App Store RejectionGuideline Google Play — Subscriptions — Subscription Cancellation Policy

Google Play Says Your Subscription Is Hard to Cancel or Terms Are Hidden

Dark patterns in subscription flows — hidden prices, hard-to-find cancellation, confusing terms — are actively targeted by Google Play policy. This is also increasingly an FTC enforcement area. Here's what to fix.

What Apple said

“Your app's subscription offering does not clearly present the subscription terms including price, duration, and renewal information before users subscribe. Additionally, the process for canceling the subscription is not clearly communicated or easily accessible within the app. Please update your subscription flow to meet our requirements.”

What this actually means

Google Play requires that users can clearly see what they're agreeing to before subscribing and can easily cancel afterward. If your paywall obscures the price, your settings bury subscription management, or your cancellation flow has multiple friction points designed to prevent cancellation, you're in violation of Play policy — and likely also in dark pattern territory that regulators are looking at.

What Apple needs to see

  • Clear display of subscription price, billing period, and renewal terms on the purchase screen before the user commits
  • Easy access to subscription management — ideally a direct link to the Google Play subscription management page
  • An auto-renewal disclosure visible before purchase
  • Terms of service that clearly explains subscription terms, auto-renewal, and cancellation process
  1. 1Add a clear subscription summary on your paywall: price, billing frequency, trial terms if any, and auto-renewal statement
  2. 2Add a 'Manage Subscription' option in your app settings that links directly to Play's subscription management
  3. 3Remove any dark patterns from your cancellation flow — no fake countdown timers, no guilt trips that block cancellation
  4. 4Make your terms of service accessible from the paywall — link to yourapp.baseterms.com/terms which should cover subscription terms
  5. 5Test the complete subscribe-then-cancel user journey with a fresh account to identify friction you may have normalized

While you're at it — Apple also requires these pages for every app.

Fix this rejection, then make sure you're covered on the compliance side too. Apple requires every app to link to a hosted Privacy Policy, Terms of Service, Support page, and Data Deletion page. No link means another rejection — just for a different reason.

Privacy Policy
Terms of Service
Support Page
Data Deletion Page
Generate my compliance pages — $9

Common questions

Can I offer a 'pause subscription' option instead of cancellation?
Yes, offering pause as an alternative to cancellation is fine — as long as it's presented as an alternative, not a barrier. The user must be able to cancel directly without being forced through a pause screen first. Pause can be offered as a step in the flow but never as an obstacle.
Do I need to process refunds through the app?
Refunds for Google Play subscriptions are handled through Google Play, not through your app. You don't need to implement your own refund system. What you do need is to link users to Google Play's subscription management so they can manage their subscription and request refunds there.
My subscription terms are in my privacy policy — is that enough?
No. Subscription terms need to be on the paywall itself, not buried in a policy document. The paywall must show price, duration, and renewal terms visibly before purchase. Your terms of service should also cover subscriptions in detail, but it cannot be the only place this information exists.