Spotify Is The Hardest Subscription Service To Cancel

Think signing up for a subscription is easy? Try cancelling one. A new study by KnownHost has revealed just how frustrating it can be to cancel UK-based subscription services — particularly those in the audio sector — with Spotify ranking as the worst offender, using nine dark patterns and requiring five separate clicks to unsubscribe.

From music and TV to meal kits and magazines, nearly every modern service offers a subscription model these days. But while signing up might take seconds, getting out is a different story. KnownHost analysed 44 UK-based subscriptions across six categories and found 93 dark patterns and 150 clicks were needed in total to cancel them — that’s an average of two dark patterns and four clicks per service. Some services, however, make the process far more arduous.

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Spotify, which recently celebrated its first annual profit and boasts over 263 million premium subscribers, leads the pack when it comes to cancellation friction. Users are taken through five screens and confronted with a maze of tactics including misdirection, confirmshaming, urgency, and trick questions. The experience is so convoluted it feels more like a loyalty test than a cancellation.

Not far behind are Amazon Music, Tidal, and The Economist, each deploying seven dark patterns. Amazon Music makes users jump through five screens and taps into similar manipulative strategies to keep subscribers hooked. Tidal is slightly easier to ditch, with four clicks over three screens, but still relies on the same tactics. The Economist piles on urgency and guilt, using emotional prompts to make users think twice before saying goodbye.

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The report also highlights that audio subscriptions are the hardest to escape. Of the nine services analysed, a combined 39 dark patterns, 36 clicks, and 28 screens were involved. The most frequently used tricks? Confirmshaming and misdirection.

Entertainment subscriptions come in second, with 24 dark patterns recorded across nine services. And while food delivery platforms like HelloFresh and Gousto require the most clicks — eight and seven respectively — they’re notably less reliant on psychological tactics. HelloFresh, for example, doesn’t use any dark patterns at all, offering a rare glimpse of a clean exit.

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KnownHost CEO Daniel Pearson says, “While signing up is often seamless, cancelling can feel like an uphill battle, with some providers deliberately making the process difficult. Audio subscription services in particular require more steps and use dark patterns more frequently than other sectors.”

With the US recently enforcing a ‘click to cancel’ rule, and the UK launching a consultation on subscription traps, the tide may be turning. But until then, consumers are advised to read the fine print — and brace for battle at the cancel button.