In summary:
- PCWorld explains how to manage Netflix fatigue by either pausing your subscription for up to three months or cancelling while retaining profile data for 24 months.
- Taking breaks from Netflix is increasingly common due to content fatigue and price increases, with rotating between different streaming services as a viable strategy.
- Both options are accessible through your account settings on Netflix’s website, though pausing isn’t available for Basic plans. Detailed instructions are provided below.
Maybe you’re sick of the price hikes. Maybe you’re not keen on the password-sharing crackdown. Or maybe there’s just nothing you want to watch anymore. Whatever the reason, you might be wondering: Is it time for a Netflix break?
The idea of putting Netflix on pause is more fraught than it is for other streaming services. For many of us, Netflix has been in our lives for decades–heck, I was a Netflix subscriber for nearly 20 years straight–while the other big streamers are barely a few years old.
Because it’s been around for so long, Netflix can start to feel like a utility–you know, something you pay for automatically, like water and electricity. (Or taxes.)
On the other hand, my attitude toward the newer streamers (like, say, HBO Max or Peacock) is easy come, easy go. When there’s something specific my family wants to watch, we sign up. Once we’re finished, we cancel. Caught up with the latest season of Hacks or The Traitors? Byeeeee!
What makes Netflix so special, then? Good question–and indeed, after months of flicking through row after row of Netflix videos that I didn’t want to stream, I realized I had a serious case of Netflix fatigue.
Finally, I had enough–I canceled Netflix, and I’m glad I did. We’ll get back to Netflix eventually, but it’ll have to wait its turn while we rotate through the other big streamers, one at a time.
So, repeat after me: You can take a break from Netflix. It’s okay. And just because you leave doesn’t mean you can’t go back.
How to take a break from your Netflix subscription
There are actually a couple of ways to take a Netflix break: either by pausing your membership (a relatively new option) or by cancelling your subscription outright.
What’s the difference between just pausing and cancelling? If you pause your Netflix membership, it will only stay paused for a month, and your subscription will start up again once your month is up. You can briefly “extend” the pause if you wish, but not indefinitely.
Click Manage membership to start the process of pausing or cancelling your Netflix subscription.
Ben Patterson/Foundry
If you cancel your Netflix membership, it will (of course) stay canceled. But here’s the thing: Netflix will keep your membership details, including your profiles, watch list, video ratings, and recommendations, for up to 24 months after you click the “cancel” button.
Provided you remember to restart your subscription before those 24 months are up, you’re essentially putting your membership on hold.
Put your Netflix membership on pause
Just want to pause your Netfllix subscription for a month or so? Here’s what you do.
- Open Netflix on the web, click your profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen, then click Account.
- Near the top of the Account screen, just below where it says how long you’ve been a member (guilt trip!), you’ll find the Manage membership button. Go ahead and click it.
- On the following page, click the Cancel Membership button; when you do, you’ll be presented with a few options, including Change plan, Pause for a month, and Cancel.
- Click the Pause for a month option, and you’re set–your Netflix subscription will pause for a month starting on your next billing date.
You can pause your Netflix subscription for up to three months at a time.
Ben Patterson/Foundry
A week before your “pause” is over, Netflix will give you the option to pause your membership for another month. Keep in mind that you can only pause your Netflix subscription for up to three months at a time.
Naturally, Netflix makes it easy to unpause your subscription whenever you want; just visit Netflix on the web on mobile, and you’ll see prominent “unpause your membership?” prompts. If you do choose to unpause your membership, you’ll be charged immediately for the next month, and your billing cycle will change accordingly.
Note: You can’t pause your membership if you’re on the Basic plan, nor can you pause if you pay via direct debit, a gift card, or other “partner” payments.
Cancel your Netflix membership
Want to take a longer break from Netflix, or cancel your subscription for good? Go to Netflix on the web, click Account in the top-right corner of the screen, then click Manage Membership, Cancel Membership, and finally Finish Cancellation.
Despite Netflix’s dire warnings about losing access to your personal recommendations, your account profiles and other details will remain safe and sound for at least 24 months (previously it was only 10 months); after that, your Netflix data is subject to being purged.
Updated to reflect recent changes in Netflix’s cancellation and membership-pause policies.
Author: Ben Patterson, Senior Writer, PCWorld
Ben has been writing about consumer technology for more than 20 years, and now focuses his reporting on AI as it relates to the basic human experience. His coverage of artificial intelligence interrogates the latest LLMs, and how they can be used at work and at home to be best prepared for the AI revolution. “AI is going to change our lives sooner than we think,” Ben writes. “Our best way to adapt is by using it every day.” Ben has been a PCWorld author since 2014, and has covered everything from laptops to security cameras before launching PCWorld’s AI beat. Ben's articles have also appeared in PC Magazine, TIME, Wired, CNET, Men's Fitness, Mobile Magazine, and more. Ben holds a master's degree in English literature.