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Product sunset email templates for discontinuing a product or retiring a feature

Eight emails for closing a software product down decently, from the first announcement to the last day. Each one gives the date, the reason in a sentence, and what happens to the customer’s data and money.

The templates

Each one copies with its subject line. The parts in brackets are the parts to change; everything else can go out as written.

The announcement

Subject: [Product] is shutting down on [date]

Hi [Name], I have decided to shut down [Product]. It will keep working until [date], and after that [what stops, for example: the servers go offline, and you will no longer be able to sign in or sync]. Why: [one honest sentence, for example: not enough people use it to cover what it costs to run, and I would rather close it properly than let it slowly decay]. Your data: you can export everything until [date], from [where, for example: Settings, then Export]. [What you get, for example: a CSV file that opens in any spreadsheet, and a folder of attachments.] After [date], [what happens to it, for example: it is deleted from our servers within 30 days]. Your money: [what happens to their subscription, for example: renewals stop today, so you will not be charged again. If you have paid for time beyond date, the unused part is refunded automatically by date.] [If they bought a perpetual licence, and only if it is true: The app you bought keeps working on your Mac. What stops on date is sync; your licence and everything stored locally stay yours.] [If there is somewhere to go: If you need a replacement, alternative does most of what Product did and can import your export.] I am sorry to be sending this. Thank you for using [Product]. Reply to this email with any question at all; I will answer every one before [date]. [Your name]
The reminder, a few weeks before

Subject: Reminder: [Product] shuts down on [date]

Hi [Name], A reminder that [Product] shuts down on [date], [number of weeks] weeks from today. If you have not exported your data yet, now is a good time: [where and how, in one line]. It takes [a few minutes]. After [date], it cannot be recovered. [Money, in one line, for example: Renewals have already stopped, and any refund for unused time goes out on date.] If the export is not working, or you are not sure you have everything, reply here and I will help. [Your name]
The last-day notice

Subject: Last chance to export: [Product] shuts down [tomorrow / today]

Hi [Name], [Product] shuts down [tomorrow / today at time and time zone]. This is the last email about it. If you still want your data, export it before then: [where and how, in one line]. After that, [it is gone / it is deleted within number days and cannot be recovered]. [If a paid-once app keeps working: The app on your Mac keeps working; only what depended on the servers stops.] Thank you for using [Product], and for everything you told me along the way. [Your name]
Retiring one feature, not the product

Subject: [Feature] is being removed from [Product] on [date]

Hi [Name], A change I want you to hear about early: on [date], I am removing [feature] from [Product]. Everything else stays as it is. Why: [one honest sentence, for example: it depends on a service that is shutting down / very few people use it, and it is holding back fixes elsewhere]. If you use it: [what to do instead, for example: the closest option is X, in Settings / you can export what it holds from Y until date]. [Only if the feature was part of what they paid for: Because it was part of the plan you bought, I would like to offer you a choice: the specific offer, such as a partial refund or a free month.] If losing it is a real problem for you, reply and tell me how you use it. I would rather know now than after [date]. [Your name]
Refund for unused time

Subject: Your refund for [Product]

Hi [Name], As [Product] is closing on [date], I am refunding the part of your [subscription / annual plan] you will not get to use. You paid [amount] on [date of payment] for [period]. The service ends on [date], so [refund amount] is going back to the card you paid with. It was sent today, and it usually takes 5 to 10 business days to show on your statement, depending on your bank. There is nothing you need to do. If it has not arrived by [date], reply to this email and I will look into it. [Your name]
Pointing customers to an export and an alternative

Subject: Moving your [Product] data before [date]

Hi [Name], With [Product] closing on [date], here is the quickest way to take your data with you. 1. Export it: [where and how, for example: Settings, then Export, then All data]. You get [format, for example: a CSV file and a folder of attachments]. 2. [If there is an alternative: Import it into alternative, which does most of what Product did. Say plainly whether you have any arrangement with them.] 3. [Anything that does not carry over, for example: tags are exported, but saved searches are not, so note down any you rely on.] If the export fails or anything looks incomplete, reply here before [date] and I will sort it out with you. [Your name]
Paid-once app: updates stop, the app keeps working

Subject: [Product] will no longer be updated after [version number]

Hi [Name], I am stopping development of [Product]. [Version number], released [date], will be the last update. The important part first: the copy you bought keeps working. Your licence does not expire. [Only if it is true: Nothing in the app depends on my servers, so it does not need me to keep running.] What I cannot promise is that it will keep working on future versions of [macOS / iOS], since I will not be updating it for them. [What you will do if it breaks, for example: If a future version breaks it, I will say so on the website, and your data can always be exported from File, then Export.] Why: [one honest sentence]. [If you are offering anything: If you bought it recently, since date, reply and I will refund it.] Thank you for buying it. [One true sentence about what building it meant to you.] [Your name]
The short version, for a small product

Subject: [Product] is closing on [date]

Hi [Name], [Product] is closing on [date]. [One sentence on why.] Export your data before then at [link]; you will not be charged again[, and any unused time is refunded automatically]. Thank you for using it. [Your name]

If a feature is changing rather than going away (a removed option, a new default), the change customers will not like in the product update email templates is a better fit than a sunset notice.

Subject lines that say it plainly

Say it in the subject, with the date. This is the one email you need every customer to read, and “An update on the future of [Product]” reads like a feature announcement until it is opened, which many will not be.

  • [Product] is shutting down on [date]
  • Reminder: [Product] shuts down on [date]
  • Last chance to export: [Product] shuts down tomorrow
  • [Feature] is being removed from [Product] on [date]
  • [Product] will no longer be updated after [version number]
  • Your refund for [Product]

What makes a sunset email land

  • Generous notice. Months, not weeks, for anything people store data in or rely on for work. The notice period is the kindest part of the email, and it costs you the least.
  • One date, repeated. The same date in the subject, the first line and every reminder. “Early next year” is not a date.
  • The reason in one honest sentence. “Not enough customers to keep it running well” is fine. A plain reason is easier to accept than a vague one about a new direction.
  • Test the export before you announce. Run it on the largest real account you have. An export that fails in the final week is the worst support week you will have.
  • Say what happens to the money. When renewals stop, what is refunded and whether it is automatic. For a paid-once app, whether the licence keeps working.
  • Check your licence check. If the app validates its licence against a server you are switching off, it stops working for people who paid for it forever. Ship an update that removes the check before the server goes.

The announcement is one email. The replies run until the last day

Moorline does not send the announcement; use whatever you already send product email with. It is for what comes back: can I get a refund, my export failed, will my licence still work on the next macOS, is there anything like this I can move to. Each needs a real answer, often after you have checked something, and for once they all share a deadline: the shutdown date.

Every conversation stays on your list until the work is handled and the customer has been told, so “let me check your export and come back to you” does not vanish in the rush. With Stripe connected, the customer’s plan and payments sit beside the conversation, read-only, which answers “how much, and when” before you issue the refund in Stripe; Moorline cannot refund anything itself. The reply that follows is on the refund confirmation email templates page.

Questions people ask

How much notice should I give before discontinuing a product?

As much as you honestly can. For a product people store data in or depend on for work, several months is the respectful minimum; for a single small feature, a month or two is usually enough. Check your terms and any annual plans: someone who paid for a year in advance is owed either the year or a refund for what is left of it.

What should a product discontinuation or cancellation email include?

What is ending and on which date; one honest sentence on why; how to export data and in what format; what happens to their data after the date; what happens to their money (renewals, refunds, licences); and where to go instead, if there is somewhere. Plus a real address they can reply to.

Should I refund customers when I shut down a product?

For subscriptions, stop renewals the day you announce and refund any time paid for in advance that you will not deliver. For one-time purchases, a refund is usually expected only from recent buyers, particularly if support ends soon after they paid. Consumer rules differ by country, so check what applies where you sell. Whatever you decide, put it in the announcement so nobody has to ask.

What happens to perpetual licences when a product is discontinued?

That depends on how your app checks its licence. If it validates against a server you are switching off, it will stop working for people who paid for it forever, so ship a final update that removes or relaxes the check before the server goes. Then say plainly that the licence keeps working, and that you cannot promise compatibility with future operating system versions.

How do I tell customers a feature is being removed?

In its own email, before it goes, with the date, the reason and the closest alternative. Invite replies from people who rely on it. They are the ones who will tell you whether the reason still holds, and occasionally they change the decision.