.

Cancelling makes more sense when you're unsure. You can always subscribe again, and a cancelled subscription can't surprise you with a charge. If you like having several streaming services but not all at once, rotating them one at a time is a good middle ground.

A quick checklist before you cancel#

A minute of preparation saves you from losing something you wanted to keep.

• Note the end date. Write down when your paid access runs out so you can use what's left.
• Export or download your data. Playlists, workout history, notes and files may not survive once access ends.
• Check whether it's monthly or yearly. If you're paying yearly, you may have months of access left, so there's no rush to stop using it, only to stop the renewal.
• Look for a cheaper plan. Some services offer a lower tier with ads or fewer features. If you still use it a little, that might suit you better than cancelling outright.
• Check who else uses it. If family members rely on the subscription, let them know before it ends.

Monthly vs yearly: what you're actually stopping

Cancelling a monthly plan stops the next $7.99. Cancelling a yearly plan stops the next $79.99 renewal, which is a much bigger charge to miss. That's why yearly renewal dates are worth writing down the day you subscribe. For more on choosing between the two, see monthly vs yearly subscriptions.

What happens after you cancel on Google Play#

Cancelling stops the next renewal. It doesn't usually cut you off straight away.

• You generally keep access until the end of the paid period. If you pay monthly and your next renewal is on the 18th, you can usually keep using it until then.
• You won't be charged again for that subscription unless you resubscribe.
• Past payments aren't refunded automatically. Cancelling isn't the same as getting money back.
• Your data may or may not stay. What happens to your saved content depends on the app. Export anything important before access ends.

If you were charged for something you didn't intend to keep, contact the app's developer or Google Play support through the Play Store's help options. Refunds aren't guaranteed, so ask promptly and explain clearly what happened.

Free trials on Google Play#

Free trials renew into paid plans automatically unless you cancel. Cancel a day or two before the trial ends to leave a safety margin. In the Subscriptions list, the trial usually shows the date it converts to a paid plan.

For more on avoiding these charges, see how to avoid getting charged after a free trial.

Troubleshooting common problems#

If charges continue after you've cancelled and contacted the company, contact your bank or card issuer and explain what happened.

Keep track of what renews and when#

Cancelling is easy once you remember to do it. The problem is usually remembering before the charge rather than after.

A simple manual method works for most people: write down each subscription, what it costs, which account pays for it and when it renews. Put the renewal dates in your calendar with an alert a few days before. A simple list with those four columns covers most of what you need.

If you also use an iPhone, Monthlee keeps subscriptions, bills and free trials in one list and reminds you before each charge. It's iPhone-only for now and not on Android yet, so on an Android phone a calendar or spreadsheet is the way to go.

The bottom line#

To cancel a subscription on Google Play, open the Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, pick it and tap Cancel subscription. Or use play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions on any browser.

Remember that uninstalling an app doesn't cancel anything, that each Google account has its own list, and that subscriptions you started on a website have to be cancelled on that website.

Do a quick check now: open your Subscriptions list on every Google account you use, cancel what you don't need, and note the renewal dates of what you keep.