How to Manage Recurring Subscriptions: A Complete Step‑by‑Step Guide

Fact-check summary (validated claims and corrections)

• Subscription-economy growth: Supported. Zuora’s Subscription Economy Index documents ongoing growth in subscription business models and is an appropriate citation for the article’s point that the subscription economy continues to expand. (Zuora)
• Self Financial consumer survey (2025): Supported. The article’s numbers — an average of ~2.8 paid subscriptions and about $37/month — match the Self Financial survey cited. (Self Financial)
• Consumer frustration / “subscription fatigue”: Supported as a trend. Reporting and commentary (e.g., International Finance, TechRadar) describe consumer pushback over price hikes, opaque billing, and cancellation friction. (International Finance, TechRadar)
• FTC "click-to-cancel" rule: Supported. The FTC press release (Oct 16, 2024) states the Commission finalized a rule intended to make cancellation as easy as signup and to require clear disclosure of recurring billing terms. The article’s characterization of the rule’s purpose is accurate. (FTC press release)
• Attribution to Lina Khan: Partially supported. The FTC press release describes the rule’s goals; if you intend to quote FTC Chair Lina Khan verbatim, confirm the exact wording in the press release before using a direct quote. The article’s phrasing is consistent with the FTC’s stated intent but should be presented as a paraphrase unless the press release contains the exact sentence.
• FTC / consumer guidance on documenting cancellations and disputing charges: Supported. The Consumer.ftc.gov guidance recommends checking merchant cancellation pages, saving records, monitoring statements, and disputing charges if a company keeps billing you. (consumer.ftc.gov)
• CFPB stance: Supported. The CFPB director’s statement on the FTC rule signals the agency’s interest in stronger consumer controls and highlights issuer responsibilities. (CFPB statement)
• App-store behavior (Apple / Google): Supported. Apple’s support page shows how to view and cancel subscriptions and notes cancellations typically remain active until the end of the paid period. Google Play’s help page states that uninstalling an app does not cancel a subscription and points to the Play Store subscriptions page for cancellations. (Apple Support, Google Play Help)
• Subscription-management apps (Rocket Money etc.): Supported in general terms. Rocket Money’s product page describes account linking to detect recurring charges and premium/concierge features; third-party articles (TechRadar) discuss newer entrants with varying privacy models. Specific implementation details (exact token vendors, credential storage practices) should be confirmed on each provider’s privacy/security pages. (Rocket Money, TechRadar)
• Bank/card issuer tools: Partially supported. The article’s claim that some banks/card issuers now offer subscription summaries or card controls is consistent with CFPB commentary encouraging issuer tools, but the exact features and availability vary by issuer. The recommendation to contact your issuer to learn available controls is correct; avoid asserting uniform availability across all banks.
• Practical advice (audits, cancelling first with merchant, documenting confirmations, using issuer disputes as a last resort, using one card, calendar reminders, quarterly reviews): These are standard consumer-practice recommendations and are consistent with FTC and CFPB guidance when they discuss steps consumers should take.
• Numerical or percentage claims without source: The article states that annual plans “often offer 10–30% savings” versus monthly billing. That specific percentage range is not supported by the provided sources and should be presented as a general tendency (annual plans are often cheaper per month) or supported with a citation before keeping a numerical range.

Corrections / recommended edits to the article text

• Replace any verb quoted verbatim as from Lina Khan unless the exact quote appears in the FTC press release; otherwise attribute as a paraphrase of the FTC’s comments.
• Remove or reword the specific percentage range ("10–30% savings") for annual plans unless you add a supporting citation that documents that range; otherwise say "annual plans often cost less per month than monthly plans".
• Soften or qualify statements that imply uniform bank/card features (e.g., "Several banks and card issuers now offer subscription summaries or card controls"). Use wording such as "Some banks and card issuers offer subscription-summary features or card controls; availability varies by issuer — check with your bank." Back this with the CFPB citation.
• For product-security details (e.g., whether a service uses read-only tokens or stores credentials), advise readers to check each provider’s privacy/security documentation rather than stating implementation specifics without vendor confirmation.

If you want, I can produce a corrected version of the article text with these changes applied (e.g., remove unsupported percentage ranges, mark the Lina Khan text as paraphrase, add qualifiers for bank features, and add inline citations).