Ancestry is a commercial genealogy research tool containing historical records that collects your details and information.
When you sign up, some of the information may be personal, including credit card or PayPal information. You will be charged until you stop your subscription, and if you haven’t done that, it can become expensive. You could get charged for not following a few steps, so we have decided to help out and put all the instructions in a somewhat simple guide to help you know how to cancel Ancestry subscription.
If the subscription period is still active, follow the instructions below to cancel. If you’re still in your free trial period, you should be able to follow these instructions as well.
How to Cancel Ancestry Subscription
The process of canceling your subscription on Ancestry is quite straightforward – just follow these simple steps:
1. Accessing Your Account Settings
Accessing your account settings is the essential first step in an Ancestry subscription cancellation, so preparation is crucial. While it may not seem like the most straightforward method, the only way to cancel your Ancestry subscription is to do it online.
The desktop version of the website will be required to do this, as Ancestry cannot be canceled from a mobile device or tablet.
If getting to a computer is problematic, consider asking a friend for help or using a device at your local library. Regardless of your approach, ensure that you are able to sign in to your Ancestry account after doing so.
At the top right of the screen, click your profile icon and select “Your Account” from the dropdown. Once on the page, click “Cancel subscription,” then “Proceed to cancel.” Be sure to provide a reason for your cancellation term, after which you should select “Continue” once more.
To finish the process, select “No thanks. Continue to cancel,” then confirm your selection by choosing “Cancel subscription.”
2. Finding The Subscription Management Page
To cancel the account, you need to verify your identity. You will need a password and the last four digits of the credit card number that is used to make payment (or the Paypal account). If you are unable to get this information correctly, are unable to sign in, or have another problem, contact the Ancestry support department.
Log in to the Ancestry account that you want to cancel. Open the My Account page. This page is divided into account information and subscription information. It should open on the account information by default. Under the subscription information, you can see your subscription status, billing history and the end of the current subscription period. To cancel the account, click the cancel subscription button.
3. Selecting The Cancel Subscription Option
On Ancestry’s official website, click on the sign-in option and then the message, “Not you? Sign out” will appear. Click on that message, type your login again, and click on the green “Sign in” button to obtain access to your platform.
On your Ancestry’s page, let your mouse point to your username and click on the “Your account” option in the popped-up menu. Also, on Ancestry’s page, scroll down the page and click on the “Cancel Subscription” option that is located close to the bottom of the page.
A suggestion will appear, offering you access to another kind of offer in case you reconsider the cancellation. In this instance, continue the cancellation and click on the green button saying “Continue”.
Additional Information
In Step 3 above, there is a link on the page that says, “No thanks; continue to cancel.” By clicking on this link, your account will be downgraded to the free version without any trials or additional features. However, please note that any tree, Tree Talk comments, public or private trees, Member Connect or shared trees that you have will be subject to the site that your account is moved to, which in this case is Ancestry.com in the United States.
It is important to keep in mind that on the new site, your tree will be listed as living and you will not be able to save more than 30 days of updates for your own tree.
Finally, please enter a reason for canceling your Ancestry account and click on the button. Make sure to continue by clicking “Continue to cancel” on the next two pages, as Ancestry wants to confirm your decision to cancel your subscription. Once you have completed the cancellation process, you will receive an email informing you that your account has been downgraded.
Pricing Options For Ancestry Subscription
Ancestry has various subscription options to choose from in order to best suit your research needs. Please be aware that subscription options, prices and terms and conditions are subject to change, so it is important for you to visit the Ancestry site for the most updated subscription terms.
You will need to access Ancestry.com in order to access the subscription options detailed below:
- U.S. Discovery: the basic option at $24.99 per month.
- World Explorer: the mid-tier option and their most popular, at $39.99.
- U.S. and World Explorer: the combined option at $49.99 per month.
- All Access: access to all records and items they have available at $59.00 per month.
Contacting Ancestry Support Team
Users who would like to cancel their Ancestry account need to contact Ancestry support first by logging into the account. After confirming some basic personal details, the next page will be divided into billing issues, account setup, adding individuals to the family tree, and, of course, subscription information.
Once the user gets to subscription information, two options will appear:
“+” to call Ancestry support, and “Chat” for live web help. Note that during working hours, it is better to call Ancestry support, as chat or email contacts might not respond as quickly.
Calling Customer Service
When you’re on the Ancestry website, go to Not sign in, scroll to HELP and click on it. Now scroll to CONTACT US on the bottom of the web page in the green bar and click it. You will be taken to the “How to get help” screen. There’s a chat with an expert box on the bottom right, which you won’t be able to close and you must use to communicate with customer service most of the time.
Explain to the expert that you have logged on and need assistance in canceling your subscription. Provide the email address associated with the account, your real name, not a user name and that it’s a paid subscription, not a free account.
You have to be patient when calling Customer Service because they are also attending to a lot of customers so it might take them a bit of time to answer the phone.
Sending an email
Sending an email is one way to cancel an Ancestry.com subscription. Like calling, it is relatively quick and gets the job done, but there are issues with it, especially in terms of the speed in which the email is replied to.
The first thing you will need in order to cancel your Ancestry.com subscription via email is an email account. This may be any kind of email account, so use only the standard emails, like Yahoo or Gmail.
Next, compose an email to support@ancestry.com, employing the subject line of your decision. Include a clear, concise message detailing your need to cancel your Ancestry.com subscription in the message body and then send it.
Refund Policy
Before you cancel an Ancestry subscription, make sure you understand the services and features associated with it, as well as applicable refund policies.
If you have an annual Ancestry subscription, Ancestry will offer a refund if you cancel within 30 days of the activation of your subscription, but The downsides is that the company will not process refunds on the non-refundable portion of bundles.
If you only use the Ancestry Hints feature and have not saved any hints to your account, the paid subscription is refundable. If you have used this feature, the refundable period of content will be prorated against the total size of the content.
Eligibility For Refund
Members with a monthly subscription receive a ten-day grace period after a trial period. If you decide to cancel your subscription during that 10-day period, you won’t have to pay the entire subscription price.
If Ancestry bills you after canceling within the ten-day grace period and you cannot get a refund, reach out to customer service to discuss your unique circumstances with a representative.
Customers who cancel their subscription within the initial 30 days will be refunded if they have a six-month membership. If you qualify for a refund but do not receive it, be sure to reach out to customer service for assistance.
Conclusion
Canceling an Ancestry subscription is simple, whether you’re new to the genealogy site, an old hand, or no longer interested. You might have signed up for a free trial but got busy with life and lost inspiration before the trial period ended. If you bought the subscription to take part in a genealogy project but other things piqued your interest, you might end up paying for a service you’re not using, so it is best to cancel your subscription!