Where to find and cancel your YouTube Premium subscription
YouTube Premium is managed through your Google Account settings, not through the YouTube app or website itself. To cancel, you need to go to myaccount.google.com, find the Payments & Subscriptions section, locate YouTube Premium, and select the option to cancel. The exact wording changes slightly depending on whether you subscribed through Google Play, the App Store, or YouTube's website — but the cancellation always happens in your Google Account, not in YouTube itself.
If you subscribed on an iPhone or iPad, you'll cancel through Apple's App Store instead. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Subscriptions, find YouTube Premium, and tap Cancel Subscription. Android users who subscribed through Google Play go to play.google.com, select Payments and Subscriptions > Subscriptions, find YouTube Premium, and tap Cancel Subscription. The timing matters: cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle, not immediately.
Your access continues until that cycle ends. If you're charged again before you realize the cancellation didn't go through, you can request a refund from Google within 48 hours of the charge by going back to your payment history and selecting the transaction.
Key Takeaways
- YouTube Premium cancellation happens in your Google Account settings at myaccount.google.com, not in the YouTube app or website.
- iPhone and iPad users cancel through Apple's App Store under Settings > Subscriptions, while Android users go through Google Play.
- Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle, and you keep access until that date arrives.
- Channel subscriptions (following creators) are separate from YouTube Premium and don't cost money, so they don't need to be "cancelled" unless you want to unfollow specific creators.
The difference between YouTube Premium and channel subscriptions
Many people confuse YouTube Premium (the paid service that removes ads and adds offline viewing) with channel subscriptions (the free act of following a creator). These are completely separate. Cancelling YouTube Premium does not unsubscribe you from channels, and unsubscribing from channels does not affect YouTube Premium.
If you want to stop following specific creators, you unsubscribe from their individual channels by clicking the Subscribe button again (it becomes an Unsubscribe button once you've subscribed). This is free and has no billing component. You can also manage your subscriptions list by going to the Subscriptions tab on YouTube and clicking Manage to see all channels you follow and remove any you no longer want to watch.
Cancelling YouTube TV and YouTube Music separately
YouTube offers several paid services beyond Premium: YouTube TV (live television streaming), YouTube Music Premium (ad-free music), and YouTube Premium itself. Each one is a separate subscription with its own cancellation process. If you have more than one, you need to cancel each one individually.
YouTube TV cancels through your Google Account at myaccount.google.com under Payments & Subscriptions, just like Premium. YouTube Music Premium also cancels there. However, if you subscribed to YouTube Music through Spotify, Amazon Music, or another third-party service, you cancel through that service instead — Google has no control over those subscriptions. Check your email receipts to see which service charged you.
What happens after you cancel
Once your billing cycle ends, ads return to YouTube, offline downloads stop working, and you lose access to YouTube Premium features. Your watch history, playlists, and subscribed channels remain — cancelling Premium doesn't delete your account or your data. You can resubscribe to Premium at any time if you change your mind.
If you cancelled because of cost, YouTube sometimes offers discounts to returning subscribers. These appear when you visit YouTube after cancellation, though they're not may provide. You can also check if you're may be able to access for a student discount (YouTube Premium for Students is cheaper) or a family plan if multiple people in your household use YouTube.
Troubleshooting a subscription that won't cancel
If you've followed the cancellation steps but YouTube Premium is still charging you, the most common cause is that you cancelled in the wrong place. For example, if you subscribed through the YouTube app on iPhone but tried to cancel through myaccount.google.com, the cancellation won't work — you have to cancel where you subscribed. Double-check your email receipts to see which service (Apple, Google Play, or Google directly) sent the charge.
Another reason cancellation might not stick is if you have multiple Google Accounts and subscribed with a different one than you're currently using. Log out and log in with the account that receives the YouTube Premium charges. If you're still stuck, go to myaccount.google.com, select Payments & Subscriptions, find the transaction history, and contact Google Support through the help option on that page. They can see exactly which account the subscription is tied to and help you cancel it.
Preventing accidental resubscription
After you cancel, YouTube sometimes shows a prompt offering a free trial or discounted rate. Clicking these prompts will restart your subscription. If you're certain you don't want Premium, don't click any offers that appear — they're designed to be tempting, and one click restarts billing immediately.
You can also turn off auto-renewal before cancellation takes effect, which adds an extra layer of protection. In your Google Account under Payments & Subscriptions, find YouTube Premium and look for an auto-renewal toggle. Turning this off means the subscription won't automatically restart even if you accidentally click a promotional offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pause YouTube Premium instead of cancelling it?
YouTube doesn't offer a pause feature. You either keep the subscription active or cancel it. If you think you might return, cancelling is fine — you can resubscribe whenever you want, and your watch history and playlists stay intact.
Will cancelling YouTube Premium delete my videos or playlists?
No. Cancelling Premium only removes the Premium features (ad-free viewing, offline downloads, background play). Your account, videos, playlists, and watch history remain exactly as they are. You can still use YouTube; it just shows ads again.
Why am I still being charged after I cancelled?
The most common reason is that you cancelled in the wrong place. If you subscribed through Apple's App Store, you must cancel there — cancelling through Google won't work. Check your email receipt to see which service charged you, then cancel through that same service.
Can I get a refund for YouTube Premium?
Google allows refunds within 48 hours of a charge if you cancel and are charged again by mistake. Go to myaccount.google.com, find the charge in your payment history, and select the option to request a refund. Refunds beyond 48 hours are handled case-by-case and are not may provide.
What's the difference between cancelling and unsubscribing from channels?
Cancelling refers to YouTube Premium, the paid service. Unsubscribing refers to individual creators' channels, which is free. They're separate actions. You can unsubscribe from channels without cancelling Premium, and vice versa.