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It protects you from "subscription traps": sites that charge a small amount today (often £1) and then a much bigger amount every week or month, with the details hidden in small grey text.

• Before you pay: it reads the page and shows a full-screen warning with the real cost.
• If you've already paid: it notices the payment in your bank alerts and offers a reminder to cancel.
• To get out: it writes the cancellation email for you and checks back until the company confirms.

Android phones running Android 8 or newer, which covers almost every Android phone from the last seven years. That includes Samsung, Google Pixel, Motorola, Xiaomi, OnePlus and others.

It works in Chrome, Samsung Internet, Firefox and Edge, and inside apps that open links in their own browser, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn.

iPhone: not possible, sorry. Apple doesn't allow apps to read what's on the screen in other apps, which is how Small Print spots the small print.

Great idea. The people these sites catch most are the least likely to spot the small print themselves.

1. Follow the install guide on their phone, together.
2. Open the test page so they've seen the warning once and know it's a friend.
3. Tell them one rule: if the red screen appears, tap Back to safety.

After that there's nothing for them to remember. The warning appears by itself.

No. Small Print is free, with no ads and no account to create.

Red is for the classic trap: a tiny first payment, a much bigger repeating charge, and often a "your test results are ready" hook.

Orange is for an ordinary free trial that turns into a paid subscription, like a music or streaming service. It's not a scam, but it's worth knowing before you enter your card.

So nobody taps past it by accident. These sites are designed to rush you. Holding for two seconds gives you a moment to decide. If you still want to go ahead, that's completely your choice. Small Print never blocks a purchase.

Tap Stop warning me about this site at the bottom of the warning. You won't be warned about that site again.

Changed your mind? Open Small Print and scroll to Sites you've silenced, then tap Warn again.

Tap Back to safety, or press your phone's Back or Home button. The warning never stops you using your phone. If you go back to the same page later, it will warn you again. That's deliberate.

Cancel straight away. Don't wait until the trial ends. Most sites let you keep what you've paid for until the trial runs out, so cancelling early costs you nothing and means you can't forget.

1. Look for a welcome or receipt email from the company and use its Cancel or Manage subscription link.
2. Or use Small Print's cancellation email (below).
3. Keep the confirmation email as proof.

1. Contact your bank and say: "Please stop all future payments to this company. I've cancelled and I withdraw my permission for them to take payments." For card payments like these, UK banks must do this when you ask. Small Print's Ask my bank to stop payments letter says it for you.
2. Ask about a chargeback for payments taken after you cancelled, or that you didn't knowingly agree to.
3. If your bank won't help, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service free of charge.
4. For advice, the Citizens Advice consumer helpline is 0808 223 1133.

This is general guidance, not legal advice.

It's the permission a company gets to take repeated payments from your debit or credit card. It isn't a Direct Debit, so it won't show in your Direct Debit list. But you can cancel it: tell your bank you're withdrawing it and they must stop the payments, even if the company won't.

Often, yes, especially if you act quickly.

• For most things you buy online, UK law gives you 14 days to cancel. The rules differ for digital content you've already started using.
• If the subscription wasn't made clear when you paid, that may be a misleading practice under UK consumer law. The Cancel and ask for a refund letter says this for you.
• If the company refuses, your bank's chargeback scheme can reverse card payments in many cases.

General guidance, not legal advice. Citizens Advice (0808 223 1133) can help with your situation.

Signing in, downloading your report or using the site after you've cancelled can count as using the service. Some sites treat that as restarting your subscription, and it can weaken a refund or chargeback claim. If you need something from them, email them instead. Small Print shows a small banner if you open a site you're cancelling.

Any bank or card app that shows payment notifications on your phone, including Monzo, Starling, Revolut, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Santander, Nationwide, Google Wallet and PayPal. Make sure payment notifications are switched on in your bank's app.

Tap Not a trial and it won't ask about that shop again. It also learns from your normal spending: payments over £3 teach it which shops you use.

Android hides what you type into password boxes from apps like Small Print. And Small Print has no internet access at all, so nothing it reads can ever leave your phone. It isn't sent to us or anyone else.

It reads the text of pages only to look for subscription wording. Page text is never saved: only the last page it checked is held in memory, for the Diagnostics panel, until the next one.

• The names of sites it warned you about, with the prices it saw.
• Your cancel reminders and follow-ups.
• Names of shops you've paid (for bank alert checks).
• Your name and email, if you type them into a cancellation letter.

All of it stays on your phone and is deleted if you uninstall the app. Full details are in our privacy policy.

That's Android's protection for apps from outside the Play Store. Unlock it once:

1. Go to Settings › Apps › Small Print.
2. Tap ⋮ in the top corner, then Allow restricted settings, and confirm.
3. Go back and switch Small Print on again.

There are pictures of each screen in step 3 of the install guide.

1. Open Small Print. Does it say You're protected? If not, follow the setup steps it shows.
2. Scroll down so the price and the small print are on screen. Some pages only load the terms after you tap a button.
3. Try the test page. If that warns you, Small Print is working, and that site just words things in a way it doesn't recognise yet.
4. In Small Print, More › Diagnostics shows what it last read and the risk score it gave.

Some phones, especially Samsung, occasionally switch off accessibility apps after a system update. Open Small Print. If it says Protection is off, tap Turn on again.

To help it stay on, go to Settings › Apps › Small Print › Battery and choose Unrestricted.

Go to Settings › Apps › Small Print › Uninstall. Everything it stored is deleted with it.