What is Roach Motel?
Signing up takes one click, but cancelling requires phone calls, buried settings, or multi-step flows. The imbalance is deliberate: easy entry, difficult exit.
Where it comes from
Coined by Harry Brignull (2010)
How it hooks you
Exploits inertia: easy signup captures impulse decisions, while a difficult exit relies on people postponing the hassle.
What the research shows
Cancellation traps are widespread enough that the US FTC drafted a 'click-to-cancel' rule requiring exits to be as easy as sign-ups.
How to resist it
Check how cancellation works before you sign up, and prefer app-store billing where cancelling is centralized.