Using Small Print, screen by screen

Check you're protected

Open Small Print. The top card should say You're protected, with each check marked On.

• If it says Protection is off, tap Turn on all protection. Then just tap Allow on each screen; it brings you back each time.
• If a switch is greyed out, see step 3 of the install guide (Allow restricted settings).

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Small Print

✓ You're protected Small Print checks the pages, shops and messages you see, and warns you before you pay. Page checks On Bank & message checks On Cancel reminders On Online shop checks On

Every line should say On.

The red warning: a subscription trap

This fills the screen when a page offers something cheap (like a £1 IQ test) but hides a big repeating charge in the small print.

• Back to safety closes the page. This is almost always the right answer.
• Remind me to cancel is for when you really do want the trial: it reminds you before the big charge.
• Press and hold to continue anyway takes two seconds on purpose, so nobody carries on by accident.

Your phone's Home and Back buttons always work. Back counts as "Back to safety".

Orange means an ordinary trial that becomes a subscription. Worth knowing, not a scam.

The scam-shop warning

When a shop shows several warning signs together, Small Print lists exactly which ones it found: a brand-new website, a "closing down" sale, unbelievable discounts, a Gmail contact address, or a site on our warning list.

• Back to safety leaves the shop.
• Check reviews opens Trustpilot or ScamAdviser so you can see what other buyers say.
• On a fake bank, courier or government site, it shows Go to the real site instead.

Warned about a site you trust? Add it to your safe list

Small Print warns every time you visit a flagged page, until you tell it to stop. There are two ways:

1. From the warning: tap This site is safe – don't warn me again at the bottom.
2. From the app: scroll to Safe list, tap Add a safe website and type the main address, like sky.com. That covers every page on the site.

Changed your mind? Tap Remove next to the site.

Report a scam website

Found a dodgy site Small Print didn't catch? In the app tap Report a scam website (or use the report form on this website).

• Type the address, pick what happened, and add a note if you like.
• Only the address and your note are sent. Never card numbers or passwords.
• A person checks every report before any site goes on the warning list, which protects everyone else using Small Print.

"Was that a trial?" after you pay

With bank & message checks on, Small Print notices a small payment (up to £3) to a company you've never paid before, and asks.

• Remind me to cancel sets a reminder before the big charge.
• Not a trial and it won't ask about that company again.

Cancelling, and making sure it sticks

1. In the app, tap Write a cancellation email. Pick a ready-made letter: to the company, asking for a refund, or asking your bank to stop payments.
2. It opens your own email app with the letter filled in. Check it and press Send.
3. Small Print keeps asking Has the company confirmed? until you have it in writing. Until then, don't sign in or use their service.

More on refunds and chargebacks in the help centre.

Scam texts and messages

Fake parcel fees, "HMRC refunds", "your account is locked" and "Hi Mum, new number" messages get a warning straight away.

• Go to the real site opens the genuine company's website, so you can check safely.
• Report (7726) forwards the text to your network's free scam line.
• Don't tap the link in the message.

Family alert

Add someone you trust under Family alert → Add a family member. After a serious warning, Small Print offers a one-tap text or call to them.

Nothing is ever sent unless you tap it, and it asks at most once a day for the same site.

An app can now read your screen

Scam apps ask to read your screen or notifications so they can steal bank codes. Small Print tells you the moment any app gets that permission.

• Turned it on yourself, for an app you trust (like a password manager)? Tap I trust it.
• Didn't? Tap Review in Settings and switch it off.

See what it's saved you

The home screen keeps a running total. Money protected is a year of each repeating charge you avoided. Scams stopped counts every time you chose Back to safety.

These numbers stay on your phone. You can choose to share anonymous totals (rounded, no sites, no ID) to help show how much harm Small Print prevents.