the.com/free trials
the seven-day countdown designed so you forget to cancel on day seven.
means a limited-time offer to use a product for free before automatic billing kicks in, betting on your forgetfulness more than your loyalty.
from popularized by shareware in the 1980s-90s, then perfected by software and streaming companies once recurring billing made forgetting to cancel the actual business model.
conversion strategymost revenue comes from lapsed cancellations, not satisfied upgrades
card requirementasking for a card upfront cuts cancellation rates sharply
dark pattern lawsuitsamazon prime sued in 2023 over hard-to-cancel trials
for instance
amazon prime — ftc sued 2023 over four-step cancellation maze
adobe creative cloud — early cancellation fee buried in trial terms, fined 2024
gym memberships — classic pre-internet version, same forgetfulness math
netflix free month — discontinued 2023 after years of auto-renew complaints