Subscription management is a critical aspect of maintaining a healthy membership business.
By offering options like pausing and easy reactivation, you can reduce permanent cancellations and keep members connected to your platform during temporary breaks.
ℹ️ INFO: This guide covers how to implement these features, manage member transitions, and leverage these tools to improve retention and member satisfaction.
Pause Subscriptions
Pausing offers an alternative to cancellation, allowing members to temporarily suspend their membership without losing their account.
Enable Pausing for Your Plans
To make pausing available to your subscribers:
Navigate to Subscriptions
Create a Plan or Edit an existing plan
Scroll down and toggle the Allow Pausing option
Member Pause Process
Members can pause their subscription through their account dashboard.
🔗 Learn more about the User Dashboard: Purchases
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)Click Manage
Select End Membership, then click Pause
Pick the pause duration (1, 2, or 3 months)
Click Pause
During the Pause Period
While a subscription is paused:
The member won't be billed
Login is allowed, but access to subscription content is restricted
The subscription automatically reactivates after the pause period
Members receive an email notification 7 days before the pause ends
📝 NOTE: Pausing takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle, not immediately. There's no limit on how often a member can pause. Once a pause ends and the subscription resumes, the member can request another one.
Resuming a Paused Membership
Option 1: Upon login
When members log in, they'll see a Resume Membership button prominently displayed in the header, allowing for quick reactivation without navigating through account settings.
Option 2: From their Account Dashboard
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)Click Resume
💡 TIP: When a paused subscription is resumed, the member will be billed immediately for a new subscription period, access to content is restored right away, and the subscription returns to its normal billing cycle.
Cancellation During a Pause
Members can cancel their subscription while it's paused.
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)For a paused subscription, click Manage
Select End Membership
📝 NOTE: When a paused subscription is canceled, the pause state is reset, and access is revoked immediately.
Reactivate Subscriptions
If a member cancels by accident or wants to come back, how you reactivate their subscription depends on its status. In most cases, members can reactivate on their own by logging in and choosing a plan.
The steps below also cover how you can help when they need it.
Pending Cancellation Reactivation
A subscription is in Pending Cancellation status when the member has requested cancellation and access will be revoked at the end of the billing cycle. Until then, they can reactivate from their account, which keeps their account and watch history intact.
Log in to the website
Navigate to Purchases (
.../account/purchases)Click Reactivate
To keep the same plan, select it and click Reactivate
To switch plans, choose a different plan and click Subscribe Now
💡 TIP: The subscription continues with the same billing cycle as before the cancellation request. If the member reactivates through a link that includes a coupon code, the discount is applied automatically at checkout.
🔗 Learn more about Coupons
On Hold Reactivation
When a renewal payment fails, the subscription goes On Hold. The member can't access subscription content until the payment is resolved, but their account information stays intact.
To restore access, ask the member to log in and update their payment method from the On Hold screen. Once the payment goes through, the subscription resumes.
ℹ️ INFO: If the payment isn't recovered within about 30 days, the subscription is revoked, and you can reactivate it as described in the next section.
🔗 Learn more about the On Hold Screen
Closed Subscription Reactivation
If a subscription has already ended, you can add the membership back for the member:
Navigate to People
Find the member and click Edit
Under their profile card, click Add Membership
Choose the appropriate subscription plan
Adjust the next invoice date if needed to align with their previous billing cycle
🔗 Learn more about Manually Granting Access
📝 NOTE: Grandfathered pricing can't be restored once a subscription has been revoked. A member keeps their original price only if they reactivate while the account is in Pending Cancellation or On Hold status.
🔗 Learn more about Subscription Statuses
Common Use Cases
Ideal Scenarios for Pausing
Members going on vacation or traveling
Seasonal users who need temporary breaks
Those experiencing temporary financial constraints
Members recovering from injury or illness who plan to return
Optimal Reinstatement Situations
When a member accidentally cancels their subscription
When a payment method fails, causing automatic cancellation
When a member wants to return after a break with their previous settings
When you need to correct an administrative error
FAQs
How can I reactivate my subscription on the Apple App Store?
How can I reactivate my subscription on the Apple App Store?
Open the Settings app on your Apple device.
Tap your name at the top and select Subscriptions.
Find the relevant app in the list and tap on it.
Tap Resubscribe or Renew and confirm your payment details.
Can I pause a subscription on behalf of a member?
Can I pause a subscription on behalf of a member?
Provided that the member has given permission, you may impersonate their account to pause on their behalf, as there's no direct admin option to pause subscriptions. 🔗 Learn more about User Impersonation
Which subscription types are eligible for pausing?
Which subscription types are eligible for pausing?
Pausing is available for Monthly, Quarterly, Semi-Annual, and Annual plans purchased on the web. Subscriptions purchased through an app store (such as iOS, Android, Roku, or Amazon) can't be paused through Uscreen. Android subscribers can manage their subscription, including pausing, in Google Play.
How often can a member pause their subscription?
How often can a member pause their subscription?
As often as they want. There's no limit on the number of pauses and no waiting period between them. A member can request a new pause as soon as their previous pause ends and the subscription resumes. Each pause still starts at the end of the current billing cycle, so the member pays for the cycle they're in before access stops. To stop members from pausing, turn off Allow Pausing on the plan.