Last weekend, I tried to close a hotel rewards account I signed up for in 2008. I thought it’d be easy. After all, I could access the email account I used all those years ago, I had my membership number handy, and I’d recently logged into the account. I was all set for a quick digital decluttering session, but my progress stalled fast. That’s because it can be incredibly hard to close your online accounts, and for some companies, this kind of frustration is by design. We saw this recently when former New York Times readers won a settlement for unpaid refunds after cancellations. That’s why I’m going to tell you why you should close accounts you’re not using, and why you should check how to cancel an account before you even sign up.
Why You Should Care About Forgotten Accounts
Think of your old accounts as if they’re a bunch of abandoned rooms in your online home. Sure, now they’re locked, but if your password gets posted to the dark web after a data breach, the hacker will have the key to your room. Once they get in, criminals can use all the personal information in your forgotten corner of the internet to identify you and access your current, important accounts, like your bank account or social media accounts. If you’re a fan of reusing passwords, when an old site gets breached, hackers can take your password and get into any new accounts you have. One exposed password could be the key that opens your entire castle to the outside world.
Anecdotally, hospitality rewards programs, newsletter subscriptions, and media publication subscriptions are the hardest services to cancel.
Old accounts can lead to online annoyances, too. For example, unused accounts and reward memberships may appear on call, email, and text message lists used by scammers and telemarketers. Closing these accounts could remove you from those lists, which may reduce spam and scam attempts in your inbox or on your phone.
Keeping track of fewer accounts reduces your digital footprint, so you have more control over your data. Keeping your data to yourself can reduce the number of scam and spam phone calls and text messages you receive, and can even prevent junk mailers from sending fake checks or political missives to your mailbox. If you know which apps and websites have your data, when one gets breached, you can contain the problem quickly, without worrying about future fallout.
The Agonizing Art of Digital Decluttering
So let’s talk about my terrible experience with digital decluttering. As mentioned above, when I tried to close a longtime account with a popular hotel brand, it was far more difficult than I expected.
After a few minutes of clicking around the hotel’s website, I found the Frequently Asked Questions section, which provided the following options: Cancel my account by phone (absolutely not) or via the hotel website’s live chat window. I opened the chatbox window and typed, “I need to cancel my account.”
A friendly chatbot appeared and asked me for my name, phone number, and account email address. I provided that information. The chatbot then asked what I wanted to do.
“I would like to cancel my account,” I typed, hoping a form or a button would appear in the chat window to let me remove my data from the hotelier’s virtual clutches. The chatbot told me I’d need to speak to a live person, and asked me to wait a moment.
The easiest way to save yourself a headache when closing an account is to know what you’re getting into before you sign up.
After a couple of minutes, “Sandy” joined the chat. They asked me, again, for an email address, name, and phone number to verify my identity. I provided the information. Sandy asked, “What can I help you with today?” Again, I typed, “I would like to cancel my account.”
Sandy began typing, then stopped. The typing started again, then stopped. This sequence repeated for the next seven or eight minutes, until a message finally came through: “Why do you want to close your account?”
I took a deep breath and stared out the window at the unusually warm, beautiful day outside. The birds chirped, a squirrel nibbled at an acorn nabbed from a nearby oak, and the sun sparkled against the brilliant blue sky. At that moment, while hunched over a cold keyboard in my office, I gained a true appreciation for the natural world’s welcoming simplicity, and longed to take my place among the birds and the trees, free from digital distractions, harsh screens, and absurd customer support queries.
“I am no longer a customer,” I replied.
Another 10 minutes passed. “Are you still there?” I asked.
“Yes,” was Sandy’s immediate reply. “I need to check on something, please hold for a moment.”
Dear Reader, can you guess how many “moments” worth of minutes Sandy took from me while checking on something? If you guessed more than 20, pat yourself on the back.
In the end, I spent more than 45 minutes of my life canceling a hotel rewards membership that I signed up for in less than five minutes almost 20 years ago. I didn’t receive a confirmation email, so I may have to do it all again. Luckily, there are better, more efficient ways to cancel other kinds of online memberships and subscriptions.
Closing Accounts Without Losing Your Mind
I’ve signed up for a lot of online services over the years, and trying to close those accounts can be tricky, as noted in the story above. Anecdotally, hospitality rewards programs, newsletter subscriptions, and media publication subscriptions are the hardest services to cancel because they usually require assistance via email, live chat, or a phone call.
Keep in mind, to close your accounts, you’ll probably need access to the email addresses you used when signing up. If you can’t get back into your old inbox, contact the company’s customer support team for help with account recovery.
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Start Your Cleanup: Identify Old Accounts
Do you remember all of the websites you signed up for over the years? I know I don’t. One way to find all your old accounts is to look at the list of passwords saved in your browser, a password manager, or even the notebook on your desk. You can also review the “Sign in with Google” or “Sign in with Apple” permissions to identify old or unused accounts. It’s also a good idea to search your email inbox for messages that start with “Welcome” or “Sign Up Confirmation” to find old accounts.
I recommend regularly clearing old credentials from your password manager vault by closing the associated accounts. Do this a few times a year to keep your digital footprint tidy.
Check Settings Before You Panic
Once you’ve identified the old accounts, you may be able to close them by logging in, visiting the settings menu, and choosing to delete your account. Some companies may make you jump through a few hoops to do so, such as requiring you to verify your identity or fill out a cancellation form.
I’m happy to report that some online audio and video streaming services, like Netflix, offer easy account cancellation options in their settings menus. In many cases, I could click a button to start the cancellation process, which is ideal.
That said, you may encounter easier or more difficult cancellation procedures depending on the age and type of account you have. For example, I was able to close a 2-year-old Spotify free account in under 2 minutes. I didn’t encounter hard upsells or messages shaming me for leaving the service. Spotify basically said, “k,byeeee” to my free account without much fanfare.
Recommended by Our Editors
( Credit: Spotify/PCMag )
When I closed my decade-old Spotify Premium account, I needed to complete a lot more screens. I didn’t put all of the screens in the image above because they contained the names and faces of my loved ones. Some contained pointed messages about the ways I’d be letting down my friends and family by not continuing to pay a monthly fee to listen to the same collection of songs I’ve been listening to since 2009. Other screens offered me the chance to continue my subscription at a lower price.
If you encounter customer retention tactics like those described above, I recommend paying close attention to what you’re clicking. Spotify did not do this, but some companies try to confuse customers by switching around the “I want to cancel” buttons with the “I want to stay” button. These kinds of tactics would have been outlawed by the FTC’s proposed “click to cancel” bill, but it was blocked by a federal appeals court last year.
Talk to a Human at Your Own Risk
You should probably skip signing up for subscriptions that require you to speak to a human customer support specialist to cancel or close your account, because companies often use those interactions to upsell you. Some companies encourage staff to waste your time with very long pauses or repeated requests for information during calls or chats. They do this in the hope that you’ll give up and decide to let the company keep your data indefinitely.
If All Else Fails, Sabotage Your Account
If the company doesn’t offer a way to painlessly close your old accounts, your next best bet is to pour a little poison in your data well by feeding the company false information. Change the name, birth date, address, phone number, payment details, and any other personal information to utter nonsense, or delete the information from the account.
Save Yourself the Headache: Check First, Sign Up Later
Of course, the easiest way to save yourself a headache when closing an account is to know what you’re getting into before you sign up. To find out, go to an app or website’s customer support section, open the search bar, type “cancel”, read the instructions, and you’ll have enough information to make your decision.
Plan Ahead and Protect Your Time and Data
It’s far too easy to sign up for subscriptions online. How do I know? One sponsor for almost all of the YouTube commentary channels I watch is Rocket Money, a service that reminds you to cancel your subscriptions. In other words, you’re paying someone to observe every financial transaction you make, so they can tell you to stop paying for things you’re not using. If it’s that easy to forget where your money is going, then signing up is too simple.
If you’re looking for ways to save money while cutting back on subscriptions, many free email providers can sort or identify subscription emails in your inbox. If you use Gmail, click on the Promotions tab in your inbox to see emails from companies providing subscription services. While you’re there, it may be a good time to unsubscribe from newsletters and other mailing lists you’ve been added to over the years.
Top-Rated Tools for Tracking and Cancelling Your Subcriptions
If you don’t want to do all of that manually, some personal data removal services and security suites, like McAfee+ and Privacy Bee, can scan your emails and identify sites where you have an account. McAfee+ Ultimate will help you delete your old online accounts, but if you’re paying for a less expensive plan, you’ll need to close your accounts manually. Privacy Bee’s scanning capabilities are limited to Gmail inboxes.
As for the personal finance apps that connect to your bank accounts and send you subscription reminders: They work, but they can be expensive. Our Editors’ Choice for money management software is Simplifi, which costs $5.99 per month and can track recurring payments. Other top picks are Monarch and the aforementioned Rocket Money, because both services are easy to use, and provide financial feedback to help you achieve your saving goals.
That said, before you sign up for a finance app (or any other service), find out how to cancel or close your account before giving away your personal information. This is one small action that can keep you a little safer online and eliminate big headaches or surprising security incidents in the future.
About Our Expert
Kim Key
Senior Writer, Security
Experience
I review privacy tools like hardware security keys, password managers, private messaging apps, and ad-blocking software. I also report on online scams and offer advice to families and individuals about staying safe on the internet. Before joining PCMag, I wrote about tech and video games for CNN, Fanbyte, Mashable, The New York Times, and TechRadar. I also worked at CNN International, where I did field producing and reporting on sports that are popular with worldwide audiences.
In addition to the categories below, I exclusively cover ad blockers, authenticator apps, hardware security keys, and private messaging apps.
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