How to Cancel Subscriptions After Someone Dies: Streaming, Gym, Apps and Memberships

To stop subscription charges after a death, list every recurring payment from bank and card statements and cancel each one with the company that bills it. Many companies will ask for written notice and a copy of the death certificate. The estate handles the bills, not you, unless you co-signed or share the account. Do the cancelling one company at a time, and keep notes of who you contacted and when.

How do you find every subscription?

Nothing is more reliable than money leaving the account. Work through these sources.

1. Bank and credit card statements. Go back 12 months, because annual renewals (a membership, a software licence, a magazine) only show once a year.
2. The email inbox. Search for "receipt", "invoice", "renewal", "subscription" and "your membership". Email is also where trial sign-ups and app store receipts land.
3. Phone subscription lists. Apple and Google keep a list of the subscriptions billed through their app stores. On an iPhone it is under Settings, your name, then Subscriptions. On Android it is in Google Play under Payments and subscriptions.
4. Paper mail. Some club dues and renewal notices still come by post.
5. Payment apps. PayPal, Venmo and similar services can hold recurring payments that never appear on a card statement.

Make a simple list: company, what it is, how it is billed, the amount and how often, and when it renews.

How do you cancel each type of subscription?

Streaming and online services

If you can sign in to the account, cancel it from the account settings. If you cannot, use the company's help centre or support team and say the account holder has died. Expect a request for proof of death and, for some companies, proof that you act for the estate. Our guide to cancelling streaming services after death covers the main ones.

If a service is billed through a phone carrier, cable company, Apple or Google, you have to cancel it there. Deleting an app does not cancel anything. Google says plainly that uninstalling an app will not cancel the subscription, and Apple's cancel process is done through the account's Subscriptions page.

Apple and Google accounts

Apple lets a person name a Legacy Contact. To request access, the Legacy Contact needs the access key created when they were chosen and the death certificate. Apple says a Legacy Contact cannot access subscriptions purchased with the person's Apple Account, so you still cancel those through Apple or the company that bills you. Google has an Inactive Account Manager that people can set up in advance, and it also takes requests from family members and representatives to close a deceased person's account. Google says it cannot provide passwords or login details, and that once an account is closed it cannot process a request to hand over its contents.

For more, see Apple Legacy Contact and what happens to a Google account.

Gym and club memberships

Contracts vary, so read the agreement. Many gyms and clubs want written notice, sometimes by mail or in person, and a copy of the death certificate. Ask for written confirmation that the account is closed and that nothing more will be charged, and ask about any early termination fee and prepaid fees. Our guide to gym memberships after death goes into this.

Phone, internet and TV

Ask whether a device is still being paid off or equipment needs to be returned. Keep the phone line until the accounts that send codes to it are done, then cancel. See cancelling a phone contract after death.

Magazines, loyalty programs and other small ones

Most can be stopped with a call or email. Loyalty points may be lost at closure, so ask first. See magazine subscriptions after death and loyalty programs after death.

What proof do companies ask for?

• Proof of death. USAGov says you may only need a photocopy of the death certificate for tasks like cancelling a subscription, and advises checking with each organisation. Certified copies are needed for most agencies and financial accounts, so do not send one where a copy will do. See how many death certificates to order.
• Proof that you can act. An executor or administrator may need letters testamentary or letters of administration from the probate court.
• Account details. The email address, the last four digits of the card and the account number if you have it.

Who pays for the subscriptions?

The FTC says a person's debts are owed by and paid from their estate, and the CFPB says no one else generally has to pay them. You may be responsible if you co-signed or hold a joint account, or if you are a surviving spouse in a state where the law makes spouses responsible. Being an authorized user on a card generally does not make you liable.

A debt collector cannot say or imply that you personally owe the money if you do not. If a company pressures you to pay from your own funds, ask for the account details in writing and pass it to the executor. See debt when someone dies.

What about new subscription rules?

Federal rules on cancelling subscriptions are unsettled. The FTC announced a "click-to-cancel" amendment to its Negative Option Rule in October 2024, and the amendment was challenged in court. In March 2026 the FTC asked the public for comment on new amendments to the rule. Do not count on a federal rule to make a company cancel for you. Check the company's own cancellation policy.

In the UK, the free Death Notification Service lets you report a death to several member organisations at once, including banks, building societies, insurers, utilities and telecoms companies. It does not cover every subscription, so keep the list.

What to do next

1. Write down every recurring payment from 12 months of statements and the email inbox.
2. Cancel the services on the list, most expensive first, and keep the confirmations.
3. Tell the bank and card companies last. See notifying banks after a death and credit cards after a death.
4. Keep the email and phone until the last account is closed.