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Single-Use Cards

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Pause/Close Cards

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How To Cancel Kindle Unlimited—All Steps Explained

Reviewed by
Jan 19, 2024
 • 
10
 Min Read
Manage Your Subscription Payments With Virtual Cards

Amazon’s ebook subscription service, Kindle Unlimited, provides access to over 4 million magazines, digital books, comics, audiobooks, and more. Users can download up to 20 Kindle Unlimited titles at any given time and read them on their Kindle app or Amazon device. 

Despite Kindle Unlimited’s impressive library of titles, the service may not meet everyone’s expectations. If this is the case with you, this guide will show you how to cancel Kindle Unlimited on different devices. You will also learn how to protect yourself from unwarranted charges by any subscription service.

The article has been fact-checked and confirmed as valid in December 2023. For more recent updates and other details, check Amazon’s website and contact their customer service department.

How Do I Cancel Kindle Unlimited?

The only way to cancel a Kindle Unlimited subscription is through Amazon’s website. While the option was available on the Kindle app in the past, it has since been removed. If you want to terminate your subscription from a smartphone or tablet, you’ll have to use a mobile browser. 

Here are the steps necessary to cancel Kindle Unlimited on desktop and mobile devices:

Computer Mobile device 
  1. Visit Amazon.com.

  2. Log into your account.

  3. Hover your cursor over the Your Account section in the top right.

  4. Choose Your Memberships & Subscriptions from the drop-down menu.

  5. Find Kindle Unlimited.

  6. Click Manage Membership.

  7. Choose Cancel Kindle Unlimited Membership.

  8. Confirm your decision.

  1. Open Amazon’s website in your mobile browser.

  2. Sign into your Amazon Account.

  3. Tap your profile name in the top right.

  4. Choose Your Memberships & Subscriptions.

  5. Scroll down to Kindle Unlimited.

  6. Open the Manage Membership menu.

  7. Tap Cancel Kindle Unlimited Membership.

If you cancel your Kindle Unlimited Membership, any books downloaded via your subscription will be removed after the next billing date. Other titles purchased through Kindle will remain in your library, including any books bought with a Kindle Unlimited discount. Amazon doesn’t offer a partial refund if you cancel your subscription before the next billing date. 

A photo of a person holding a Kindle device in front of a computer screen and a magazine.
Source: Balázs Kétyi

Why Can’t I Cancel Kindle Unlimited? 

If you’ve canceled Kindle Unlimited and your subscription is still active, you should contact Amazon’s customer support immediately and provide them with any account information they need to resolve the issue. The most common causes of Kindle Unlimited cancellation issues are:

  • Technical errors
  • Unresolved previous payments

Your cancellation may not have come through due to a technical error. If you see an error during the cancellation process, you should clean your browser cache and cookies before trying again. You can also log into Amazon and cancel from another device. 

Another reason why you may not be able to cancel your Kindle Unlimited subscription is a pending payment. You should check if all your previous subscription payments have been processed successfully. If not, switch to another payment method and try canceling the subscription again after paying. 

If you’ve canceled Amazon Prime with the assumption that doing so also terminates your Kindle Unlimited subscription, keep in mind that the subscriptions aren’t connected—you’ll have to cancel Kindle Unlimited separately. 

You can’t cancel a Kindle Unlimited membership on a Kindle device, at least not directly. If you have an Amazon Fire tablet, you can use a mobile browser to access your Kindle account. 

A photo of a Kindle with its library open, next to a Macbook and an iPhone on a white surface.
Source: Pinho

Canceling Subscriptions Can Sometimes Be Problematic

While most subscription cancellation issues result from an honest error or an account-specific problem, this is not always the case. Some subscription services intentionally make the cancellation process more difficult and confusing to keep you on their platforms for as long as possible. 

Sometimes, these services may force you to confirm your cancellation multiple times through various prompts, many of which are misleading or placed in hard-to-see positions. By the time you complete the process or contact customer support to resolve an issue, you may be charged another subscription payment.

While you may not be able to avoid going through a company’s complex cancellation procedure, there are ways to avoid unwanted charges from subscription services. One way of doing so is by paying for your subscriptions with virtual cards. These cards can be linked to your bank account, debit card, or credit card but mask this information with random card credentials that you can use for online transactions.

While virtual cards help shield your finances from hackers and unauthorized access, they can do much more. Virtual card providers like Privacy offer advanced card settings that help you exercise greater control over how much merchants and subscription services can charge you.

A photo of a person with two rings and a smartwatch typing on a laptop.
Source: Christian Hume

Privacy Can Help You Prevent Unwanted Charges

Privacy Virtual Cards are a convenient, reliable way to manage online subscription payments and prevent unnecessary spending. You can use Privacy to generate two types of virtual cards:

Card Type Description
Single-Use Card Closes automatically after the first online transaction is completed. It is useful for transactions with unfamiliar online merchants.
Merchant-Locked Card “Locks” to the first merchant it’s used at, which makes it suitable for recurring payments such as subscription services.

The Merchant-Locked Cards are an excellent choice for subscriptions because they can prevent situations like:

  • Charges you didn't approve of beforehand—Privacy allows you to set spending limits on your virtual cards, preventing any unexpected charges. For example, if you set a spending limit at the original subscription price, any charges above that amount will be automatically declined.
  • Charges during the cancellation process or after it has been finalized—If there’s an issue with the cancellation process and it threatens to draw out to another billing period, you can close or pause the Privacy Virtual Card instantly without affecting your underlying funding source. Privacy will automatically decline all charges on a paused or closed card.

Privacy Virtual Cards are compatible with most merchants that accept U.S. Mastercard® and Visa® payments, including mainstream subscription services like Amazon Prime, Disney Plus, Hulu, and Netflix

Privacy Virtual Cards Make Online Shopping Easier

Besides protecting you from unwarranted charges, Privacy Virtual Cards also streamline your online shopping experience. 

Privacy’s browser extension, available for Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox, saves you valuable time by autofilling card numbers at checkout. iPhone and iPad users can enjoy faster checkouts with the Safari for iOS extension. 

Privacy’s mobile app for iOS and Android provides added convenience by allowing you to create and manage virtual cards on the go.

Start Using Privacy in Four Simple Steps

To start using Privacy, follow these four easy steps:

  1. Sign up for Privacy
  2. Enter the required personal information to confirm your identity
  3. Connect your debit card or bank account
  4. Request and generate your first Privacy Card

Privacy's Personal plan is free for domestic purchases and lets you create up to 12 virtual cards each month and enjoy the features and benefits described above. The two higher subscription tiers (Pro, $10 a month, and Premium, $25 a month) also provide cashback on eligible transactions totaling up to $4,500 and fee-free international transactions, among other benefits.

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