How to Delete a Care.com Account

Learn how to cancel your Care membership, how to permanently delete your account, and essential things to know before you cancel

Care.com Making Money Home & Family

By Corbin HartwickUpdated on July 25, 2024

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We understand that Care may not meet everyone’s needs. If you’re one of those people whose needs weren’t met, you’re going to want to know how to end auto-renewal of your premium membership subscription, and possibly also how to permanently close your account. This guide will show you how to do both of these things.

Important

If you have one of Care’s apps on your phone, uninstalling them will not cancel your premium subscription (if you have one) or delete your account. You need to take extra steps first to ensure you won’t continue to be billed, and your account won’t remain active.

How to check if you have an active Care.com membership or subscription

Before you go ahead with deleting your Care account, you should first check to ensure that you don’t have an active premium membership subscription to Care.com. You don’t want to find out you’re paying for a recurring subscription and then realize you no longer have an account with which to easily cancel it! Here’s how you can tell.

Go to www.care.com and log into your account.
Click the main menu (the three bars) in the top-left corner of your dashboard. Then click Account Settings. (You may be asked to log in again; if so, do so.)
Scroll down to the section marked “Membership Information”. Here, beside “Membership Plan”, you should see a link that says either Upgrade Now or Downgrade. If it says Upgrade Now, then you don’t currently have a premium membership subscription. If it says Downgrade, then you do have an active subscription.

Important things to know before you deactivate a Care.com account

Both careseekers and caregivers should be aware of a few things before they start the process of canceling their premium membership subscription and/or closing their account.

You can’t delete your Care.com account using an app

If you’re using the Care mobile app, there are some circumstances in which you can cancel your premium subscription (if you have one) through the app. However, you cannot pause or close your account through the app. You need to do this through the Care website.

Subscriptions purchased through an iOS app have a different cancellation method

Before you close your Care account, you should cancel your premium membership first (if you have one). However, if you purchased your subscription through one of Care’s iOS apps, there’s a slightly different process for canceling it than what’s listed in the proceeding sections.

To cancel a Care premium membership that was purchased through one of Care’s iOS apps:

Open the App Store app on your iOS device.
Open the main menu by tapping your profile icon in the upper-right corner, then tap Subscriptions.
Tap Care.
Tap Cancel Subscription and follow the prompts to finalize the cancellation.

How to cancel a Care.com membership for families

If you have a careseeker account on Care, you can cancel your recurring subscription for a premium membership through your account settings. Here’s how to do so.

Go to www.care.com and log into your account.
Click the main menu (the three bars) in the top-left corner of your dashboard. Then click Account Settings. (You may be asked to log in again; if so, do so.)
Scroll down to the section marked “Membership Information”. Here, beside “Membership Plan”, you should see a link that says Downgrade if you currently have an active subscription. Click it.
Click Continue to Cancel to confirm you want to end auto-renewal of your current subscription.
You will be given a short survey to ask about why you wanted to cancel your subscription. Follow the prompts to fill it out, and then click Confirm Cancellation at the end.

Did You Know

Even if you’ve canceled an active subscription, your premium membership will remain in place until the end of your current billing cycle. The “Membership Information” section of your account settings will show you when this date is. You can continue using the premium features of your account until that date.

How to cancel a Care.com membership for caregivers

The method for canceling your premium Care membership as a caregiver can differ depending on where you use Care. In some places, such as the US, you can cancel your membership directly from your account. In some other places, you will have to contact the billing department of Care.com’s customer service team.

Go to www.care.com and log into your account.
Click the main menu (the three bars or your profile picture) in the top-left corner of your dashboard. Then click Account (&) Settings. (You may be asked to log in again; if so, do so.)
Scroll down to the section marked “Membership Information” and click Manage or Cancel Plan.
(Image source: Care.com US Help Center)
Click Downgrade to Basic.
Confirm you wish to downgrade.

How to delete Care.com account once unsubscribed

Canceling auto-renewal of your Care premium membership subscription doesn’t delete your account (and vice versa!). Starting with what would have been your next billing date, you will continue to have a Care account, but with a basic membership. If you want to get rid of your Care account for good – including erasing all of your profile information – here’s what you need to do.

Go to www.care.com and log into your account.
Click the main menu (the three bars) in the top-left corner of your dashboard. Then click Account Settings. (You may be asked to log in again; if so, do so.)
Scroll down to the section marked “Membership Information”. Here, beside “Membership Plan”, you should see a link that says Close Account. Click it.
On the next page, you will be given alternative options to closing your account, such as closing your jobs or unsubscribing from Care.com emails. If you still want to get rid of your account, click the drop-down menu labeled “Close Reason” and select a reason why you want to delete your Care account. (If you select “Other”, an additional box will appear where you will have to type out the specific reason.)
If you want, you can also click in the box marked “Additional Comments” and type out some extra notes regarding why you’re deciding to close your Care account. When you’re finished, click Submit.

How to deactivate Care.com FAQs: what happens to your profile & more

Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions about canceling a Care membership or closing an account, in case you were wondering the same thing.

Will my profile information be deleted from the Care.com website?

That depends on whether you pause your account or permanently close it. If you pause your account, your profile information will be hidden after your annual background check expires, but it will remain on file with Care in case you want to reactivate your account. If you choose to close your account, all information related to your account will be deleted.

Can I reactivate my Care.com account later if I want to become a caregiver again?

Again, this depends on whether you pause or close your account. If you pause your account, you can reactivate it at a later date and continue on with the same information. If you close your account, your information will be deleted, and you will have to create a new account if you wish to use Care as a caregiver again.

If I delete my account, will my membership automatically cancel?

Not necessarily. It is always best to ensure you have canceled any recurring subscriptions before you close your account. Never assume closing your account will automatically stop subscriptions from auto-renewing.

Can I get a refund when canceling my subscription?

No. As per Care.com’s terms of use, premium membership subscriptions are not refundable. However, after you cancel a premium membership, you can still enjoy its benefits until the start of what would have been your next billing cycle.

What happens to my reviews on Care.com once I cancel?

If you close your Care careseeker account, any reviews you have written about caregivers on the site will remain visible. If you wish to edit or remove a review you’ve written before you close your account, contact Care’s customer service team.

Top 3 alternatives to Care.com for caregiving & careseeking

While Care is the most well-known multi-service online caregiving marketplaces, it does have a few rivals. There are also some other online care marketplaces that are popular because they cater to specific types of care, such as pet sitting. Here are a few examples.

Sittercity – Screens both careseekers and caregivers against sex offender lists; offers plentiful customer service options; and supports many of the same care categories that Care does.
TrustedHousesitters – Specializing in pet care, TrustedHousesitters’ membership plans cover the cost of careseekers and caregivers arranging as many pet sittings per year as they want.
UrbanSitter – UrbanSitter focuses on safety by requiring users to have complete profiles and active website presences, as well as automatically investigating substandard reviews.

For more details about these and other sites like Care, head over to our guide on the best alternatives to Care.com, or check out our head-to-head comparison of the top 2 caregiving websites: Sittercity vs. Care.com.

That wraps up our overview of what you need to know if you want to cancel your Care premium membership and/or close your Care account. We’re sorry to hear that you didn’t get the kind of care you wanted from Care.com, but hopefully you’ll find another service that will better fit your needs. If you’ve still got other questions, check out our full list of guides on how to use Care.com to learn more about it.