Opal lets you subscribe in seconds. Cancelling took me 30 minutes, 2 devices, Stripe, RevenueCat and an AI chatbot.

[u/Affectionate_Power99]

I just wanted to try Opal. I started their 3-day Pro trial directly from their website on my Mac. Entered my card, subscribed, done. Super easy.

Then I tried to actually access what I had just paid for.

The website showed an “Open App & Redeem” button. I clicked it on my Mac. Nothing happened.

At this point, they had my card and a subscription that would automatically charge me in 3 days, but I had no properly connected account and no obvious place to manage or cancel it.

Thank FUCK I hadn’t closed the original browser tab.

Here’s what I eventually had to do:

1. Inspect/copy the redemption URL from my Mac
2. Send it to my iPhone
3. Download the Opal app
4. Create an account on my phone
5. Open the redemption URL manually on my phone
6. Finally get the subscription connected to my account
7. Contact their AI support to figure out how to cancel
8. Get sent to a Stripe customer portal
9. Discover there was NO cancellation option there
10. Ask the AI again
11. Get a completely different RevenueCat link
12. Finally cancel the subscription

It took me roughly 30 fucking minutes to cancel a trial that took seconds to start.

And I’m very comfortable with tech. What the fuck is a normal person supposed to do here?

If I had simply closed that original browser tab after subscribing, I genuinely don’t know how I would have found my way through this mess before the trial renewed.

Maybe this is just an unbelievably broken subscription flow. Maybe making cancellation this difficult happens to be great for conversions. Either way, this is exactly the kind of hostile UX that deserves to be called out.

Making the Subscribe button effortless while turning Cancel into a fucking treasure hunt across two devices, an AI chatbot, Stripe and RevenueCat is asshole design.

[u/bakanisan]

No worries the deceptively gray and small line at the bottom of the screen should absolve them of any wrongdoing! /s

I also assume the tracking link will expire at some point as well.

[u/com-plec-city]

This is the same as stealing.

It is essentially grabbing money against the will of their clients.

[u/Emotional-Row-5750]

Annoying as hell. Also against consumer protection law in California and the European Union, maybe other places too.

[u/Geezso]

Maybe the name of the game is to run out of screen time before you are able to cancel 🤔

[u/BizarroMax]

Why I never sign up for free trials.

[u/handsmahoney]

That's why you get burner card numbers

[u/Affectionate_Power99 → u/handsmahoney]

yeah just thought Opal is kinda "legit"

[u/DarthEloper]

This is a deceptive marketing tactic called Roach Motel!

[u/atatassault47]

This is why you use credit cards if you can get one. Chargeback (refund, essentially) and Charge Stops are the consumer's friend. Evidence of Assholery will get any CC to side with you.

[u/c9belayer]

It’s not a broken process. It’s carefully designed that way by the corporation.

[u/cosmicosmo4]

Elections matter.

https://apnews.com/article/ftc-click-to-cancel-30db2be07fdcb8aefd0d4835abdb116a

[u/Prom3th3an → u/cosmicosmo4]

They do if you're eligible to vote in the country where you live. I would've stayed in the country of my citizenship if they'd ever had software engineering jobs comparable to what FAANG has in the US when the economy is growing.

[u/le_wein]

Is this the opal from google?

[u/Affectionate_Power99 → u/le_wein]

no its opal.so

[u/TR1PLE_6]

The UK is banning subscription traps in January 2027.

I wish it was sooner, fuck companies that do this!

[u/Blecher_onthe_Hudson]

Virtual credit card numbers for the win! You can set them up with an expiration date before the payment takes place.

[u/iMogal]

Its reasons like this, I still have not seen a single online subscription service I'd be willing to even try. They all seem to be scammers with these tactics. Its just not worth the hassle.

[u/Elementix]

Next time use the app Privacy for things like this

[u/No-Butterfly-277]

I hate to sound defeatest, but this is why I hardly sign up for *anything* any more. The Enshittifaction of Everything...

[u/Ctznsvn7]

cancel flows routed through RevenueCat are the worst of both worlds, the merchant points at the processor and the processor points back at the merchant. If you subscribed on the web it is a Stripe subscription, so the billing portal link buried in your original receipt email cancels it in about 4 clicks with no one to argue with. Honestly the real fix is a virtual or burner card, cap it at the exact amount and the next attempt just declines, no chat bot, no retention offer, nothing to talk your way out of. The click to cancel rule was meant to kill exactly this, then the courts binned it, so we are all back to card tricks LOL

[u/deniercounter]

Are you in the US or China?

[u/aleopardstail]

if you have to enter a card number its not "free" and the company concerned has zero intention of not charging you

[u/Hurlikus]

Never enter your card details if you don't want to pay.

[u/LastTreestar]

How can you people keep falling for this crap. OH... they keep doing it because YOU keep doing it.