Trying to cancel Amazon Prime feels like escaping a casino—every exit leads to another room designed to separate you from your money. Amazon’s internal “Project Iliad” turned cancellation into an obstacle course of retention screens, discount offers, and warnings about losing benefits. You click “cancel” and suddenly face a gauntlet designed by behavioral psychologists whose job is keeping your credit card on file.
Netflix’s Deceptive Simplicity
Netflix plays the same game with different costumes. Their official help page promises a simple three-step process, but users encounter “last chance” retention offers and guilt-inducing reminders about losing access to their favorite shows. The real cancel button gets buried beneath bright, prominent “Pause Subscription” options that look like the primary action. It’s like trying to find the exit in an IKEA—theoretically possible, but you’ll pass through every department first.
The Economics of Frustration
These aren’t design accidents. The FTC’s 2023 enforcement action against Amazon revealed internal emails showing leadership deliberately rejected changes that would make cancellation easier, worried about negative impacts on subscriber numbers. When a federal appeals court blocked the FTC’s “click to cancel” rule requiring equal ease for signup and cancellation in 2024, streaming platforms breathed easier. Your frustration translates directly to their recurring revenue.
Your Arsenal Against Subscription Manipulation
Fight back with virtual credit cards from services like Privacy.com—delete or pause the payment method instead of navigating their retention maze. When you do cancel through their interface, ignore every retention offer and discount. Search for low-contrast, barely visible “Continue to Cancel” links typically hidden at page bottoms. File FTC complaints when cancellation becomes genuinely difficult; regulatory pressure remains the only force pushing these companies toward honest design.
Your subscription shouldn’t feel like a relationship you need couples therapy to end. These platforms profit from your reluctance to endure their deliberately frustrating cancellation flows. Recognize the manipulation, arm yourself with workarounds, and take back control of your monthly expenses. The streaming wars shouldn’t be fought in their retention departments.
