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You download an AI homework app, tap "Start free trial", and a week later money leaves a parent's account. Usually, someone approved a recurring payment during sign-up. Indian rules give you a warning before each debit and a way to stop it.
Why did a free trial charge money?
There are two usual routes, and each is cancelled in a different place.
UPI AutoPay or a card e-mandate. When you enter your UPI PIN on a trial screen, you may be approving a standing instruction, not a one-time payment. Under the RBI's Digital Payments – E-mandate Framework, 2026, the first debit needs your PIN, but later recurring debits of up to ₹15,000 per transaction can go through without asking for it again.
An app store subscription. Google Play says that at the end of your trial, the first billing period begins and you are charged automatically; it also sends an email when the trial is about to end.
Deleting the app does nothing. Google Play states that when you uninstall the app, your subscription won't cancel.
The same RBI framework requires your bank or card issuer to send a pre-debit notification at least 24 hours before the charge, naming the merchant, the amount and the date of debit.
If your child tapped "subscribe" on a parent's phone, see what to do when a child spends money on online games.
How do I cancel UPI AutoPay for a study app?
Open the UPI app where the PIN was entered and find the AutoPay or Mandates section.
Select the study app and choose pause or cancel. Under the RBI e-mandate framework, your bank must let you opt out of a single debit or the whole mandate, confirmed with an extra authentication step such as your PIN.
If you cannot tell which app holds the mandate, NPCI's MyUPI (UPI Help 2.0), announced on 10 September 2026, gives a single view of AutoPay mandates across banks and UPI apps.
Screenshot the cancellation, and cancel the plan in the study app's account settings too.
How do I cancel an app store subscription?
Android: open Google Play, go to Subscriptions, pick the app and tap Cancel subscription. Google says you keep access for the time you have already paid for.
iPhone: open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, pick the app and tap Cancel Subscription. Apple advises that you cancel a trial at least 24 hours before it ends if you do not want it to renew.
For a refund on iPhone, Apple's steps start at reportaproblem.apple.com, and it says to wait 24 to 48 hours for an update. On Android, Google notes that most Play Store apps are made by third-party developers, who can process refunds under their own policies, so write to the developer as well.
Is a hidden subscription allowed in India?
The Central Consumer Protection Authority's Guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Dark Patterns, 2023, notified on 30 November 2023, specify 13 dark patterns that platforms must not use. One is the "subscription trap": making cancellation impossible or lengthy, hiding the cancel option, forcing you to give payment details or auto-debit authorisation for a free subscription, or making cancellation instructions confusing. Another, "SaaS billing", includes turning a free trial into a paid plan without telling the user.
If an app hid the renewal or will not let you cancel, the National Consumer Helpline takes complaints on 1915, on WhatsApp at +91 8800001915, or through its website.
Before that, send the company a short message:
"Hello, I started a free trial on [date] using [email or phone]. I was charged [amount] on [date], UPI reference [number]. I did not mean to continue and have now cancelled. Please confirm the cancellation and refund this charge by [date]. If not, I will register a complaint with the National Consumer Helpline."
What should families check before starting a free trial?
Note how you are paying: UPI, card or app store. That is where you will cancel.
Read the screen before the PIN. Check the amount, how often it repeats and whether there is an end date.
Set a reminder before the trial ends: "Keep or cancel [app name]?"
Agree a family rule: a teenager asks before approving any mandate. Our post on whether your teenager should use UPI sets out limits worth agreeing first.
Use the trial to test teaching, not features. Give the app a problem your child got wrong: does it explain the reasoning or just print an answer? The Fermi Problem Library, for example, has worked problems with a step-by-step solver that explains the reasoning rather than printing an answer.
Decide before the last day. If you are unsure, cancel; you can subscribe again later if the app earned it.
Check your mandates and subscriptions once a month. If the list has grown, our guide to auditing paid study apps helps you decide what stays.
A free trial is a fair way to judge an app. The trick is to make the cancel decision on purpose, before the payment makes it for you.
