🏆 Dark Patterns Hall of Shame: 15 Companies That Make Canceling Nearly Impossible

February 14, 2026 · 8 min read

We've helped thousands of people cancel subscriptions. Along the way, we've seen some truly awful cancellation experiences. Hidden buttons. Mandatory phone calls. Guilt trips disguised as "retention offers." Some companies have turned canceling into an Olympic sport.

So we ranked them. From the worst offenders to the rare good actors, here's our Dark Patterns Hall of Shame.

📋 Scoring methodology: We rated each company on a 1-10 "difficulty to cancel" scale based on: number of steps required, whether online self-service exists, use of retention tactics, and real user complaints. Higher = harder to cancel.

🔴 The Worst Offenders (7-10)

These companies have weaponized the cancellation process. They don't just make it hard — they make it deliberately frustrating so you'll give up.

1. McAfee — 🔴 9.5/10

Dark pattern: Forced phone call, 30+ minute hold times, aggressive retention scripts, auto-renewal buried in ToS

"I spent 45 minutes on hold just to cancel a $30 antivirus subscription."

2. Norton — 🔴 9/10

Dark pattern: Multi-step cancellation maze, forced chat with agent, "special discount" interruptions

"They offered me 3 different discounts before letting me click cancel."

3. SiriusXM — 🔴 9/10

Dark pattern: Phone-only cancellation, 20+ minute hold, trained retention agents, guilt-tripping

"The agent asked me "why would you want silence in your car?" five times."

4. Planet Fitness — 🔴 8.5/10

Dark pattern: Must cancel in person or via certified mail — can't cancel online or by phone

"I moved states and they still wanted me to visit my original location."

5. LA Fitness — 🔴 8.5/10

Dark pattern: In-person or certified letter only, 30-day advance notice required

"They kept charging me for 2 months after I sent my cancellation letter."

6. Adobe Creative Cloud — 🔴 8/10

Dark pattern: 50% early termination fee on annual plans, cancel button hidden 5 clicks deep

"I had to pay $150 to cancel a $20/month subscription mid-year."

🟡 The Annoying Middle (5-7.5)

These companies won't ruin your day, but they'll certainly waste your time. Expect multiple steps, chat agents, and at least one "special offer."

7. Amazon Prime — 🟡 7.5/10

Dark pattern: 6-click cancellation flow with multiple "are you sure?" screens and benefit reminders

"Amazon's cancel flow has more steps than their checkout flow."

8. Noom — 🟡 7.5/10

Dark pattern: Buries cancel behind "pause" option, auto-renews after trial with no reminder

"I thought I paused but got charged $199 for the year."

9. NYT/New York Times — 🟡 7/10

Dark pattern: Requires live chat to cancel, long wait times, retention offers interrupt process

"I just wanted to cancel my $4/month subscription, not negotiate a hostage situation."

10. Comcast/Xfinity — 🟡 7/10

Dark pattern: Phone-only cancellation for many plans, equipment return required, final bill surprises

"They scheduled a "callback" that never came, then charged me another month."

11. Weight Watchers — 🟡 6.5/10

Dark pattern: Chat-only cancellation during limited hours, multi-step retention flow

"The chat agent spent 10 minutes trying to convince me to stay."

12. Audible — 🟡 6/10

Dark pattern: 4 screens of "are you sure?" with escalating offers before reaching cancel

"They offered me 3 months free which honestly almost worked."

🟢 The Good Actors (1-5)

Proof that it's possible to let people cancel without emotional manipulation. Take notes, everyone else.

13. Hulu — 🟢 4/10

Approach: Relatively easy but shows "what you'll lose" screen with emotional framing

"At least they let me do it online without talking to anyone."

14. Spotify — 🟢 3/10

Approach: Easy to cancel but uses "downgrade to free" language to make you feel like you're losing

"Spotify's cancel is almost too easy — suspiciously easy."

15. Netflix — 🟢 2/10

Approach: Gold standard — 2 clicks, no retention, no guilt. Keeps your data 10 months.

"Netflix proves you can make canceling easy and still be a $250B company."

Why This Matters

The FTC's new Click-to-Cancel rule (effective 2025) requires companies to make canceling as easy as signing up. Many companies on this list are already in violation. If you're struggling to cancel, you may have legal protections.

Until companies comply, tools like Just Cancel exist to find every subscription on your bank statement and give you direct cancel links — no phone calls required.

How to Fight Back

Know your rights — The FTC Click-to-Cancel rule means companies must offer online cancellation if you signed up online.
Document everything — Screenshot every step. If they make it unreasonably hard, file an FTC complaint at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Use direct cancel links — Our cancel guides for 440+ services have the exact URLs and steps to skip the maze.
Dispute unauthorized charges — If a company won't let you cancel, your bank can reverse charges.
Audit your subscriptions — Upload a bank statement to Just Cancel and find subscriptions you forgot about.

Know someone fighting to cancel a subscription? Share this page. The more people talk about dark patterns, the faster companies will fix them.

And if you think we missed a company (or rated one too kindly), let us know on Twitter.