Streaming Services After Death: How to Cancel Netflix, Spotify and Other Subscriptions

The way to stop streaming charges after a death is to cancel each subscription in the service's own account settings, or through whoever bills for it. Deleting the app does not cancel anything. You also usually can't inherit the account or the movies and music bought on it, because services license those to the account holder.

A typical person has several subscriptions, and they are easy to miss because they bill quietly in the background. This guide shows how to find them, how to cancel them, and what to do when you don't have the login.

Can you keep using the person's streaming account?

It is tempting to leave a shared account running, especially if you've used it for years. Most services treat an account as personal to the person who opened it. Apple's terms, for example, say apps from its App Store are licensed rather than sold, and its Legacy Contact page says purchased movies, music and books can't be passed on. Signing in with a password you weren't given can also break a service's terms of use.

If you want to keep watching, the clean way is to start your own account. Cancel the person's account through the company, and ask the company how it handles the account of someone who has died.

How do you find every subscription?

Don't rely on the apps you can see on a phone or TV. Work through these in order:

1. Bank and credit card statements. Look for recurring charges from the last several months. Some plans bill once a year, so check further back if you can.
2. Email. Search the person's inbox for "subscription," "receipt," "renewal" and "membership."
3. The phone or tablet. On an iPhone, go to Settings, tap the person's name, then Subscriptions. On Android, open the Subscriptions list in Google Play.
4. Other bills. Cable, internet and mobile carriers sometimes bill for streaming services as part of a bundle.

If you can't unlock the phone, the statements and email will still show most subscriptions. Keep the list in one place, with the service name, the amount and where the charge shows up.

How do you cancel a streaming subscription?

How you cancel depends on who bills for it.

Netflix says you can keep using it until the end of the paid billing period after you cancel. Cancelling does not delete the account straight away.

If you have no access to the account and can't reach anyone at the company, tell the card issuer or bank about the death. See notifying banks after a death and notifying credit card companies. A closed card stops new charges, but it does not cancel the subscription. A service may still chase an unpaid balance, so cancel with the company when you can.

What will the company ask for?

Every company sets its own rules, so ask what it needs before you send anything. Common requests are:

• the name and email address on the account
• the date of death
• a copy of the death certificate
• proof of your relationship to the person, or of your authority as executor

Send copies rather than originals. If you're the executor, see what an executor does for the paperwork you'll be asked for across the estate.

What happens to purchased movies, playlists and watch history?

Purchased content. Movies, shows, music and books bought from a digital store are usually licensed to the account holder, not owned like a DVD. Apple says a Legacy Contact can get photos, messages, notes and files, but not movies, music, books or subscriptions bought with the person's Apple Account. Other stores have their own terms, so check before assuming anything.

Watch history and playlists. Netflix says it keeps a closed account's viewing activity, recommendations and account details for 24 months. Other services keep data for different lengths of time. If a particular playlist or list matters to the family, write it down or take screenshots before you cancel.

Google accounts. Google says it can work with immediate family members and representatives to close a deceased person's account, and in some cases may provide content. It warns that if you close the account, it can't hand over the contents later. So decide about photos and documents first. Our guide to Google's Inactive Account Manager explains the tool people can set up ahead of time.

Family plans and shared subscriptions

If the person paid for a family or household plan, cancelling it will end access for everyone on it. Tell the others first so they can start their own plans. If the subscription was part of a bundle, cancel it with whoever bills for the bundle, not with each service inside it.

Ask the company whether any unused time can be refunded. Policies differ, and some won't refund part of a billing period. If you are charged after you've told the company about the death and asked it to cancel, keep the dates and ask your card issuer about disputing the charge.

How can you make this easier for your own family?

Streaming subscriptions are one small part of a digital estate. A short list kept somewhere your executor can find it saves them a lot of hunting.

• Write down each subscription and which card or app store pays for it.
• Name a Legacy Contact on your Apple Account. Google's Inactive Account Manager lets you pick up to 10 trusted contacts to be notified or sent data if your account goes inactive.
• Keep passwords somewhere your executor can reach. Our guide to password management after a death has options.

What to do next

1. List every subscription from statements, email and the phone.
2. Cancel each one with whoever bills for it, and keep a note of the date.
3. Keep the email account open until the statements show no more charges.
4. Move on to the other recurring bills. See cancelling subscriptions after a death, magazine subscriptions and ending a phone contract.