Cancellation guide · No. 5Personal Care & Boxes

How to Cancel BarkBox in 2026

Last verified 9 days ago · Re-audited every 90 days

Verified

Month-to-month plans can self-cancel online by disabling auto-renew, but the action is labeled "Disable Subscription Autorenewal" (not "Cancel"), is buried in a Subscription Settings panel, and must be done before the 3rd of your renewal month or you are billed for another period. Multi-month (3/6/12-month) commitment plans cannot be stopped mid-term at all — you keep paying through the full commitment — and ending one early requires emailing/chatting the "Happy team" rather than a button.

Cancellation summaryMedium

Direct cancellation page

Go straight to BarkBox's cancel page ↗

Cancel now ↗

Methods accepted: OnlineEmailLive chat
Average time: ~10min
Effective in: Immediately

Why this is harder than it should be

BarkBox doesn't really let you "cancel" — it lets you *disable auto-renewal*, and that wording difference is the whole problem. There's no obvious Cancel button on your dashboard; the control hides inside a "Subscription Settings" panel and is phrased as "Disable Subscription Autorenewal," so many people click around and assume it didn't work. Worse, BarkBox sells long commitment plans (3, 6, and 12 months) that you genuinely cannot stop in the middle: BARK's own Terms say if you cancel before the term ends, you're still charged for the rest of it and keep receiving boxes. There's also a hard timing trap — you must disable renewal before the 3rd of your renewal month or you're auto-rolled into another full period, with no refunds on boxes already billed. BARK was sued in California (Farmer v. BarkBox) precisely because a court found its auto-renewal disclosure too small and faint to be "clear and conspicuous." If you're on month-to-month it's a 10-minute job; if you're mid-commitment, you're mostly stuck.

Step-by-step

Verified June 25, 2026

01
Cancel from a desktop or mobile WEB browser, NOT the BARK app or Google Play/App Store. Go to barkbox.com and log in to your account.
Watch outIf you originally signed up via a third-party app store, the website may not control billing — check whether you are billed by Apple/Google and cancel there too.
02
Open your account page (Account / Profile) and scroll down to the 'Subscription Settings' section.
Watch outThere is no big red 'Cancel' button on the dashboard; the control is tucked inside Subscription Settings and easy to miss.
03
Click into your active plan to edit it, then choose 'Disable Subscription Autorenewal'.
Watch outThe cancel action is worded as 'disable autorenewal,' not 'cancel,' so it does not feel like a cancellation. You may be shown a retention offer or discount to stay before it lets you proceed.
04
Confirm and watch for an on-screen confirmation, then check for a cancellation/auto-renew-off email.
Watch outBARK does not refund boxes already paid for or in process; disabling auto-renew only stops the NEXT renewal, not the current term.
05
Do this BEFORE the 3rd of your renewal month (the company's stated cutoff; the Terms phrase it as 'the first day of the month following the end of your current period'). After the cutoff your subscription auto-renews for another full term.
Watch outMiss the deadline by a day and you are locked into another period; requests received after the cutoff apply to the period after next.
06
If you are on a 3-, 6-, or 12-month commitment plan and want out early, you cannot do it with the button — email happy@barkbox.com (or support@bark.co) or use 'Chat Now' at the bottom of the site to ask the Happy team.
Watch outPer BARK's Terms, on a multi-month plan you are charged for the REMAINDER of the commitment even if you cancel early — you keep receiving (and paying for) every box in the contract.

Refund policy

No refunds for boxes already paid for, in process, or shipped. Disabling auto-renewal stops future renewals only, not the current/committed term. On multi-month (3/6/12-month) plans, cancelling early still incurs charges for the remainder of the commitment.

What to do if they refuse to cancel

**If BarkBox won't cancel you or keeps billing:** 1. **Put it in writing.** Email happy@barkbox.com (and/or support@bark.co) with your account email, order numbers, and an explicit "I am cancelling and revoking authorization for future charges." Keep the timestamp — a written request beats a chat transcript if you dispute later. 2. **Use the deadline math against them.** If they claim you missed the cutoff, point out their Terms commit to the "first day of the month following the end of your period" / "before the 3rd" rule and ask them to honor it. 3. **Dispute the charge.** If you cancelled and were still billed, request a chargeback from your bank/card issuer. Provide your cancellation email as evidence. This is strongest where you can show you disabled auto-renew before the cutoff. 4. **Report it.** File with the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov (auto-renewal / negative-option complaints are a current FTC priority). 5. **State AG leverage.** California, New York, and Vermont have strong automatic-renewal laws — BARK was already sued under California's ARL (Farmer v. BarkBox). If you're in CA/NY/VT, file with your State Attorney General and cite the auto-renewal disclosure rules; in California specifically the ARL requires a simple online cancel mechanism. 6. **Multi-month lock-in:** if you're trapped in a 6/12-month commitment you never knowingly agreed to, raise the ARL "clear and conspicuous consent" argument in writing — that's exactly the defect the court found.

Reader questions

Frequently asked questions

Can I cancel a BarkBox 6-month or 12-month plan early and get my money back?

Generally no. BARK's Terms of Service state that if you cancel a multi-month commitment (3, 6, or 12 months) before it ends, you are still charged for the remainder of the term and will keep receiving those boxes. There are no refunds for boxes already paid for. You can email the Happy team (happy@barkbox.com / support@bark.co) to ask, but the contract default is that you pay out the full commitment.

I cancelled but BarkBox still charged me — what happened?

Most likely you missed the cutoff. BarkBox auto-renews unless you disable auto-renewal before the 3rd of your renewal month (the Terms phrase it as before 'the first day of the month following the end of your current period'). Any request after that applies to the NEXT period, so you get charged for one more term. Also confirm you actually clicked 'Disable Subscription Autorenewal' and got a confirmation — clicking around Subscription Settings without confirming doesn't stop billing.

Does BarkBox have a cancellation phone number?

We could not confirm an official voice cancellation line. BARK's own contact page points to email (happy@barkbox.com / support@bark.co), live chat ('Chat Now'), and a text/SMS number, not a phone-cancel hotline. Numbers like 833-227-5686 circulate on third-party complaint sites but are not published as BARK's official cancellation line, so treat them with caution. The reliable route is online (disable auto-renew) or email/chat.

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Educational only · Not legal advice · Verified June 25, 2026 · Report an error