How to cancel McAfee— and check you're not still being charged
McAfee is often pre-installed and auto-renews at a steep markup over the intro rate.
Steps to cancel McAfee
- 1Go to myaccount.mcafee.com and sign in with the email address used to buy the subscription (password, social login, or one-time passcode).
- 2Click Subscriptions. If you have more than one, use the drop-down at the top left of the My Account home page to switch between them.
- 3Click Cancel next to the subscription you want to stop.
- 4Scroll down and click Cancel Auto-Renewal.
- 5Watch for the confirmation email McAfee sends once auto-renewal is off.
- 6Open Payment History to see whether a renewal charge has already posted — turning off auto-renewal does not refund it.
- 7To claim that charge back, use Contact Support on McAfee's Refund Policy article; refund requests are handled only by phone or chat, with no self-service form.
Not sure you even want to cancel? Read whether McAfee is worth it →
McAfee bills most annual subscriptions about 30 days before the expiration date, so the charge on your statement is usually for a term that has not started yet — and the price is the full renewal rate, not the introductory rate you originally paid. Turning off auto-renewal after that charge posts does not claw it back; you have 60 days from the charge to get it refunded by phone or chat. Switching auto-renewal off also ends your Virus Protection Pledge immediately, because McAfee only honors that remove-the-virus-or-refund guarantee while auto-renewal is on.
Will McAfee still charge you after you cancel?
Your subscription stays active until the end of the current period and you will not be charged again unless auto-renewal is switched back on. The software keeps working until the term runs out. Note that auto-renewal settings cannot be changed at all once a subscription has expired.
Refunds: Bought direct from McAfee: annual subscribers get a full refund if they ask within 30 days of purchase, and a full refund of the most recent auto-renewal charge if they ask within 60 days of being charged. McAfee does not prorate, and the 30-day money-back guarantee does not apply to monthly subscribers. All requests go through Customer Service by phone or chat. After a refund you must uninstall the software and delete all program files. This policy excludes the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, British Columbia and Quebec.
McAfee runs $9.99–$19.99/mo — 20% less than the average security subscription we track (~$19/mo across the security services we track). Before you cancel, check whether you're also still paying for Norton 360, LifeLock, Ring Protect — a common overlap in the same category.
The only way to be sure a cancellation stuck is to look at your statement. Finletix reads a CSV, PDF, or screenshot and flags every recurring charge — including McAfee, duplicates, and silent price hikes — without ever touching your bank login.
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These steps were checked against McAfee's own help and policy pages. Cancellation flows change — if a label below no longer matches what you see, trust the live page.
Prices are general guidance for US customers as of 2026 and may change. Finletix is not affiliated with McAfee.