How to cancel any subscription: the complete playbook
A service-agnostic method that works everywhere — find what you actually pay for, dodge the two traps, and make the cancellation stick.
First, find everything you're actually paying for
You can't cancel what you can't see. Pull up the last three months of bank and card statements and mark every recurring line — the small ones are exactly the ones that slip through. Pasting those statement lines into a tracker (Unspentify imports them and flags the recurring charges for you) turns a vague worry into a concrete list you can act on.
Know the two traps before you click cancel
Every retention flow has two traps: the save offer and the notice period. The save offer — a sudden discount on the final screen — is worth taking only if you were staying anyway; don't let it talk you out of leaving. The notice period matters more: gyms, telecom and some software require you to cancel weeks before the renewal date, so read the terms before you assume you're free.
The universal cancellation sequence
Almost every service follows the same path: sign in on the web rather than the app (app stores bury the cancel button), open Account or Billing, choose Cancel or Turn off auto-renew, decline the retention offer, and confirm. Then screenshot the confirmation screen or keep the email — that's your proof if a charge shows up anyway.
When a service makes it deliberately hard
Some services only let you cancel by phone or live chat, betting you won't bother. State plainly that you're cancelling, don't negotiate, and note the agent's name and the date. If a company charges you after a documented cancellation, your card issuer's dispute process is the backstop — a clean screenshot usually settles it fast.