Cancellation Medium: Easy Method

What is Medium

Medium as a paid reading platform

Medium is a subscription-based publishing platform launched in 2012. It is operated by Medium and is known for long-form articles, essays, opinion pieces, and niche writing on tech, culture, politics, business, and personal growth. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, and the paid product is built around membership access rather than a traditional magazine bundle.

If you are cancelling, it helps to understand what you actually bought. Medium runs on a freemium model: some stories are free, while member-only stories sit behind a paywall. You usually subscribe for unlimited reading, fewer interruptions, and access to exclusive content rather than for a single title or newspaper issue.

What users actually pay for on Medium

In the Philippines, the core paid offer is straightforward. The monthly membership is listed at ₱299, while the annual membership is listed at ₱2,999. According to Medium’s membership page, paid users get access to exclusive content, an ad-free reading experience, and member-only features (medium.com).

Here is the thing: many users join because they hit the article limit on free reading, then forget the plan renews. Medium’s terms do not show a minimum commitment period, so you are not locked into a long contract. That makes cancellation possible at any time, but it does not guarantee a refund once a charge has already gone through (help.medium.com).

How Medium works in the Philippines

Medium is available in the Philippines, and Philippine users may see local pricing in pesos such as ₱299 and ₱2,999. Prices may still move slightly because Medium says pricing can depend on exchange rates at the time of subscription. That matters if you signed up when the displayed amount was a bit different from today’s price list.

There is also one local issue worth flagging early. Medium’s Partner Program is unavailable in the Philippines because Stripe has limited availability in the country. So if you subscribed expecting to earn from writing, take note that reader membership and writer monetization are two different things, and the second one is not broadly available locally.

How to cancel Medium without getting charged again

Checks to do before you tap cancel

A lot of frustration starts when users cancel too late, use the wrong channel, or forget where they subscribed. Before doing anything, open your account and confirm whether the membership was bought on the web, through Apple, or through Google Play. Medium states clearly that deleting the app or deleting your account does not cancel an App Store or Google Play subscription (help.medium.com).

Do three quick prep steps. Take a screenshot of your current plan, note your next billing date, and save any important writing or reading lists you may want later. If you expect a dispute, also save your latest receipt, card statement line, Apple receipt, or Google Play order ID. Those small records matter if a charge appears again after cancellation.

The exact web cancellation path inside your account

If you subscribed directly on Medium’s website, the fastest route is through account settings. On your homepage, click your profile picture, choose Settings, then go to the Membership and payment section and click Cancel your membership (help.medium.com). This is the official path, and it is the one most people should try first.

After that, watch for the final confirmation screen. Do not stop at a settings page and assume it is done. Save a screenshot showing the cancellation confirmation and the date. Medium’s support article for managing membership is here: Manage your membership.

How to cancel if you paid through Apple or Google Play

This is where many Philippine users get tripped up. If you bought the membership through iTunes or the App Store on iPhone or iPad, you must cancel through Apple. The path is Settings on your device, then your name, then Apple ID, then Subscriptions, then Medium membership, then Cancel Subscription (help.medium.com).

If you bought through Google Play on Android, open the Google Play app, tap your profile icon, choose Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions, select Medium, tap Cancel subscription, and follow the prompts (help.medium.com). Heads up: uninstalling the app does nothing to stop billing on either platform.

Support by email, phone, and postal mail

Medium does not offer live chat. The support email listed for membership help is [email protected], and the phone number is 1 (415) 508-5008. Support hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST. In Philippine time, that usually falls late at night or early morning depending on daylight saving in the United States, so email is often easier.

If you contact support, be specific. Include the email tied to your Medium account, the billing channel, the last charge amount such as ₱299 or ₱2,999, and the cancellation date. If you want stronger proof, you can also send a registered letter. Some people now use digital registered mail services such as Postclic because they create time-stamped proof of sending, receipt, and opening without a trip to the post office.

When postal mail makes sense

Most cancellations do not need postal mail because Medium points users to account settings, Apple, or Google Play. Still, if your account is inaccessible, support does not reply, or you are building a paper trail for a billing dispute, a mailed notice can help. It is not the primary route, but it can support your case if the issue escalates to your bank, GCash, Maya, or DTI.

Use postal mail for documentation, not for speed. A mailed letter to a United States address can take several business days from the Philippines, so it is not the best option when your billing date is tomorrow. In that situation, cancel through the original payment channel first, then send supporting correspondence if needed.

After cancellation: what changes on your account

Your reading access after you cancel

Medium’s help page explains how to cancel, but it does not clearly spell out a prorated refund or instant loss of access. In practice, subscription services like this usually keep paid access until the end of the current billing period, and there is no minimum commitment stated in Medium’s terms (help.medium.com). That means if your next charge is on April 28 and you cancel on April 10, you should expect access to continue until the billing date already paid for.

The key point is timing. Cancel before the next renewal date, not on the charge date itself if you can avoid it. If you wait until the new charge posts, Medium’s stated refund position is not friendly to late cancellations.

What happens if you do nothing

If you leave the membership active, billing continues on the same channel you originally used. Medium’s terms do not spell out the auto-renewal clause in detail in the material provided, but the service functions as a recurring subscription, which is why cancellation through the original purchase channel matters. A forgotten App Store or Google Play subscription can keep charging even after the app is removed.

This is one of the most common complaints in user reviews. People assume account deletion or app removal ends everything, then notice another charge later. The practical fix is simple: verify the subscription list inside Apple or Google Play after you cancel, not just inside the Medium app.

Your data and account status

Medium’s membership terms do not clearly specify data retention after cancellation. So the honest answer is that Medium does not clarify, in the cited material, exactly what content remains, what gets removed, or how long account data is kept after membership ends (help.medium.com). Membership cancellation is not the same thing as full account deletion.

If you have saved drafts, published stories, bookmarks, notes, or publication settings, export or archive anything important before cancelling. That is extra relevant if your account has any support issue, because one Trustpilot reviewer described deleting an account after a suspension and losing years of work. Membership can be cancelled quickly, but recovering missing content is much harder.

Medium refund policy: the hard truth for Philippine users

What Medium says about refunds

Medium’s help article is blunt on this point: after cancellation, there is no refund. The research data shows the same answer for general cancellation, unused time, and billing error scenarios: no refund after cancellation (help.medium.com). So if you are hoping for a prorated return of the unused days in a ₱299 monthly plan or a ₱2,999 annual plan, the official policy is not on your side.

The truth is, Medium’s refund stance is stricter than many users expect. Plenty of services quietly return unused time on annual plans. Medium does not promise that here, and the lack of a clear exception for billing mistakes means you should act fast the moment you spot an unwanted renewal.

Your rights in the Philippines if a charge is wrong

For Philippine users, online subscription issues fall under the Consumer Act of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 7394, with the DTI as the main consumer authority. There is no universal statutory cooling-off period for all online subscriptions, and the research data does not show a specific cooling-off right in Medium’s own terms. So a normal change of mind after purchase may not be enough to force a refund.

That said, an unauthorized charge is different from simple buyer’s remorse. If Medium charged you after you cancelled, or if you never knowingly subscribed, you can dispute the transaction with your bank, credit card issuer, GCash, or Maya. Under BSP dispute rules, cardholders typically have up to 60 days from the statement date to file a dispute, so do not sit on it.

How to request a refund anyway

If you still want to try, use the channel tied to the charge. For a direct web subscription, email [email protected] and include your account email, amount charged, date, screenshot of cancellation, and receipt. Be concise and factual. Ask for reversal of the specific charge rather than a general refund request.

For App Store billing, request help through Apple’s subscription and billing tools because Apple controls the payment. For Google Play, use your Play order details and cancellation proof in the dispute request. Success is not guaranteed, but channel-specific requests tend to work better than writing to the wrong support team.

When chargeback becomes the last resort

If Medium or the app store does not resolve an unauthorized or continued charge, you can ask for a chargeback from your bank or e-wallet provider. In the Philippines, that may be your credit card issuer, GCash, or Maya. Submit screenshots of the cancellation confirmation, the billing statement, and any email exchange with support. Those documents are usually the difference between a clean dispute and a rejected one.

If the problem is not solved, you can also bring the complaint to DTI for consumer issues under RA 7394. Use chargeback only for unauthorized or continued billing, not as a shortcut after forgetting to cancel an active plan. Banks look closely at that distinction.

Medium terms and subscription conditions that affect cancellation

No minimum commitment, but recurring billing still matters

Medium’s membership terms, as reflected in the available research, show no minimum commitment duration and no stated early termination fee (help.medium.com). That is good news if you simply want out. You do not have to complete a fixed twelve-month lock-in before leaving.

Still, a no-commitment structure does not mean no renewal. If you let the membership continue, the billing cycle keeps running through the same purchase channel. So the practical rule is simple: cancel before the next billing date, not after the charge posts.

What Medium does not clearly specify

Some points are left unclear in the available terms data. Medium does not clearly specify a free trial conversion rule, data retention period after cancellation, applicable law, or dispute resolution method in the supplied source set (help.medium.com). When a platform leaves those details vague, your own screenshots and receipts become even more important.

This also matters for account cleanup. If you want both the membership ended and the account closed, treat those as separate actions unless Medium expressly says otherwise. A cancelled membership stops the subscription, but it may not erase your profile, drafts, or public posts.

Medium plans and pricing in the Philippines

Current subscription plans

Medium’s published Philippine pricing is simple, with only two recurring plans in the verified data. The monthly option is ₱299, and the annual option is ₱2,999. Medium also notes that local prices may shift with exchange rates and future pricing updates, so older receipts may not match today’s figures exactly.

Which plan costs more over time

The annual plan is the better value if you genuinely use Medium every month. Twelve months on the monthly plan would cost ₱3,588, while the annual plan costs ₱2,999. That is a saving of ₱589 over a full year, or roughly 16.4% less than paying monthly.

The flip side is flexibility. If you only read a few member stories now and then, the ₱299 monthly plan is easier to stop with less sunk cost. Many users overpay simply because they choose annual pricing too soon, then realize after two or three months that they barely open the app.

Billing notes that can catch you off guard

There is no cancellation fee and no early termination fee found in the terms or help article (help.medium.com). That removes one common headache. Your real risk is not a fee, but forgetting the renewal date and being billed for another cycle that Medium may refuse to refund.

If your payment was routed through Apple or Google Play, the statement descriptor may come from those stores rather than directly from Medium. That can confuse users scanning bank records. If you see a charge you do not recognize, compare the amount and date with your app store subscription history before filing a complaint.

Your rights in the Philippines when a subscription will not stop

What Philippine consumer law covers

For Philippine readers, the main law is the Consumer Act of the Philippines, Republic Act No. 7394. DTI handles consumer complaints involving online subscriptions and unfair or unresolved billing problems. For Medium specifically, this matters most when cancellation was attempted but charges continued, or when the billing route was unclear and support did not respond.

The research data does not show a special Medium cooling-off period, and Philippine law does not provide a universal online subscription cooling-off rule for every digital purchase. A seven working day cooling-off period is more closely associated with certain direct sales situations, not all online memberships. So your strongest case is usually unauthorized billing, misleading billing, or non-processing of a valid cancellation.

How Medium’s terms compare with local expectations

Medium’s terms leave several consumer-facing issues unspecified, including data retention and some renewal details. Philippine consumer practice puts weight on clear disclosure, receipts, and fair billing records, especially when recurring charges are involved. If the platform does not clearly state something, preserve your own proof.

In plain language, this means screenshots matter. If your account showed cancellation on April 12 and your card was billed again on April 20, that screenshot can become your best evidence with DTI, your bank, or your e-wallet provider.

How to file a complaint in the Philippines

Start with the merchant and the payment channel. Send Medium support a short written complaint with your account email, date of cancellation, charge amount, and evidence. If payment came through Apple or Google Play, file through those channels too because they control billing for in-app subscriptions.

If the issue is still unresolved, file a complaint with DTI and prepare copies of your receipts, statement entries, screenshots, and email trail. If the charge sits on a bank card, GCash, or Maya account, request a formal dispute or chargeback as soon as possible. BSP-related card disputes commonly use a 60-day window from the statement date, so timing matters.

Useful authorities and contacts

For consumer subscription complaints, the main authority is DTI. For payment disputes involving banks and electronic money issuers, BSP is the relevant regulator. DTI is the better route for the merchant dispute itself, while BSP and your payment provider are key when money has already been taken and reversal is needed.

• DTI - Consumer Act of the Philippines, RA 7394
• BSP - payment dispute and chargeback oversight
• Medium support email - [email protected]
• Medium phone - 1 (415) 508-5008

What users say about cancelling Medium

Overall verdict from available reviews

Based on the supplied review set, cancellation and account support look difficult rather than smooth. The trend is stark: 0 positive and 5 negative reviews out of 5 unique reviews. The complaints cluster around poor customer service, account access problems, and continued or confusing billing rather than hidden cancellation fees.

To stay balanced, Medium does have a clear official cancellation path inside account settings and through Apple or Google Play. That is a genuine positive. But the review trend suggests that when something goes wrong, support may feel slow or hard to reach, which is why documentation is so important.

Recurring themes in complaints

Sources summary

Individual user experiences

• "The webpage does not work properly and there is no customer service." (Trustpilot)
• "It's impossible to delete your account and there's no way to contact them." (Trustpilot)
• "I don't know what the heck they are or do. I assure you that I DID NOT subscribe as I have no use for this nor am I a writer!" (Trustpilot)
• "I must warn writers to avoid Medium. My account was suspended... I was forced to delete it, effectively erasing years of hard work..." (Trustpilot)
• "...very bad customer service never reply to clients easily." (Trustpilot)

For Philippine users, one local pain point stands out from the research: subscriptions bought through iTunes or Google Play often cause confusion because uninstalling the app does not cancel billing. Another local limitation is that the Partner Program is not available in the Philippines due to Stripe availability, which can add disappointment for writers who expected monetization options.

Documents to gather before and after cancellation

Before you cancel

Spend five minutes collecting proof before you touch the cancel button. Save a screenshot of the Membership and payment screen, your current plan, and your next billing date. If you use Apple or Google Play, also save the subscription screen inside that store because it proves the billing channel.

• Screenshot of current plan
• Billing date and amount
• Account email address
• App Store or Google Play subscription page

For refund or charge disputes

If you are challenging a charge, collect transaction-specific evidence. Banks and e-wallets usually want the exact amount, date, merchant name, and proof that you tried to resolve the issue with the merchant first. For a ₱299 or ₱2,999 charge, match the receipt to the statement line carefully.

• Email receipt or invoice
• Card, GCash, or Maya statement entry
• Apple receipt or Google Play order ID
• Support email thread with dates

After you cancel

Do not leave the page without saving the confirmation. The best evidence is a screenshot that shows the cancelled status and the date, plus any confirmation email. If no email arrives within a reasonable time, your screenshot becomes even more important.

• Cancellation confirmation screenshot
• Confirmation email
• Calendar reminder before next billing date
• Statement check for the next 60 days

Common Medium cancellation mistakes that cause extra charges

Cancelling on the wrong platform

The most common mistake is trying to cancel inside Medium when the subscription was actually bought through Apple or Google Play. Medium explicitly says those memberships must be cancelled through the relevant store, not by uninstalling the app or deleting the account (help.medium.com). If you miss this, you can keep getting billed.

A real-world scenario is simple: you subscribed on your iPhone, then later logged into Medium on a laptop and could not find a direct billing control. The fix is to open Apple subscriptions and cancel there. Always trace the original purchase route before taking action.

Assuming account deletion ends billing

User complaints show why this catches people out. A deleted app is not a cancelled subscription, and a deleted Medium account is not enough for an App Store or Google Play membership. This is exactly the kind of confusion that leads to a surprise charge on the next cycle.

The solution is to verify your subscription list after cancellation. On iPhone, check Apple subscriptions. On Android, check Google Play subscriptions. If Medium no longer appears as active there, you have much stronger proof that the recurring payment stopped.

Expecting a prorated refund for unused days

Many users cancel halfway through a month or year and expect the unused portion to be returned. Medium’s policy, based on the supplied help source, says no refund after cancellation, including for unused periods (help.medium.com). That is why cancelling late can be costly on the ₱2,999 annual plan.

The practical fix is simple: set a reminder at least three days before renewal. That buffer gives you time to cancel and verify the confirmation before the charge actually lands.

Failing to save proof

When support is slow or billing is disputed, memory is useless and screenshots win. One negative review complained there was no customer service, and another described serious account trouble on the platform. If you do not keep proof, a later dispute becomes much harder.

Save the cancellation screen, the billing receipt, and the date. If you need to dispute the charge through a bank, GCash, or Maya, those three items usually form the basic evidence pack.

Waiting too long to dispute a bad charge

In the Philippines, banks and issuers often work with a 60-day dispute window from the statement date under BSP-related practice. If you notice a charge and wait two or three billing cycles, your options narrow quickly. Delay is one of the biggest self-inflicted problems in subscription disputes.

If a charge appears after cancellation, act the same day. Contact Medium or the store, gather evidence, and file a dispute with your payment provider if needed. Speed matters more than long explanations.

Medium cancellation methods compared side by side

Comparison table

Key takeaway from the options

The web route is the most direct for subscriptions bought on Medium itself. Apple and Google Play are just as valid, but only if that is where the original purchase happened. Registered mail is slower, yet it can be useful when you need a documented trail for a dispute.

No single method fits every user. The best choice depends on where you subscribed, how close the next billing date is, and whether you expect to need formal proof for a refund fight or chargeback request.

What to do after cancelling so the charge does not return

Immediate checks in the first 10 minutes

Right after cancelling, confirm the status in the same place where you cancelled. If you used the web, reopen Settings and check membership status. If you used Apple or Google Play, reopen the subscriptions page and confirm that Medium is no longer active or shows an end date instead of a renewal status.

Then take one more screenshot and set a calendar reminder for one day before the next expected billing date. That sounds basic, but it is one of the easiest ways to catch a failed cancellation before another ₱299 or ₱2,999 charge appears.

Watch your bank, GCash, or Maya statement

Monitor the payment source for at least 60 days. Look for a repeated Medium charge, an Apple subscription line, or a Google Play line that matches the old membership amount. In the Philippines, if an unauthorized or continued charge appears, you can request a chargeback through your bank, card issuer, GCash, or Maya, and BSP-related dispute practice often gives around 60 days from the statement date.

For unresolved subscription issues, DTI handles consumer complaints under RA 7394. Save all screenshots, cancellation confirmations, and receipts because those are the exact records you will need if the dispute escalates.

Alternatives if you still want content after leaving

If you are cancelling because of cost or support frustration, you still have local and low-cost options. Bulatlat offers independent online news with Filipino and English content and is free. Kumu is free with in-app purchases and focuses more on live social entertainment than article reading.

PackWorks is a different kind of platform, built for sari-sari store owners and micro-retail use rather than publishing, but it is another example of a free Philippine-made digital service. If your goal is simply to cut recurring charges, swapping a paid reading subscription for a free local platform can be a practical reset.

Useful links

• Medium membership page
• Medium help: manage your membership
• Medium membership terms of service
• Department of Trade and Industry

Medium cancellation address and when to use it

Physical address for written correspondence

If you need to send formal written correspondence about cancellation, billing, or a dispute file, use this address:

• A Medium Corporation, 3500 South DuPont Highway, Suite IQ-101, Dover, DE 19901, United States

This address is more useful for documented follow-up than for routine cancellations. Most users should still cancel through account settings, Apple, or Google Play first because those routes are faster and match Medium’s official support flow.

Best use of the address in a real dispute

Use the postal address when online support is not responding, when you cannot access the account used for billing, or when you are preparing evidence for DTI, your bank, or an e-wallet dispute. A posted notice can show that you attempted to resolve the issue through a formal channel before escalating.

Just a reminder: mail is slower than digital cancellation and should not replace same-day action before renewal. If your next billing date is close, cancel through the original billing channel immediately, then use written correspondence only as backup proof.