How to Cancel a Diet or Calorie App Subscription on iPhone and Android (2026)

The short answer. Almost every diet and calorie app bills through the App Store or Google Play, so you cancel in the store, not in the app. iPhone: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → the app → Cancel Subscription. Android: open your subscriptions in Google Play, pick the app, tap Cancel subscription. Deleting the app does not cancel it.

I make Swoodie, a calorie and recipe app, so read the last section with that in mind. Everything before it applies to any app you subscribed to through Apple or Google. Before writing this we went through thousands of one- and two-star reviews of diet and calorie apps, and “I couldn’t cancel” or “the trial charged me” came up more than almost anything else. Usually the fix is a menu nobody showed them.

Cancel on iPhone or iPad

1. Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
2. Tap Subscriptions.
3. Tap the app you want to stop paying for.
4. Tap Cancel Subscription — you may need to scroll down to find it.

If there is no Cancel button, or you see an expiration message in red, Apple says the subscription is already cancelled. On a Mac, the same list is in the App Store app: click your name at the bottom of the sidebar, then your name again, then Subscriptions. From any browser you can also sign in at account.apple.com.

Cancel on Android

1. Open your subscriptions in Google Play (play.google.com/store/account/subscriptions).
2. Make sure you’re signed in to the Google account you paid with.
3. Select the app and tap Cancel subscription, then follow the steps.

Another way in: your phone’s Settings app → Google → your name → Manage your Google Account → Payments & subscriptions → Manage subscriptions. Google says you can keep using the subscription for the time you’ve already paid for.

Deleting the app doesn’t cancel anything

This is the most common trap. Apple’s wording: “If you delete an app, it doesn’t automatically cancel in-app subscriptions.” Google’s: “When you uninstall the app, your subscription won’t cancel.” Cancel first, then delete.

Can’t find the subscription?

It is probably on another account or paid somewhere else. Apple suggests searching your email for “receipt from Apple” or “invoice from Apple” to see which Apple account was charged. If the charge isn’t from Apple or Google at all — some apps sell subscriptions on their own website — check your bank or card statement for the company name and cancel on that company’s site.

Charged after a free trial? Asking for a refund

Apple: sign in at reportaproblem.apple.com, choose “I’d like to” → “Request a refund”, pick a reason and the subscription, and submit. Apple says to expect an update in 24 to 48 hours. A refund isn’t guaranteed, and if the charge is still pending you’ll have to wait for the receipt email before you can ask.

Google Play: Google doesn’t refund most purchases, but within 48 hours of the charge you may be able to get one through Google Play yourself. After 48 hours, Google points you to the app’s developer, who handles refunds under their own policy and the law where you live.

In Germany, Israel, South Africa and Türkiye, Apple says you can cancel a subscription with immediate effect and get a prorated refund at any time by contacting Apple Support.

How to avoid the next trial charge

• Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends. That is Apple’s rule for trials; Google says to cancel before the trial period expires, and may place an authorization hold on your card up to 48 hours before a renewal.
• Read the button, not the banner. The small print on a paywall names the price and when the first charge happens. If it says the price with no free days in front of it, you pay today.
• Set the reminder the moment you start. Open the subscription in your store settings right after you start a trial, note the date it shows, and put a reminder a day before. Google also emails you when a trial is about to end; on iPhone, turning on Renewal Receipt Emails in the same Subscriptions screen means you get a receipt every time something renews.
• You can cancel on day one. Nothing stops you cancelling right after you subscribe, and for a paid period both stores let you keep using it until that period ends. Cancelling early is the simplest way not to forget.
• Prefer a free plan you can actually use. If the app is useless without the trial, the trial is the product.

If you’re cancelling Swoodie

Swoodie Premium is a store subscription like any other, so the steps above cancel it the same way, and the free plan keeps working afterwards, with your food log still there. If you’re done with subscriptions altogether: Swoodie Lite is a one-time purchase — $9.99, no renewal, nothing to cancel. It unlocks the whole app except the AI features, which are part of Premium.

Looking for a replacement first? See how to spot a genuinely free calorie counter and, if you’re leaving a fasting app, Zero vs Fastic vs Swoodie.

Free to start — no account, no card, no ads. Get Swoodie on iOS or Google Play.