Many iPhone users have found themselves wondering why they can’t easily cancel their LinkedIn premium subscription directly through the iPhone app. LinkedIn makes it straightforward to sign up for their various paid offerings like LinkedIn Premium, but seems to obscure the path to canceling.
This causes frustration for some users who don’t want to continue paying for the service but can’t figure out how to stop their subscription. They may search the LinkedIn app on their iPhone trying in vain to find the cancel button.
So why is it so difficult to cancel LinkedIn Premium on an iPhone? There are a few key reasons behind this.
LinkedIn Wants to Discourage Cancellations
The main reason LinkedIn makes it tough to cancel directly in the iPhone app is that they want to discourage people from unsubscribing from paid services. LinkedIn is a business, after all, and relies on revenue from products like Premium subscriptions.
By not providing an easy cancellation flow within the app, many users may get frustrated and simply give up on trying to unsubscribe. LinkedIn likely hopes some percentage of users will decide the cancellation process is too much of a headache and end up sticking around as paying members.
The easier LinkedIn makes it to cancel, the more cancellations they would likely have to process. And less paying members means less revenue for their business. So it’s in their interests to apply some friction to the cancellation process.
Push Users to Website Cancellation Flow
In place of an in-app cancellation option, LinkedIn intentionally pushes users to their website to cancel subscriptions. On LinkedIn’s website, users can navigate to settings and follow the steps to end a Premium membership.
But this cancellation flow is more involved compared to an easy in-app cancel button. Many users access LinkedIn primarily through mobile. So forcing them to go use a web browser to cancel on a desktop site adds extra steps and makes it less convenient to stop their subscription.
Again, this friction introduces by the website cancellation process may prevent some users from following through and actually deactivating their Premium account.
Retain Control Over User Experience
LinkedIn also keeps cancellations out of the iPhone app so they can retain more control over the user experience. Within the LinkedIn website, they can design the pages involved in cancellation flows to further discourage users from unsubscribing.
For example, they can place messages emphasizing the benefits and importance of Premium or even offer special deals to retain members. The website also allows them to poll canceling users for feedback to improve products.
With an in-app cancellation option, LinkedIn loses some control and ability to influence the user when they try to deactivate their account. The website cancellation provides more opportunities to retain users.
Comply with App Store Policies
LinkedIn also likely keeps cancellations out of the iOS app to comply with Apple App Store policies. Apple has rules requiring that apps enable subscriptions to be canceled inside the app if they were initiated inside the app.
But by only offering the subscription sign up in-app and requiring cancellation on the website, LinkedIn skirts around this rule. This allows them to make cancellations more difficult without violating App Store guidelines.
How to Cancel LinkedIn Premium on iPhone
Despite LinkedIn making it a challenge to deactivate Premium on an iPhone, it is still possible for users who wish to cancel their subscription through the following process:
1. Open the Safari or Chrome app on your iPhone.
2. Navigate to www.linkedin.com and log into your account.
3. Tap on the “Me” tab at the top of the screen and select “Settings & Privacy” from the menu.
4. Choose “Account preferences” from the options.
5. Under the “Subscriptions” section, click on “Manage” next to your Premium membership listing.
6. On the next screen, select “Cancel subscription” to initiate the Premium cancellation process.
7. Follow the instructions to confirm the cancellation.
Once those steps are completed, your LinkedIn Premium membership will be deactivated at the end of the current billing period.
While not as seamless as an in-app cancel button, this process does allow you to cancel Premium on iPhone through the LinkedIn website. With some determination, users can drop the paid subscription even without a cancellation option directly within the iOS app.
Contact LinkedIn Support
If for some reason you are unable to cancel through the website, another option is to contact LinkedIn customer support directly and request they cancel the subscription for you.
Reach out to customer service by email or phone and explain you want to deactivate your Premium membership but are unable to do so through the app or website. In most cases, they should be able to handle the cancellation for you.
So if you get totally stuck trying to unsubscribe, customer support should be able to help get your Premium membership deactivated.
Use Subscription Management Services
Third party subscription management services are another path to cancel subscriptions when the cancellation process through a company is difficult.
Services like Truebill allow you to sync all your subscription accounts in one dashboard and handle cancellations on your behalf, even if the direct cancellation process is cumbersome.
For a few dollars per month, Truebill and similar platforms promise to save users money by streamlining cancellations of unwated subscriptions across many companies.
If you want to cancel your LinkedIn Premium subscription but are having no luck through conventional methods, leveraging a subscription manager service may do the trick.
Wait for Current Billing Period to Expire
If you wish to cancel but your billing renewal date is coming up soon, another option is to simply let the current billing period expire without renewing.
LinkedIn should not charge your credit card again once the term you originally signed up for concludes. At that point, your Premium access will lapse unless you proactively renew again.
This avoids the cancellation process altogether. However, it does mean you’ll continue paying for Premium service in the meantime before the term expires.
But for some users, simply letting the subscription lapse may provide an easier path forward if actively canceling now poses challenges. Just be aware re-billing should stop once the current billing period ends.
Use a Different LinkedIn Account
Some users intent on canceling Premium have found success by modifying their login method away from an iOS-linked account.
For example, if you originally signed up for LinkedIn Premium by logging in through your iPhone with an Apple ID, try switching to logging in with an email and password instead.
Apple makes it tough to manage subscriptions initiated through their ecosystem. So by logging in to LinkedIn in a web browser with an email account instead, you may have better luck accessing cancellation controls.
If you no longer have access to the original sign-up credit card or Apple ID, this method also allows you to get around limited cancellation options.
Request Refund for Partial Months
Don’t forget that if you do successfully cancel your Premium subscription mid-billing cycle, you can request a refund for any unused days that were already billed.
LinkedIn only provides access to Premium features until the end of the current billing period once a cancellation is processed. So if you cancelled 15 days into a 30 day cycle, you should be able to get repayment for the remaining 15 days.
Contact customer support after cancelling and ask them to process a partial refund for the paid but unused time left on your membership when you deactivated Premium. Be persistent if needed until they issue refund payment.
Getting refunded for any outstanding unused portion can help offset some of the frustration and cost of the difficult cancellation process.
Use Alternative Platforms
If you find the inability to easily cancel Premium on LinkedIn iPhone app unacceptable, another option is abandoning LinkedIn entirely and using competing professional social platforms instead.
Sites like Xing and Viadeo offer similar professional connection and job search features to LinkedIn without the same subscription cancellation headaches.
Transitioning your network and usage to an alternate service allows you to entirely sidestep the Premium cancellation challenges imposed by LinkedIn. Just be aware migrating your network and content may take significant time and effort.
But for some professionals fed up with LinkedIn’s policies, moving to another professional platform may be worth considering, especially if you want to avoid paying for unwanted Premium services.
Provide Feedback to LinkedIn
If you find LinkedIn’s cancellation process unacceptable, be sure to provide them feedback to register your frustrations. The more users that speak up, the more motivation LinkedIn may have to add easier cancellation options.
Send calm but stern feedback by email or through LinkedIn’s feedback forums explaining your desire for simpler Premium cancellation on iPhones. Be specific about how the current barriers cause dissatisfaction.
With enough feedback, there’s a chance LinkedIn may expand cancellation abilities in the future to avoid losing loyal users. While no guarantees, it’s worth speaking up in hopes of driving customer-friendly changes.
Conclusion
LinkedIn undoubtedly makes canceling Premium subscriptions difficult on iPhones in hopes of boosting retention and revenue. But users still have options like utilizing LinkedIn’s website cancellation flow, contacting customer service, or switching professional social platforms.
While not always quick and easy, there are still paths forward to cancel unwanted Premium subscriptions through LinkedIn or third parties. And don’t forget to request refunds for any unused time remaining in billing cycles.
With persistence and creativity, iPhone users can reclaim control of their LinkedIn accounts and avoid paying for Premium services no longer deemed worth the cost or headache.