Security & identity · US
How hard is it to cancel Private Internet Access?
Private Internet Access scores 69/100 (grade C) for how clearly it documents cancellation in the US, a partially documented cancellation policy with notable gaps. Cancellation is available via online (self-serve), email.
Subscribers cancel online by logging into the Client Control Panel and turning off auto-renewal; access continues until the end of the paid billing period. Cancelling auto-renewal does NOT automatically issue a refund, a separate support ticket must be submitted. PIA offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on direct purchases (App Store in-app purchases are excluded and no prorated refunds are available). Refunds take 5-10 business days to process once approved by support.
How to cancel Private Internet Access
- Channels: online (self-serve), email
- Official cancellation page: https://helpdesk.privateinternetaccess.com/hc/en-us/articles/46565550505627-How-Do-I-Cancel-My-Subscription
- Pause/freeze: not offered. No subscription pause or freeze option is offered; the only option is to turn off auto-renewal and let the subscription lapse at period end.
- Refund policy: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/blog/private-internet-access-refund-policy-extended-to-30-days/
- Account/data deletion: Account deletion is available through account settings and permanently purges all account data with no reversal possible; PIA's privacy policy states no activity logs are kept. The iOS app warns explicitly that deletion is irreversible. https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/privacy-policy
Evidence
- How Do I Cancel My Subscription? – Private Internet Access Support (accessed 2026-06-05)
- Private Internet Access Refund Policy Extended to 30 Days – PIA Blog (accessed 2026-06-05)
- Last reviewed 2026-06-05 · scope: documented public policy.
Scope & fairness
This is the Documented-Policy tier: it measures how clearly the cancellation policy is published (cited, dated facts), not the behavioural experience of cancelling (Verified-Flow audit pending). Every company is scored on the same five dimensions with the same published weights, scores cannot be bought or removed. It is opinion grounded in disclosed facts, and not legal advice.
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Cite this. Cancel Atlas (2026). “Private Internet Access, Cancellation Friction Index (US).” CES-1.1. https://www.cancelatlas.com/c/private-internet-access (CC BY-SA 4.0).
See Private Internet Access in the full index -> · How we score · Open data