Why cancel anytime is rarely as easy as it sounds

Category: Services & subscriptions
Contexts: Subscribing online
Reading time: 4 minutes · Published

What it is

A subscription that is one click to sign up and many clicks to leave. The cancellation page is buried in account settings. The flow is full of confirmation steps designed to make you give up. The pattern has a name in design industry circles: roach motel.

Where you will see it

Many streaming services, retail subscriptions, online tools, dating apps. The pattern is widely documented across the subscription economy and is now the subject of regulator action in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.

What the regulators say

In September 2025, Amazon agreed to pay US$2.5 billion to settle US Federal Trade Commission allegations that it had used deceptive design to enrol customers in Amazon Prime and obstruct cancellation. The FTC complaint cited an internal Amazon name for the cancellation flow that referenced Homer's Iliad, the epic about a ten-year war. Amazon did not admit liability. The settlement is among the largest the FTC has ever obtained.

How they trap you

They say
Try free for 30 days. Cancel anytime.
It is actually
A cancellation flow designed to make you give up.
What to do
Search "how to cancel" before you subscribe, not after.

The story

Lucy signs up for a free 30-day trial. One click. On day 28 she tries to cancel. The button is not on the account page. She finds it under Settings, then Membership, then Manage, then End Membership, then Continue, then Are You Sure, then Continue, then Final Step. Four screens try to talk her out of it. She gives up, plans to do it tomorrow, and gets charged the next morning.

Frequently asked questions

Why is it so hard to cancel some subscriptions?
Companies make cancellation difficult on purpose. It is called a roach motel design: easy to enter, hard to leave. Each extra screen reduces the percentage of people who complete the cancellation. The pattern is now subject to regulator action in multiple countries.
Can I cancel a subscription within 30 days?
Most free trials let you cancel before the trial ends with no charge. But you have to actually complete the cancellation, not just intend to. Auto-enrolment converts your trial to a paid subscription the moment the trial ends.
What is a roach motel design?
A design pattern where signing up is one click and cancellation requires many. The term was coined by user experience researcher Harry Brignull. The Federal Trade Commission and other regulators now treat it as a deceptive design practice.
Is the FTC click-to-cancel rule in effect?
Parts of the FTC 2024 click-to-cancel rule have been upheld and parts are under appeal in US courts. The principle, that cancellation should be as easy as enrolment, is reflected in the FTC recent enforcement actions, including the 2025 Amazon settlement.
How do I avoid forgetting to cancel a free trial?
Cancel immediately after signing up. Most services let you use the full trial period anyway. If that is not possible, set two calendar reminders, one 48 hours before the trial ends and one 24 hours before.

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About the author

Enrico Scha spent 25 years inside the design industry that creates the patterns documented on this site. After leaving in 2025, he writes about how the patterns work so consumers can spot them in 10 seconds, not after the money is gone.

Former 25-year insider in the design industry that creates these patterns

Sources