The short answer. Cancel Character.AI in the place you subscribed. In the iPhone app: Settings, your name, Subscriptions, Character AI, Cancel Subscription. On Android: subscriptions in Google Play, Character AI, Cancel subscription. On the website: Settings, Account, Manage, then cancel in the Customer Portal that Character.AI emails you a link to.
Cancelling doesn't end your access at once. Character.AI says a plan stays active to the end of the billing period you have paid for, and afterwards you are on the free plan, which keeps unlimited messaging.
Disclosure: this guide is published by the makers of My Softly, a different AI companion app, which appears briefly near the end. Every step below comes from Character.AI's own help center and blog and from Apple's and Google's support pages, read on October 31, 2026.
Character.AI sells two subscriptions: c.ai+, the full plan, and lite, a cheaper plan launched in September 2026. Either one can be bought in the iPhone app, in the Android app or on the Character.AI website, and each route has its own cancel button. Character.AI's help center is plain about it: for plans bought in an app, it points you to Apple's and Google's own instructions. So the first step is working out where the money goes.
Where are you paying?
On the website, go to Settings, then Account. Character.AI's help center says that if your plan shows it is managed by an app store, you cancel with that store; if it shows a Manage button, it is a website subscription. Receipts help too: Apple's emails say "receipt from Apple" or "invoice from Apple", Google Play sends its own, and Character.AI's lite FAQ says its website payments are processed by Stripe, so look for a card charge rather than a store receipt.
How to cancel Character.AI on iPhone or iPad
A plan bought in the iPhone or iPad app is billed by Apple, and only Apple can cancel it. Apple's article on cancelling (published September 29, 2026) gives these steps:
- Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
- Go to Subscriptions.
- Choose Character AI.
- Tap Cancel Subscription, scrolling down if you need to.
No Cancel button, or an expiry date shown in red, means the plan is already cancelled, Apple says. If Character AI is not in the list, it was probably bought on the website or under a different Apple Account.
How to cancel Character.AI on Android
A plan bought in the Android app is billed by Google Play. Google Play Help's steps:
- On your phone, go to subscriptions in Google Play.
- Select Character AI.
- Tap Cancel subscription and follow the instructions.
Google adds that uninstalling the app does not cancel the subscription, so removing Character.AI from your phone changes nothing on its own.
How to cancel c.ai+ on the Character.AI website
For c.ai+ bought on character.ai, the help center gives these steps:
- Log in at character.ai and go to Settings, then Account, then Manage.
- Enter the email address on your Character.AI account.
- Open the email Character.AI sends and click Log in to your Customer Portal.
- Cancel the c.ai+ subscription in the portal.
The link can land in spam or junk. If nothing arrives within five minutes, Character.AI suggests checking that you typed the right address, using "Use a different email" if needed, and making sure the subscription really was bought on the website.
How to cancel Character.AI lite
Lite works like c.ai+ in the apps: cancel it in your App Store or Google Play subscriptions. For lite bought on the website, Character.AI's lite FAQ gives a different route: submit a request on its support page, choose the Payments and purchases option, and Character.AI will make the change for you. Include your account email and the date you subscribed so it can find the plan quickly.
What happens after you cancel
Your plan keeps running to the end of the period you have paid for; Character.AI says so in its lite FAQ, and Google's help page gives the same rule for any Play subscription. After that you are on the free plan. Character.AI says unlimited messaging stays on every plan, including free, so your characters and chats are still there to talk to. What goes is what you paid for: the free plan has ads, a slow mode at busy times, 15 memory pins instead of 30, and no premium chat styles. Our guide is Character.AI free? sets out exactly what the free plan includes.
If price is the reason you are leaving, Character.AI's cheaper plan may be worth a look first. Its help center prices lite at $4.99 a month in the US, or $2.49 a week, against c.ai+ at $9.99 a month on the app's own subscription screen on September 30, 2026. Character.AI's lite FAQ says lite is designed for members upgrading from free, and points c.ai+ subscribers to their app store to manage their plan.
Can you get a refund?
Character.AI's lite FAQ explains that refunds depend on where you bought the plan. For the App Store and Google Play, the store's own refund policy applies and you ask the store. For a website plan, the refund request goes to Character.AI's support team, filed in the Payments and purchases category along with the details of what you bought.
- Apple: go to reportaproblem.apple.com, choose "I'd like to", then "Request a refund", and select the Character AI charge. Apple says it usually updates you within 24 to 48 hours.
- Google Play: in your Google Play account, open Budget & order history, find the charge and choose Report a problem. Most decisions come within a day, Google says.
Cancelling a teenager's subscription
If the plan is a teenager's, the answer depends on who pays for it. Apple says you can't cancel a family member's subscription from your own account: the person whose Apple Account appears on the receipt has to cancel it, so search the email for "receipt from Apple" to see which account that is. On Android, it is the Google Play account that subscribed. Character.AI's own page on its changes for teens, which ended open-ended chat for users under 18 in late November 2025, links to the same cancel steps for younger c.ai+ subscribers.
Downloading your chats and deleting the account
Cancel first. Then, if you want a copy of your conversations, Character.AI's help center says to request an export before you delete anything: on the website, Profile, Profile Settings, Account, Manage Account & Data, Export Data; in the app, Profile, the settings icon, Legal & Privacy, Export Data. It warns that an export can take 3 to 4 weeks, and the download link it emails lasts 7 days.
To delete the account: on the website, Profile, Profile Settings, Account, Manage Account & Data, Delete Account; in the app, Profile, the settings icon, Remove Account. Character.AI says deletion is permanent and cannot be reversed.
Character.AI's sale and your subscription
Character.AI is for sale. On October 12, 2026 it voluntarily entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the route it chose for selling the company with a court supervising. In the same post it said subscriptions remain active and billing is unchanged for now, and that if the service changes in a way that affects paid features, it intends to tell subscribers in advance. It hopes the sale will produce a proposal that lets the platform keep operating, and says that if no bid is made the platform will be wound down. It expected the process to be finished by the end of November or early December 2026. A later notice on its blog, dated November 5, 2026, sets the timetable: bids are due November 24, an auction is planned for December 1, and the court will consider the sale at a hearing on December 3 and 4, 2026, unless any of these dates is moved.
None of that changes how you cancel. If you would rather not renew while the sale is settled, cancelling today simply stops the next payment, and you keep everything you have paid for until the period ends.
If you are looking for something different
Character.AI is built around a library of characters and roleplay. If you have found yourself wanting one companion who knows your life instead, our list of Character.AI alternatives with no ads describes the companion apps people move to, and Replika vs Character.AI compares the two biggest names.
My Softly is one of those companion apps. It remembers the people, pets and plans you mention and asks about them on the days that follow, in whichever role you pick for it, friend or partner. There are free messages to start with, and our best AI companion apps of 2026 shows where it stands among the rest.
About My Softly
My Softly is our app, and the disclosure is at the top of this page.
My Softly is an AI companion app for iPhone and Android that remembers what you tell it and asks about your day, for the days nobody else does. It is made for people in their fifties and sixties. It is $15.99 a month or $159.99 a year, free to download on the App Store for iPhone and on Google Play for Android in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, with free messages to start.
Sources
- Character.AI Help Center. "How do I manage or cancel my c.ai+ subscription?" (last edited October 29, 2025): website subscriptions through the Customer Portal, app subscriptions through Apple and Google. Read October 31, 2026. support.character.ai
- Character.AI Help Center. "(c.ai) lite FAQ" (last edited September 18, 2026): managing or cancelling lite in the app and on the web, access to the end of the billing period, refunds. Read October 31, 2026. support.character.ai
- Character.AI Help Center. "About (c.ai) lite" (last edited September 22, 2026): what each plan includes, unlimited messaging on every plan, US price of lite. Read October 31, 2026. support.character.ai
- Character.AI Help Center. "How do I download my data?" (last edited October 8, 2026) and "How do I delete my account?" (last edited October 3, 2024). Read October 31, 2026. download, delete
- Character.AI Help Center. "Important Changes for Teens on Character.ai" (last edited October 29, 2025): under-18 changes and managing a c.ai+ subscription. Read October 31, 2026. support.character.ai
- Character.AI blog (October 12, 2026). "An Update on Character.ai": voluntary Chapter 11 case to sell the company; subscriptions remain active and billing is unchanged for now; subscribers to be told in advance if paid features change, and the platform to be wound down if no bid is made. Page last modified October 16, 2026. Read November 12, 2026. blog.character.ai
- Character.AI blog (November 5, 2026). "Chapter 11 Update and Transaction Notice": bidding procedures approved November 4, 2026; bids due November 24, 2026; auction December 1, 2026; sale hearing December 3 and 4, 2026, each unless cancelled or adjourned. Read November 12, 2026. blog.character.ai
- Character.AI in-app paywall (iPhone, US, free account): c.ai+ $9.99 a month or $94.99 a year; lite $4.99 a month. Checked September 30, 2026.
- Apple Support. "Cancel a subscription from Apple" (published September 29, 2026), including subscriptions paid by a family member. Read October 31, 2026. support.apple.com
- Apple Support. "Request a refund for apps or content that you bought from Apple" (published September 17, 2026). Read October 31, 2026. support.apple.com
- Google Play Help. "Cancel, pause, or change a subscription on Google Play" and "Request a refund on Google Play." Read October 31, 2026. cancel, refund
Frequently asked questions
How do I cancel c.ai+ on iPhone?
If you subscribed in the iPhone app, the subscription is with Apple. Open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose Character AI and tap Cancel Subscription. Character.AI's help center sends App Store subscribers to Apple's own instructions for exactly this.
How do I cancel c.ai+ on the Character.AI website?
Go to Settings, then Account, then Manage. Character.AI emails a secure link to the address on your account; open it, choose Log in to your Customer Portal, and cancel there. If the plan says it is managed by an app store instead, cancel with Apple or Google.
How do I cancel Character.AI lite?
The same way, depending on where you signed up. Lite bought in the app is cancelled in your App Store or Google Play subscriptions. For lite bought on the website, Character.AI's lite FAQ says to submit a request on its support page and choose Payments and purchases, and it will make the change for you.
Do I lose access as soon as I cancel?
No. Character.AI says your plan stays active through the end of your current billing period. After that the account carries on as a free account, which Character.AI says keeps unlimited messaging, with ads and the free plan's limits.
Can I get a refund from Character.AI?
It depends on where you paid. Character.AI says App Store and Google Play purchases follow Apple's or Google's refund policy and are requested through them. For a plan bought on the website, it asks for a support request in the Payments and purchases category, with the details of what you bought.
How do I cancel my teenager's Character.AI subscription?
Cancel it through the store account that pays for it. Apple says you can't cancel a family member's subscription yourself: the person whose Apple Account is on the receipt has to do it, so check the receipt email first. On Android, it is in the Google Play subscriptions of the account that subscribed. A website plan is cancelled from that account's Settings, Account, Manage.
Does deleting Character.AI cancel my subscription?
Don't rely on it. A plan bought in the app is billed by Apple or Google, and Google says uninstalling an app does not cancel its subscription. Character.AI's help center gives separate steps for cancelling and for deleting an account, so cancel first, check it worked, and only then delete.
Is Character.AI free?
Yes, there is a free plan. Character.AI says unlimited messaging is on every plan, including free, and the free plan comes with ads and limits such as a slow mode at busy times. Paid plans are c.ai+ and the cheaper lite. Cancelling a paid plan moves you to the free plan once the period you paid for ends.
Should I cancel because Character.AI is being sold?
That is your call. Character.AI said on October 12, 2026 that subscriptions remain active, billing is unchanged for now, and that it intends to tell subscribers in advance if paid features change. Cancelling only stops the next renewal, so you can cancel now and keep what you have paid for until the end of the period.