How to Cancel Hooked on Phonics: App, Practice Packs and Refunds

Hooked on Phonics sells two things that can be billed separately: the app, with phonics lessons and games, and Practice Packs, physical books and workbooks shipped to your home. That split is the main reason families keep getting charged after they think they have cancelled.

First, where did you subscribe?

Cancel in the same place you signed up:

• Hooked on Phonics website, including sign-ups through Facebook or Instagram ads: cancel in your Dashboard.
• Apple App Store: cancel in your Apple subscription settings.
• Google Play: cancel in Google Play subscriptions.
• Amazon: cancel through your Amazon account.

Deleting the app does not cancel your subscription.

How do you cancel on the website?

The help center lists these steps:

1. 1Go to your Dashboard on the Hooked and Company site.
2. 2Log in with your subscription email and website password. If you never set a password, use First Time Login or Forgot password? to get a setup email.
3. 3Select Manage on the subscription, then Cancel.
4. 4Answer any confirmation questions.
5. 5Go back to the Subscriptions page and check that nothing else is still active.

Practice Packs waiting in your cart are removed within 24 hours, and nothing ships once the subscription is inactive. Look for a confirmation email; if none arrives, check the Dashboard status and cancel again if needed.

How do you cancel through Apple, Google or Amazon?

Hooked on Phonics cannot cancel or refund app store purchases. On an iPhone or iPad, open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, choose Hooked on Phonics and tap Cancel Subscription. On Android, cancel in the Google Play Store under Payments and subscriptions. For Amazon, use Amazon's subscription settings. Contact the store for any refund.

Why are you still being charged?

The help center lists four common reasons:

• Partial cancellation: you cancelled Practice Packs but not the app, or the other way round.
• Late cancellation: you cancelled after the renewal had already been processed.
• The request did not register: no confirmation email or Dashboard update.
• App store billing: the subscription is with Apple or Google, not Hooked on Phonics.

Also check for a second account under another email address.

Can you get a refund?

According to the help center:

• Trials: you can request a refund of the enrollment price when you cancel within the 30-day trial.
• Practice Packs: unopened packages can be returned within 30 days of receipt.
• Renewals: no refund if your next Practice Pack is already in transit.
• Older charges: refunds are generally not offered for charges more than 90 days old.

Approved refunds usually appear within 3 to 5 business days.

Is there an option short of cancelling?

Hooked on Phonics offers ways to spend less without stopping completely:

• App only: stop the Practice Packs and keep the app.
• Packs only: stop the app and keep the books.
• Ship less often: every 2 to 8 weeks instead, and you are only charged for packs when they ship.

If your child still enjoys the books but not the app, or the reverse, one of these may be enough.

What mistakes should you avoid?

• Deleting the app and assuming the subscription has ended.
• Cancelling only one part, such as the Practice Packs, while the app keeps billing.
• Cancelling on renewal day, after the charge has already gone through.
• Throwing away the packaging of a pack you might return; only unopened packs qualify.
• Forgetting a second account set up under another email address.
• Waiting too long to ask for a refund, since charges older than 90 days are generally not refunded.

A quick check of your Dashboard and your card statement a week after cancelling will catch most of these.

What should your child do next?

If your child has finished the program and reads confidently, a library card and a daily reading routine may be all they need. If they are still sounding out simple words slowly, guessing from pictures or avoiding reading, they likely need direct teaching, where an adult listens to them read and corrects errors as they happen. Our free reading test can help you decide.

What to do next

1. 1Cancel the app and Practice Packs in the right place, and keep the confirmation.
2. 2Request any eligible refund promptly and return unopened packs within 30 days.
3. 3If your child needs teaching, see phonics tutoring or online reading tutoring at TaleemSquare, from $85 a month for two 45-minute lessons a week.