How to cancel TalkingParents and keep your records

If you are moving away from TalkingParents, get your records first. Its help centre says that once your paid-through date passes, you can no longer use your account's features. Everything below comes from TalkingParents' own help centre, linked at each step.

• If a court order or your solicitor named TalkingParents, speak to your solicitor before you stop using it.
• If cost is the reason, check its fee waivers first (Fee Waivers): a financial hardship waiver and a court-documented safety waiver, both with supporting documents.
• If you are in danger or worried about your safety, a helpline matters more than any app. In Ireland call Women's Aid on 1800 341 900; in the UK the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is on 0808 2000 247. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.

Its help centre (How do I obtain my Record?) explains how to obtain your records:

1. Sign in and open the Unalterable Records section of your account.
2. Choose PDF Records. They are free on Enhanced and Ultimate; on Essentials, PDF records cost US$55 for a 24-hour access period.
3. Add the records you want and enter the email address to send them to. The email carries an access code for downloading the PDF.
4. Keep the PDFs somewhere you control, and a second copy somewhere else.

Records come as complete records rather than date ranges, with single-subject records available for one conversation. Printed records ship only within the US, so outside the US you will be using the PDF.

Every TalkingParents call is recorded with a transcript. Its help centre (How do I get my Calling transcripts and recordings?) says you open the Calling section, select a call, and use the menu in the top corner to email the record or download that call's recording. Save the ones you may need before your plan ends.

Each parent has their own plan, so each of you cancels your own. It depends where you subscribed:

• On the TalkingParents website: open Account Settings, choose Plan, then the pencil icon, Manage plan and Cancel plan, and confirm (How do I cancel my plan if I upgraded via the TalkingParents website?).
• On an iPhone (App Store): open Settings, tap your name, tap Subscriptions, choose TalkingParents and tap Cancel Subscription.
• On Android (Google Play): cancel from your subscriptions in Google Play. TalkingParents says it cannot manage store subscriptions for you.

Your account stays upgraded until your paid-through date.

Its help centre (Can I delete my TalkingParents account?) says TalkingParents accounts cannot be deleted. It suggests sending the other parent a message that you are stopping, so there is a record of your notice, and turning off email notifications. Say from which date, and how to reach you instead.

If you choose ParenThing, it takes about twenty minutes:

1. Install ParenThing from Google Play or the App Store, and create your family.
2. Invite your co-parent. The Free plan covers both of you, and one Premium plan covers the whole family if you want calls, money tools and records.
3. Rebuild the calendar from your parenting plan or court order.
4. Upload the PDFs you saved to Documents, and mark each one private or shared.

ParenThing Premium includes audio and video calls between the two parents in the ParenThing phone app on Android and iPhone, with 1,000 call minutes a month for the family. A free trial includes 100 call minutes. You can also book calls with the children, one-off or repeating: a child's call rings the phone of the parent the child is with, who hands the phone over. Calls are not recorded or transcribed, and they are not available on the web app. Each call leaves a plain entry in your family's record: who called, when, how long it lasted and whether it was answered.