Start From the Charge, Not the App
You get hardly any context attached to an unexpected renewal. Your bank statement may list an unfamiliar company, a store name instead of an app name, or a meaningless code. Work out which of three places actually took the money before changing any setting: Apple, Google, or the company’s own website. That one answer decides where you cancel, who can refund you, and how long you have to ask. Buy on an iPhone and it is an App Store charge, although the short drama app made the offer. Google Play owns the Android one, and the company owns a browser purchase, outside either store’s reach.
Deleting the App Does Not Cancel the Subscription
Being billed again after they believed they were done most dramas online commonly comes down to this. Apple’s support material says plainly that removing an app from your device leaves its subscription running. Google’s wording matches in substance: uninstalling an app will not cancel a subscription bought through Google Play. Structurally, the reason is this: the subscription is a record the store keeps against your account, not a file inside the app. Billing carries on whether or not the icon is still on your home screen. The assumption behind deleting a drama app and then being charged again was a fair one, so treat the decision to cancel a subscription as an errand of its own.
Cancelling on iPhone or iPad
Apple holds every subscription in one list, which makes it the fastest of the three routes. The path runs Settings > [your name] > Subscriptions. Every active plan is listed there, the weekly passes these apps prefer included, and each one can be cancelled on its own. A short-looking list usually means you are signed in with a different Apple Account from the one used at purchase. Cancelling ends the next renewal rather than access itself, and the pass runs to the end of the paid period. Apple asks for cancellations at least a day before renewal, so act as soon as you decide.
- Open up Settings and tap your name.
- Tap the Subscriptions entry.
- Pick the app, then Cancel Subscription.
- Check that the entry shows an expiry date.
How to Cancel on Android
On Android the same list lives in the Play Store, not system settings. Go to Google Play, tap your profile picture, then Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions. Each entry appears with a renewal date, and stopping one takes a tap plus a confirmation. Normally, access continues to the end of the period you already paid for. If more than one Google account shares the phone, check each, because a subscription follows the buying account. The point above is repeated by Google: uninstalling changes nothing, so this list is the one place the decision registers.
- Open Google Play, then tap on your profile picture.
- Choose Payments and subscriptions, then Subscriptions.
- Pick out the app, then Cancel subscription.
- Confirm the entry shows an end date.
Cancelling Within the App Itself
A number of apps offer their own cancellation control, and ShortMax documents its version clearly. Its terms state that the subscription renews automatically twenty-four hours before the period expires, at the same price, and can be cancelled in the app under “About Subscription”. The same terms point store buyers back to App Store or Google Play subscriptions, which is the part that matters. Only what the app controls is governed by an in-app switch, so if the money went through a store, the store list stays authoritative. The same is true of a reelshort subscription bought on an iPhone, with the app showing the plan and Apple holding the renewal. When unsure, do both, and then confirm the store entry shows an expiry date.
Requesting a Refund From Apple
Apple deals with refunds on one page, reportaproblem.apple.com, where you sign in and locate the charge in your purchase history. You select the item, take a reason from the menu, and give a brief description of what happened. Apple’s own guidance says a decision usually comes within twenty-four to forty-eight hours, by email rather than in the app. Keep your explanation factual: the date, the amount, whether you took it for a trial, and whether you watched anything at all. There is no penalty at all for asking politely about a charge you did not expect. Should it be declined, the reply usually explains the basis, which tells you whether a second attempt is worth making.
Asking Google for Your Money Back
Google Play keeps a tighter clock for self-service. Its support material says that within forty-eight hours of a purchase you may be able to ask for a refund through the store, and afterwards you are sent to the developer. That second stage is where people get stuck, since the developer is a firm they have never had dealings with. On the store listing you get the developer’s name and usually a support contact, so start there. Include the order number from your Google Play receipt with the date and amount, since no support team can trace a payment from a description. The decisions are two separate ones, so a refusal at the store does not settle the developer’s answer.
When You Bought It on a Website
Buying a pass or a coin pack on a company’s own site takes both stores out of the picture. The terms you accepted at checkout then become the entire rulebook. The terms of use at My Drama illustrate this well: coin purchases are final, coins are forfeited after twelve months of inactivity, and web purchases are non-refundable except where the law demands otherwise. The same terms grant users in the European Union and the United Kingdom a fourteen-day withdrawal right, the exception that the last clause leaves room for. If that right covers you, say so plainly and give the purchase date. If it does not, a polite message can still work, though it is a request rather than a claim.
When You Cannot Tell Which Drama App Charged You
Unidentifiable charges are common, because the billing name is often the legal entity and not the brand on the icon. Your store purchase history is the place to start, since it lists charges by app and by date and usually solves it. When the charge appears in neither store, it came from a website, so look through your inbox for a receipt from that date. A useful model is ShortMax customer service: the company lists a service email address in its terms, and its replies on Google Play ask customers to include their account UID or give the message a clear subject. That UID matters more than anything else you send, since it identifies your account inside a library of tens of thousands of titles. Take a screenshot of the charge, note the amount and currency, and send everything in one message.
Where You Bought It and Where to Fix It
The table boils the routes down, since the problem is one of getting a purchase to the right counter. Read the left column first, and leave the rest alone until you find your row. Deadlines are the part people miss, which is why they have a column of their own. Commonly, weekly passes sit at about $19.99 a week in the US App Store as of September 2026, and prices differ by country and change without notice. A weekly cycle gives far less warning than a monthly one, which is why moving quickly matters. Bear in mind too that a coin pack is not a subscription: nothing to cancel, only a single one-time charge.
| Where the purchase happened | Where to cancel | How to ask for a refund | The deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| An iPhone or iPad | Settings, your name, then Subscriptions | Apple’s report a problem page | Cancel a day ahead; reply in 24 to 48 hours |
| An Android phone | Google Play, then Payments and subscriptions | A Play refund request, then the developer | 48 hours self-service, then developer’s terms |
| Within the app | “About Subscription”, under ShortMax’s terms | Company service email, with your UID | Renewal falls 24 hours before expiry |
| Company website | The account page you signed up on | Written request sent to company support | My Drama: not refundable unless the law requires |
| Coin pack purchase | Nothing to cancel; the charge is one-time | Store rules govern the charge | My Drama: coins are final and forfeited after 12 idle months |
What to Expect in the Reply
Outcomes vary, so go in with properly calibrated expectations instead of a promise. ShortMax’s terms state that refunds are “not entertained unless the paid product/service is unusable for the reason of ShortMax”, and Hong Kong law governs that agreement. Other companies word it differently, but tight refund policies are widespread. Public sentiment reflects that friction, and ReelShort holds a 1.3 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from 250 reviews, with billing and cancellation among the recurring themes. Read that as a reason to keep careful documentation of your own request, not as a verdict on it. Keep the receipt and any reply together, check your statement after the next billing date, and if a charge still lands, the card issuer is your last stop.
