How to Stop or Pause Copy Trading Instantly

One of the most important things to know before you start copy trading is how to stop. With RelayTrades you have several ways to halt activity, ranging from a soft pause to an immediate full stop, and all of them are in your hands at any time. Because your capital stays in your own brokerage account, you never have to wait for anyone else to approve turning things off.

Four ways to stop, from softest to hardest

1. Pause a strategy

Pausing automation on a strategy stops any new trades from being copied, while leaving your existing positions exactly as they are. This is the right choice when you want to step back from a trader for a while (for example, around an earnings event or while you reassess) without selling out of positions you already hold. When you are ready, you unpause and copying resumes.

2. Switch to manual approval

If you do not want to stop entirely but want more control, switch the strategy from auto to manual. Instead of trades copying automatically, each one becomes an approval request with a short countdown, and nothing is placed unless you tap Accept in time. This keeps you in the loop on every entry without turning the strategy off.

3. Use the one-tap kill switch

The kill switch is the immediate full stop. With one tap it halts all copy activity and flattens your open positions on your own brokerage account right away. Use it when you want out now, for example if markets turn sharply or you simply want everything closed. It acts across your copied activity rather than strategy by strategy, so it is the fastest way to go flat.

4. Revoke the broker connection

For a complete disconnect, you can revoke the broker connection (the link is made through SnapTrade) at any time. Once revoked, RelayTrades can no longer route any trades to your account at all. Your brokerage account and its holdings remain entirely yours, the platform simply loses the permission to act on it.

All of these controls are yours alone. Your money stays in your own brokerage account the whole time, so stopping copy trading never depends on a manager or a withdrawal request, you just pause, switch to manual, hit the kill switch, or revoke access.

Which option should you use?

• Taking a short break from one trader, keep your positions: pause that strategy.
• Want to keep following but review each trade first: switch to manual approval.
• Want out immediately and flat: use the one-tap kill switch.
• Done with the platform or want a clean disconnect: revoke the broker connection.

A note on open positions

Pausing or switching to manual does not close positions you already hold, it only changes what happens to new trades. If your goal is to be flat, the kill switch is the option that actually closes open positions. After any stop, it is worth checking your brokerage account to confirm your positions match what you expect. As always, all trading involves risk and past performance is not indicative of future results.