The FTC voted in July 2025 to restart the process behind its "click-to-cancel" rule — the requirement that canceling a subscription be as easy as signing up for one. The rule would mean no more sitting through retention phone trees to end a gym app or streaming add-on. Nothing is in force yet: the original 2024 rule was vacated by a federal appeals court in July 2025, and the agency must re-run part of its rulemaking first.
Blog Daily publishes information, not legal advice — the outcome of a federal rulemaking is exactly the kind of question nobody can settle in advance.
What happened, in order?
The FTC finalized the rule in October 2024 under the Restore Online Shoppers' Confidence Act, targeting what it calls "negative option" programs — subscriptions that renew until you stop them. Industry groups sued. In July 2025, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the rule, agreeing with challengers that the FTC had not followed the proper procedural steps when it published the rule without a commissioner dissent. Days later, the FTC commissioners voted 3-0 to begin the process again, this time following the procedural path the court described.
What would the rule actually require?
Per the FTC's 2024 final rule text, three things: cancellation through the same channel you used to sign up (cancel in the app if you subscribed in the app), a simple cancellation mechanism comparable to the signup flow, and consent before any additional offers or upsells are shown during cancellation. The oft-overlooked detail: the rule also covers annual subscriptions that auto-renew — not just monthly streaming plans — which is why printer-ink programs and car-maker subscription features fell squarely in its scope.
What changes for you right now?
Nothing yet — and that's the honest answer. Until a new rule is finalized and takes effect, cancellation practices stay governed by the FTC's older ROSCA enforcement, which already prohibits truly buried cancellation flows but doesn't mandate one-click exit. Practical step for today: check your app subscriptions where the money actually leaves — Apple's Settings → your name → Subscriptions and Google Play's Payments & subscriptions screen both let you cancel in two taps, regardless of what the seller would prefer.
What remains unknown
The timeline for a re-run rulemaking is not established — the FTC has not announced a completion date, and further litigation is possible once a new final rule exists. What the record does establish: a 3-0 vote to try again, as of July 2025.
For more context, read How to Set Up a Passkey and Finally Ditch That Password.