In this guide
Before you start.
- Do not leave it to the last hour. Storytel states that due to technical requirements you cannot modify or cancel your subscription, including the payment method, during the final hour before your next billing period starts.
- If you are on a free trial taken through the website, cancel at the end rather than the start. Storytel states that if you signed up through its website and took advantage of a free trial, your subscription will end immediately when you cancel it. A paid subscription behaves normally and runs to the end of the billing period.
- Find out who bills you. Storytel states you can check your Payments page, which shows either a payment card, the App Store or the Google Play Store. That tells you which of the three routes applies.
- If a third party sold it, they cancel it. Storytel's terms state that if you signed up to the subscription via a third party, you must cancel your subscription through that third party, and that the third party's payment terms apply.
- If you are on a plan with limited hours, spend them before cancelling. Storytel's terms state that where a plan allows unused hours to carry over, saved hours are kept only until you cancel.
- Note how the hour limit is counted, because it is not real time as you experience it. Storytel states that if you listen at 2.0x speed you can listen for half as many real-time hours as at 1.0x, because the allowance is measured at normal speed.
- Deleting the app does nothing. Storytel states your subscription does not end automatically if you delete the app or do not use the service.
FOLLOW THE RIGHT BILLING ROUTE
Cancel Storytel, step by step.
Cancel on the Storytel website
This is the route for a subscription Storytel bills directly to a card. Storytel's account area is reached through your market's login page.
- Log in to your Storytel account in a browser.
- Go to your Subscription settings.
- Click Cancel under your current plan.
- Complete the confirmation.
- Check your email: Storytel states cancellations made on the website get an email confirmation.
Storytel's terms state you can cancel under your account settings on the Storytel website, in the app if you purchased an in-app subscription, or by contacting the Storytel Help Center. Remember the one-hour lockout before your next billing period.
Cancel a Storytel subscription billed by Apple
A subscription started in the app on an iPhone or iPad is an Apple in-app purchase, and it has to be cancelled there.
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
- Tap your name at the top of the screen.
- Tap Subscriptions.
- Select the Storytel entry.
- Tap Cancel Subscription and confirm.
If your Storytel Payments page shows App Store rather than a payment card, this is your route and the website will not offer a cancellation.
Cancel a Storytel subscription billed by Google Play
The same applies to an in-app purchase made on Android.
- Open the Google Play app with the Google Account that bought the subscription.
- Tap the profile icon, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
- Select Storytel.
- Tap Cancel subscription and follow the instructions.
Cancel a subscription sold by a partner
Storytel is distributed through partners in several markets, and its terms treat those as outside its own control.
- Check the receipt or your Payments page to identify who charged you.
- If a third party sold the subscription, cancel it with that company: Storytel's terms state you must cancel through that third party.
- Ask them what happens at the end, because a partner plan may hand you over to direct Storytel billing rather than simply stopping.
- Check your Storytel account afterwards to see whether the subscription is really gone.
Storytel's terms also state that a plan bought via a partner must be changed with that partner, and that the third party's payment terms apply rather than Storytel's.
What happens next?
- A paid subscription runs to the end of the current billing period rather than stopping when you cancel.
- A free trial taken on the website is different: Storytel states the subscription ends immediately when you cancel it.
- Storytel's terms state it does not offer refunds or credits once the subscription starts, so the cancellation stops the next charge rather than returning the last.
- Banked hours do not survive. Storytel states that where a plan allows carry-over, saved hours are kept only until you cancel.
- Downloaded audiobooks depend on the subscription, so offline listening ends with it. Storytel also states your subscription does not end automatically if you delete the app.
Cancelling a Storytel free trial.
Does cancelling a Storytel free trial end it immediately?
On the website, yes. Storytel states that if you signed up through its website and took a free trial, your subscription ends immediately when you cancel. A paid subscription instead runs to the end of the billing period.
How do I cancel an App Store free trial before I’m charged?
For a trial billed by Apple, open Settings on your iPhone or iPad, tap your name, then Subscriptions. Select the trial, choose the cancellation option and confirm. Apple advises cancelling at least 24 hours before the trial ends to prevent renewal. Check the confirmation for your access end date. If you track it in Subex, enter the date the trial converts as the renewal date and set a reminder 1 or 3 days before.
WHEN IT DOES NOT WORK
If you get stuck.
The cancel option will not work right now
Check the clock against your billing date. Storytel states that due to technical requirements you cannot modify or cancel your subscription, including the payment method, during the final hour before your next billing period starts. Wait until the new period begins and cancel then, which stops the following renewal rather than this one.
I cancelled my trial and lost access straight away
That is documented rather than a fault. Storytel states that if you signed up through its website and took advantage of a free trial, your subscription will end immediately when you cancel it. There is no way to cancel a website trial and keep the remaining days, so the only thing early cancellation buys you is not forgetting.
There is nothing to cancel in my Storytel account
Check your Payments page, which Storytel states shows whether you are billed by a payment card, the App Store or the Google Play Store. If it shows a store, the subscription lives there instead. If a partner sold you the subscription, Storytel's terms state you must cancel through that third party, and it will not appear as a cancellable subscription on Storytel's own site.
My listening hours ran out early
Two published rules explain most cases. Storytel states that on a limited-hours plan, once you reach your maximum you cannot consume anything for the rest of the billing period, and that hours renew on the first day of each billing period. And it states the allowance is measured at normal speed, so listening at 2.0x uses the allowance twice as fast in real time as it appears to.
My account stopped working when I moved country
Storytel's terms reserve the right to cancel a subscription if it determines you are not based in the country of your plan. Subscriptions are sold per market with different catalogues, prices and terms, so a long stay abroad can create problems that look like a billing fault. Contact Storytel's help centre for your market rather than assuming the subscription has failed.
Still not cancelled?Common reasons a subscription will not cancel How to cancel an app subscription
GOOD TO KNOW
Questions, answered.
How do I cancel my Storytel subscription?
Log in to your account, go to Subscription settings and click Cancel under your current plan. If the App Store or Google Play bills you, cancel in that store instead, which your Storytel Payments page will tell you.
Why can I not cancel Storytel right now?
Storytel states that due to technical requirements you cannot modify or cancel your subscription, including the payment method, during the final hour before your next billing period starts. Try again once the new period has begun.
Does Storytel give refunds?
Its terms state it does not offer refunds or credits once the subscription starts. Separately, the terms grant a 14-day right of withdrawal from purchase, where the subscription ends immediately and the payment is refunded, possibly less an amount proportional to your use. Terms vary by market, so check the version for your country.
Provider resources
- Storytel: cancel your subscription
- Storytel: our payment methods
- Storytel: our subscriptions
- Storytel terms and conditions
- Apple: view, change, or cancel subscriptions
- Google Play: cancel subscriptions
Instructions reviewed .
Subex is independent of Storytel. Availability and cancellation terms can vary by plan, billing provider and country.
