In this guide
Before you start.
- Check your storage use against the free plan's limit first. Proton states the restrictions below apply when your usage exceeds the limits of the plan you are downgrading to, so getting under the limit before you cancel avoids all of it.
- Get your email and files out or down to size while the paid plan is live. Once the account is limited you cannot receive new mail or upload to Drive, which makes tidying up much harder than doing it now.
- Proton states that if you added existing Proton accounts to your plan they will be removed from your organization, and that members you created will have their storage allowance reduced to zero and will not be able to use most Proton services. A family or organization plan therefore affects other people's accounts, not just yours.
- If you use a custom domain for your email, Proton states it will be disabled on downgrade. Work out where that mail should go before the domain stops working, because messages to it will not arrive.
- Check the refund window before cancelling: Proton states you may cancel within 30 days of the initial purchase and receive a full refund, and that refunds can only be requested once per user. Using it on a small subscription spends it.
- Proton Pass keeps unlimited logins, notes and identities on the free plan, but Proton states that after a downgrade only the first three two-factor items, ranked by creation date, will display codes. If you rely on Pass for two-factor codes, move them before the plan ends or you lose the codes for everything past the third item.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Proton, step by step.
Cancel in your Proton account
This is the route Proton documents for a subscription managed directly at account.proton.me.
- Sign in to your Proton account and open Settings, then All settings.
- Open Subscription.
- Scroll to Cancel subscription and click Continue.
- Click Cancel subscription again to confirm.
Proton states the plan remains active until the end of the current billing period and does not renew. Check your storage before that date rather than after it.
Change plan instead of cancelling
Moving to a smaller paid plan can keep you inside the storage limit and avoid the restricted state entirely, which is often what people actually want.
- Open Settings, All settings, then Subscription.
- Choose a smaller plan whose storage limit is above your current usage.
- Check the new limit against the storage figure shown in your account before confirming.
- Confirm the change.
Proton states that when you downgrade between paid plans, unused time is converted into prorated account credits that are applied automatically to future payments. Those are credits towards Proton, not money returned.
Cancel a subscription billed by Apple or Google
Proton VPN and Proton apps sell subscriptions in the App Store and on Google Play. A subscription bought that way is billed by the store and is not cancelled from the Proton dashboard.
- Check your receipt: an email from Apple or Google means that store bills you.
- On iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, select the Proton subscription and confirm the cancellation.
- On Android, open the Play Store, tap your profile icon, select Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions, select Proton and tap Cancel subscription.
- Request any refund from that store, under its policy rather than Proton's.
If the Subscription page in your Proton account shows no cancel option for a plan you are certainly paying for, a store purchase is the likely reason.
What happens next?
- Proton states the plan stays active until the end of the current billing period and then does not renew.
- If your usage is inside the free limits, the downgrade is uneventful: you keep your data and lose the paid features.
- If your usage is over the limits, Proton states these restrictions apply: you cannot receive new emails other than from Proton, you cannot send emails with attachments, you cannot manage your calendar, your devices will not sync with Proton Drive, you cannot upload new files or back up photos, and a custom domain is disabled.
- Proton states that once access is limited you have one year to resolve the situation, after which your data risks being deleted. It also states that because it cannot access your data it cannot selectively delete emails or files, so all data would be deleted from the apps where storage limits are exceeded.
- Proton states it sends multiple email and in-app notifications ahead of time. Those notices go to the Proton mailbox that may have stopped receiving outside mail, so check it directly rather than waiting to be told elsewhere.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
I stopped receiving emails after downgrading
This is Proton's documented behaviour when storage exceeds the free plan limit rather than a fault: it states you cannot receive new emails other than from Proton while the account is limited. The fix is to get back under the limit by deleting or exporting mail and files, or to resubscribe. Mail sent to you while limited does not queue up waiting, so tell important senders another address in the meantime.
My custom domain email stopped working
Proton states that a custom domain set up on a paid plan is disabled when you downgrade. Anything sent to addresses on that domain will not arrive. If you need that domain to keep receiving, you need a plan that supports it, or to move the domain's mail elsewhere before the downgrade takes effect.
My family members lost access to their accounts
Proton states that existing Proton accounts you added to your plan are removed from your organization, and that members you created have their storage allowance reduced to zero and cannot use most Proton services. It also states that if an account has additional members inherited from an organization, their accounts and data will also be deleted in the deletion scenario. Warn them before you cancel, not after.
My Proton Pass two-factor codes disappeared
Proton states that on the Free plan only the first three two-factor items, ranked by date of creation, will display codes. The items themselves are not deleted, but the codes stop showing beyond the third. Move those two-factor secrets to another authenticator before downgrading, since losing access to codes can lock you out of other accounts entirely.
I was refused a refund even though I asked within 30 days
Check whether you have had a Proton refund before: Proton states refunds can only be requested once per user, which catches people who refunded a different Proton purchase earlier. Cash and bank transfer payments are also non-refundable under its terms, and a purchase made through a reseller or an app store follows that party's policy rather than Proton's.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel How to cancel an app subscription
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
What happens to my emails if I cancel Proton?
If your usage fits the free plan, nothing: you keep your data. If it exceeds the free limits, Proton states your access is limited, including not receiving new emails other than from Proton, and that after one year of unresolved excess your data risks being deleted. Get under the limit before the plan ends.
What is Proton's refund policy?
Proton states you may cancel your subscription within 30 days of the initial purchase and receive a full refund, and that refunds can only be requested once per user. After 30 days, services are non-refundable, with any further refund at Proton's discretion.
How do I cancel my Proton subscription?
Open Settings, then All settings, then Subscription, scroll to Cancel subscription and click Continue, then click Cancel subscription again to confirm. A subscription bought through Apple or Google Play is cancelled in that store instead.
Do I get money back for the time left on my Proton plan?
Not as cash outside the 30-day window. Proton states that when you downgrade between paid plans, unused time is converted into prorated account credits applied automatically to future payments. Credit stays with Proton rather than returning to your card.
Provider resources
- Proton: manage your subscription
- Proton: free plan limits and downgrading
- Proton terms and conditions
- Proton Pass plans explained
- Apple: manage subscriptions
- Google Play: cancel subscriptions
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Proton. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
