How to cancel any subscription billed through Google Play

To cancel Google Play itself, see our page on how to cancel Google Play. Google Play Pass has its own page: Google Play Pass.

Google Play keeps a list of the recurring plans you started through the Play Store. That covers plans inside apps and games. The steps below follow Google's own help page for cancelling, pausing or changing a subscription on Google Play.

1. 1

   Go to subscriptions in Google Play

   Google's help page sends you to the subscriptions area of Google Play. Google's page on fixing subscription problems describes the route inside the Play Store: confirm you are signed in to the right account, open the menu and choose Subscriptions.

2. 2

   Select the plan you want to cancel

   Check that the name matches the charge you are chasing. Plans for different apps sit in the same list.

3. 3

   Tap Cancel subscription

   The button sits on the plan's page.

4. 4

   Follow the instructions

   Google may ask you to confirm. Finish every screen until Google confirms the cancellation.

Uninstalling the app does not cancel the subscription. Google says so on both pages, and says you will continue to be charged until you cancel.

You do not need your phone. Google's page lists the computer route as a separate set of steps, and it starts from the subscriptions page on play.google.com.

1. 1

   Open subscriptions in Google Play

   On your computer, go to the subscriptions page of Google Play and sign in with the Google Account that holds the plan.

2. 2

   Click Manage

   Find the plan you want to cancel and click Manage next to it.

3. 3

   Click Cancel subscription

   This opens a confirmation pop-up.

4. 4

   Select a reason and click Continue

   Google asks you to choose a reason in the pop-up before it finishes.

Google says that when you cancel, you can still use the subscription for the time you have already paid. If you paid for a month, you keep the plan to the end of that month. Cancelling stops the next charge. It does not shorten what you have bought.

• Refunds: Google says some cases may qualify, but past subscriptions cannot be refunded apart from the exceptions it lists in its refund policies.
• Pausing: some apps let you pause a plan instead. A pause starts at the end of your current billing period.
• Removed apps: if an app is removed from Google Play, Google says your future subscription will be cancelled.
• Failed payments: if your payment method is declined or has insufficient funds, Google says the subscription may be cancelled, and you would have to set it up again.

Google's advice is to check you are signed in to the right account, because the plan may sit on a different one. Its page on subscription problems adds these checks:

• The email you used with the app may differ from your Google Account.
• Look through your other email accounts for the receipt, which shows where you added the plan.
• Ask family members, since you may have used a family member's account.
• Check Google Wallet for the subscription.

If a plan still does not show up, the charge may not come from Google Play at all, which is the next case.

Google's pages cover plans that Google Play bills. Look at the line on your phone bill or card statement. If it names Google, use the steps above. If it names your mobile carrier as the biller, or the company that runs the app, the Play list cannot end it and the biller named on the statement is the one to contact. Google's page on subscription problems also notes that for in-app questions the app developer is responsible for the app and its content.

Start with the biller's own account page or support contact. If it offers no cancel option, or the request goes unanswered, write to the company. A letter sent by tracked mail gives you the date it was delivered. Our guide to cancelling a subscription by mail explains the steps, and certified mail for cancellations shows how to keep the receipt and delivery record. The cancellation letter template builds the letter for you, and USPS describes the proof you get on its page about Certified Mail and other extra services.

Our company pages cover Google Play, Google Play Pass and Google One. If you use an iPhone, read how to cancel subscriptions on iPhone. Amazon plans billed through Google Play are covered in our guide on how to cancel Amazon.

Compare the date of your cancellation with the date of the charge. A charge from Google after you cancelled usually means a second plan or a plan on another account, so look at every account you use. A charge from a company means the Play route never applied. Send that company the delivery date of your letter and a list of the later charges. The FTC's advice on getting out of subscriptions is to keep records and dispute charges that continue after you cancel. Our guide on what to do when a company keeps charging you explains each step.

Questions about how we handle a letter for you are answered in our help center and on how it works. To see what forgotten plans have cost, try the subscription cost calculator.