Read a reader's membership
Read the relationship attached to the reader, rather than treating the subscription catalogue as their account history. This guide uses City Journal's fictional Alex Rivera.
Open the membership information
- Find Alex's reader record and confirm the name and email.
- Scroll to Subscriptions. Each row shows the Plan, Subscription and Ends date, with Autorenew and Trial indicators alongside it.
- Read the Plan and subscription names together. City Journal Reporting is the Plan; City Journal Monthly is a subscription choice under it.
- Scroll to Subscriptions history when you need to inspect historical records. Its table shows the subscription title, Plan, Starts and Ends dates.
The attached-membership table does not label each row “active” or “expired.” A row's presence is not a calculation of current entitlement. History is a separate collection of recorded relationships, not simply a list of every period whose end date has passed.
Interpret the displayed values
| Value or area | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Plan / Subscription | Identifies the configured Plan and the subscription choice associated with this reader relationship. |
| Ends | The recorded end date for the attached membership. If absent, this box shows N/A; do not translate that into “unlimited access.” |
| Autorenew | Displays the renewal flag recorded for the membership. It is not proof of a scheduled successful charge. |
| Renewal date in the Audience list | Shown from the membership's end date when Autorenew is on; it is not confirmation of a future payment. |
| Trial | Displays the membership's trial flag. It does not by itself establish what amount was paid. |
| Starts / Ends in history | Recorded dates for that historical relationship. Starts comes from when the relationship was created. |
Admin presents these dates in its local date format. A displayed date alone does not establish the exact access cutoff time or timezone.
Example 1: an attached membership with a future end date
Imagine reviewing Alex's record on 9 October 2026:
| Area | Recorded value |
|---|---|
| Subscriptions | City Journal Reporting / City Journal Monthly |
| Ends | 9 November 2026 |
| Autorenew | Check mark |
The membership's recorded end date is after the review date, and its renewal flag is on. These fields describe the relationship's dates and renewal setting.
If the question is about a charge, look at the recorded Transactions and their statuses instead of using the renewal indicator as payment evidence.
Example 2: a historical membership period
On the same review date, Subscriptions history might contain:
| Value | Recorded value |
|---|---|
| Plan / Subscription | City Journal Reporting / City Journal Monthly |
| Starts | 9 August 2026 |
| Ends | 9 September 2026 |
This row records a previous relationship whose end date is before the review date. Return to Subscriptions for the attached relationships, and Transactions for recorded charges.
Your next step
You should now be able to name the reader's Plan and subscription, distinguish attached memberships from history, and separate date/renewal information from transaction evidence.
Use Understand a reader's record to choose the next area, or Understand content access rules for the rules behind article access.