All StudyStream plans renew automatically at the end of each billing cycle (monthly or annual) — there's no one-time, non-renewing option. You can cancel anytime; here's how, depending on where you subscribed.
Important: cancel at least 24 hours before your renewal date to make sure the change is processed before you're billed for the next cycle. The renewal runs automatically on the renewal date at roughly the same time of day (in UTC) as your original purchase, so a renewal due "today" may already have gone through: check your billing history ("Manage payment methods") rather than the period end shown on the plan. We can't refund renewals that happen because a cancellation was forgotten or made too late — see: Refunds.
If you subscribed on the web (card or PayPal)
- Click your profile picture (top-right) → "Manage subscription" — this opens the Plans and pricing page.
- On your current plan, click "Manage".
- Choose "Cancel my subscription". A few screens come first: "Before you go..." asks why you're leaving, then you're shown one or two offers that depend on your answer (a pause, a switch to Premium Annual, a downgrade to Basic, or a price lock), and finally "Here's what you'll lose". Pick "No thanks, continue canceling" (or "I understand, continue canceling") on each offer and "Cancel my subscription" on the last screen, and you land in our billing portal (run by Stripe). The offers are explained in What am I offered when I cancel on the web? below.
- In the portal, click "Cancel subscription", pick a reason, click "Continue to cancellation", then confirm with "Cancel subscription". The portal then shows "Cancels " and the plans page shows "Your subscription will end on ".
Cancelling stops the renewal — your plan stays fully active until the end of the period you've already paid for. Make the change at least 24 hours before your renewal date to avoid being billed for the next cycle.
From the same place you can also update your payment method and view billing history ("Manage payment methods"), or switch plans (e.g. Premium Monthly ↔ Premium Annual, or downgrade to Basic where your account is offered it). If you change your mind before the period ends, use the "Reactivate subscription" button at the top of the Plans and pricing page — the renewal is back on straight away.
If you subscribed on iOS (App Store)
App Store subscriptions are managed by Apple, so they must be cancelled there:
- In the StudyStream app, tap your profile picture (top-left) → "Settings" → "Manage subscription" → "Cancel Subscription" — this takes you to your Apple subscriptions page.
- Or go directly: iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions → StudyStream → Cancel Subscription.
If you subscribed on Android (Google Play)
Google Play subscriptions are managed by Google:
- In the StudyStream app, tap your profile picture (top-left) → "Settings" → "Manage subscription" → "Cancel Subscription" — this takes you to your Google Play subscriptions page.
- Or go directly: Play Store app → profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions → StudyStream → Cancel subscription.
Not sure where you subscribed? Open Manage subscription in the app or on the web — if your plan is managed elsewhere, it will tell you which platform to use. If your subscription doesn't appear in Google Play / the App Store, check the store account that actually paid (a family member's or a second Google/Apple account).
I can't find a Cancel button
Each subscription can only be cancelled where it was bought, and the app only shows the Cancel button for plans bought on that same store.
- In the mobile app, if your plan was bought on the website or on the other store, the Downgrade button is greyed out and instead of Cancel you'll see "You bought this plan on the website, so it can only be changed or cancelled there" (with a link to the web app) or "To Upgrade/Downgrade or Cancel your subscription, visit Apple Store" (or Google Store). Follow that line: web plans are cancelled at app.studystream.live under your profile picture (top-right) → "Manage subscription", App Store plans in iPhone Settings → your name → Subscriptions, Google Play plans in the Play Store app → profile icon → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions.
- On the web, if your plan was bought in the app, the Manage subscription page tells you which store manages it. Use the store steps above.
- If your plan is paused, the Plans and pricing page shows "Your subscription is paused until " with a "Resume subscription" button and no Manage button: resume first, then cancel.
- If none of these places shows a StudyStream subscription, the payment came from a different account, for example another Google or Apple account on the same phone, or a family member's. Check the store account that actually paid.
Invoices, receipts and payment methods
- On the web: click your profile picture (top-right) → "Manage subscription" → on your plan, click "Manage" → "Manage payment methods" — the billing portal that opens shows your next billing date, your invoice history (click a row to open or download the invoice), "Add payment method" for a new card, and "Update information" for your name, billing address or company details.
- App Store / Google Play purchases: receipts come from Apple or Google — check your store purchase history or receipt emails.
One more case: if your account is locked or suspended and you can't reach the cancel button, start a chat with us and we'll stop the billing (Google Play subscribers can always cancel in the Play Store themselves).
What happens after you cancel
- Your plan stays fully active until the end of the period you've already paid for — you don't lose anything immediately.
- After that date, the subscription simply doesn't renew and you won't be charged again.
- You can resubscribe anytime. Note that if you're on an older, discounted (legacy) rate, any plan change or cancellation forfeits that rate permanently — even switching up and back.
What am I offered when I cancel on the web?
Before the billing portal opens, the cancel flow shows a question and then offers that depend on your answer. You can decline every one of them; nothing changes unless you choose it.
- "Before you go..." asks why you're leaving: missing features, not using it enough, too expensive, taking a break, switched to something else, or another reason.
- "We hear you — and we're building fast" (missing features): a box to tell us which feature would keep you, and "Pause while we build", which leads to the pause offer.
- "How about a break instead?" (not using it enough, taking a break, other reason): pause for 1 month or 2 months. Details in Can I pause my subscription instead of cancelling? below.
- "We get it — every dollar counts" (too expensive, switched to something else), and as a second option on the pause screen: an offer to "Switch to Premium Annual". Taking it opens "Confirm subscription change", which shows the amount charged now before you confirm.
- "Downgrade to Basic instead" on the same screens, if you're not already on Basic.
- "Premium price is about to go up" (monthly Premium at an older price): "Keep my current price" keeps your plan at the price you pay now for as long as you stay subscribed; if you cancel and come back later, the new price applies.
- "Here's what you'll lose" is the last screen. "Keep My Premium Plan" (or "Keep My Basic Plan") closes the flow with nothing changed; "Cancel my subscription" takes you to the billing portal, where the cancellation itself happens (step 4 above).
Plans bought in the app don't have these screens, they're cancelled in the store. If a renewal payment has failed, "Manage" shows a "Cancel all" confirmation instead of the offers, which ends the subscription straight away.
Upgrading or downgrading instead
- Upgrades (e.g. Basic → Premium) take effect as soon as the payment goes through — usually right away. If your bank asks for extra confirmation (3D Secure, UPI), you're taken to a Stripe invoice page to pay; until it's paid your current plan stays active and the plans page shows "Your switch to the … plan is waiting for payment. Pay the invoice to complete it." If you don't pay, the switch is dropped after about a day and nothing changes. What you pay depends on where you subscribed — see the next section. If the web upgrade fails with "Free trial is currently not available for this tier", start a chat with us.
- Downgrades and plan switches can be done from the same Manage subscription screen on the platform where you subscribed. On the web, pick the other plan on the Plans and pricing page ("Subscribe" on Basic if your account is offered it, or "Switch to Annual" after the "Annually" toggle) and a "Confirm subscription change" window shows the old plan, the new plan, the credit from your current period and the amount charged now before you confirm. Premium Annual is available on the web and in the mobile app (App Store and Google Play); Basic is monthly-only in the app. To go from monthly to annual, use Manage subscription on the platform where you subscribed (in the app: "Switch to annual"). Switching annual → monthly mid-cycle isn't self-serve — contact us.
- Changed plans after cancelling? Switching plans turns auto-renew back on — the confirmation tells you so and offers "Cancel at period end" right there if you still want the plan to stop at the end of the period.
What do I pay when I upgrade from Basic to Premium?
It depends on where your Basic plan was bought:
- On the web (card or PayPal): the remaining value of your current plan is credited and you're charged only the difference. The new plan runs for the remainder of your current billing period (not a fresh month) and then renews at the Premium price.
- In the Android app (Google Play): Google charges the full Premium price straight away and Premium starts immediately. You don't lose what's left of your Basic month — Google turns the unused Basic value into extra Premium time, so your first Premium renewal comes later than a month after the upgrade. Seeing the full price on the Google Play screen is expected.
- In the iPhone/iPad app (App Store): tapping upgrade opens your App Store subscription settings, and Apple shows you the price and handles any credit for your current plan before you confirm.
Can I pause my subscription instead of cancelling?
Yes, if your plan was bought on the website. The pause lives inside the cancel flow: click your profile picture (top-right) → "Manage subscription" → "Manage" on your plan → "Cancel my subscription", answer "Before you go..." with not using it enough, taking a break or another reason, and the next screen, "How about a break instead?", lets you pick 1 month or 2 months and confirm with "Pause for 1 month" / "Pause for 2 months".
Before you confirm: the pause starts immediately and your paid features are switched off for its whole length; you're not billed while paused, and the unused part of your current period is credited to you; the plan resumes by itself when the pause ends and billing continues on your usual date; you can pause once every 30 days. To come back early, click "Resume subscription" on the Plans and pricing page (it reads "Your subscription is paused until ") and confirm with "Resume"; you're not charged for resuming and your next billing date stays as it was. While paused the page has no Manage or Cancel button: resume first, then cancel. Pausing isn't available for App Store or Google Play plans, or if you're on a friend's Buddy plan.
If you'd rather not pause, cancelling works much the same way as a break: your plan stays fully active until the end of the period you've already paid for, you won't be charged again after that, and you can resubscribe anytime. (One thing to weigh: if you're on an older discounted legacy rate, cancelling forfeits that rate permanently.)
My subscription is paused. How do I cancel it?
A paused plan isn't active, so the usual path isn't there: while paused, the Plans and pricing page shows "Your subscription is paused until " with a "Resume subscription" button and no Manage or Cancel button. Click "Resume subscription" and confirm with "Resume" first (it's free, nothing is charged for resuming and your billing date stays as it was), then click "Manage" on your plan → "Cancel my subscription" and continue through the screens to the billing portal, where you cancel. Your plan then stays active until the end of the period you'd already paid for, and nothing more is charged.
Cancelling before deleting your account
If you want to close your account entirely: you must cancel your subscription first — account deletion and deactivation are blocked while a subscription is active. And note that deleting your account does not cancel your subscription billing by itself. See: Deleting or deactivating your account.