Proton VPN ◐5.1MODERATE

Proton VPN is a privacy-focused VPN with a free tier and paid plans, and cancelling a paid subscription means ending the recurring billing so you drop back to Free rather than losing your account. The trap that catches people is the store path: if you originally paid through Google Play, the cancel control lives in the Play Store subscriptions list, not in your Proton account, and users who only look inside account.proton.me hit a dead end.

Our Friction Score puts Proton VPN at 5.1/10 (Moderate). The hardest axis is finding the entry at 7/10, because the cancel option is tucked inside the account dashboard rather than surfaced on the plan page. The step count is also above typical SaaS at 6/10, with a moderate set of confirmation prompts (5/10). On the positive side, no phone call is required (0/10 on Phone), and refund terms sit at a readable 6/10, the 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans is documented, though later renewals are non-refundable.

To cancel, open account.proton.me and go to Dashboard > Subscription, then choose Cancel / Downgrade to Free and confirm. If you were billed via Google Play, cancel in the Play Store subscriptions list instead. After cancellation the account reverts to Free and your data is retained. You can resubscribe anytime to restore paid features.

Cancel before the renewal date if you want to avoid the next charge, and if you are inside the 30-day window on a paid plan, request the refund when you cancel rather than assuming it is automatic. Free-tier users have nothing to cancel. Export or note anything you need before downgrading, though Proton retains your data on the Free plan, so coming back later is straightforward.