Kill Switch: Dhan, Upstox, Zerodha, Groww

Short answerAll four brokers let you block new F&O orders. Zerodha and Upstox switch off a segment, and you can turn it back on only after 12 hours. Dhan blocks all trading for the rest of the day and lets you undo it once. Groww locks F&O and commodity until 11:59 PM, with no undo. Close your positions first.

Checked against official broker pages on 8 October 2026. Brokers change these features often.

How do the kill switches compare?

A kill switch blocks new orders for a time, so you cannot place the next trade on impulse. It does not close your positions for you. On every broker below, you must close your open positions first.

Broker	Name and scope	How long	Can you undo it?	P&L auto exit
Dhan	Kill Switch for Over-Trading. All trading for the day.	Rest of the day. Resets at midnight.	Yes, once a day. Not after a second activation that day.	Yes: P&L Exit. It can also turn on the kill switch.
Upstox	Kill Switch. One segment at a time.	Until you turn it back on. At least 12 hours.	Yes, after 12 hours.	Yes: P&L Alerts with Auto Square-Off (Add-On plan).
Zerodha	Kill switch. One segment at a time.	Until you turn it back on. At least 12 hours.	Yes, after 12 hours, with an OTP.	No, as of 8 Oct 2026.
Groww	Lock F&O Trading. F&O and commodity.	Until 11:59 PM that day.	No.	Yes: Safe Exit.

Sources: each broker's official pages, linked in the sections below.

How do I turn on the kill switch on Dhan?

Dhan calls it "Kill Switch for Over-Trading". The steps below are from Dhan's support page.

On the Dhan app

Close your open positions and cancel pending orders.
Go to Profile > Settings > Trader's Control.
Tap Kill Switch for Over-Trading, then Activate Kill Switch.

On Dhan web

Log in to web.dhan.co.
Go to Money > Trader's Control > Kill Switch for Over-Trading.
Click Activate Kill Switch.

What it blocks: Dhan's API documentation says it disables trading for the current trading day. Positions must be closed and no orders can be pending.
How long: the rest of the day. Dhan says it resets automatically at midnight.
Undo: you can deactivate it only once per day. If you activate it twice on the same day, it stays on until the next working day.
One segment only: to switch off just F&O, Dhan has a separate segment setting under Trader's Controls.

Dhan P&L Exit

P&L Exit lets you set a maximum profit and maximum loss for the day. When either is hit, Dhan exits your positions at market price and cancels the other condition.

Set it with the Set P&L Exit button on the Positions screen, on app or web.
It is valid for the day only. It applies to all open positions except Delivery and MTF.
You can tick the option to also turn on the kill switch. Then you cannot place more orders that day after the limit is hit.
Exits are market orders, so your final P&L can differ from the limit, more so in fast markets.
Only pending orders in the same scrip are cancelled. Cancel other pending orders yourself.

How do I use the Upstox kill switch?

On Upstox the kill switch works one segment at a time. Steps are from Upstox's app help page and web help page.

On the Upstox app

Close all open positions in the segment.
Tap the Upstox icon at the top left, then Trading segments.
Select Kill Switch, choose the segment, and tap Save Changes.
Tap I understand and enter the OTP sent to your email.

On Upstox web (pro.upstox.com)

Click your name, then My Account.
Open My trading Segments/Block account, then Kill Switch.
Pick the segment, click Save Changes, then I understand, and enter the email OTP.

What it blocks: new orders in that segment. Upstox's kill switch API page says open orders in the segment are cancelled.
How long and undo: you can re-enable the segment after 12 hours from when you turned it off. We did not find official steps to re-enable, so check in the app.

Upstox P&L auto square-off

Upstox added P&L Alerts with Auto Square-Off in January 2026. Go to the Positions tab, tap P&L Alert, then Create P&L alert. Select the positions, set a profit target and/or loss limit, and choose to alert and square off.

It needs the Upstox Add-On plan. Basic plan users do not get it. Under Add-On, brokerage is ₹22 per executed order for options.
It does not turn on the kill switch. We found no official page that links the two.
How long an auto square-off alert stays active: check in the app.

How do I use the Zerodha kill switch?

Zerodha's kill switch also works by segment. Steps are from Zerodha's support page.

On the web (Zerodha account page)

Exit your open positions and cancel open orders.
Go to account.zerodha.com and click Kill switch.
Turn off the toggle for the segment, click Apply changes, then Confirm.

On the Kite app

Tap your user ID, then Profile > Segments.
Turn off the toggle for the segment and tap Continue. It switches off within 5 minutes.

How long and undo: you can re-enable a segment only after 12 hours. To turn it back on, go to console.zerodha.com/account/segment-activation and verify with an OTP.
GTT and baskets: if a GTT, basket order or SIP triggers while the segment is off, it is rejected.
No auto version yet: when Zerodha launched the kill switch in 2021, it said it was working on a loss-based trigger. Replies on Zerodha's TradingQnA forum in 2026 said P&L alerts would come first and exits later. As of 8 October 2026, we found no launch.

Is there a kill switch on Groww?

Yes. Groww launched Lock F&O Trading in July 2026. It is the strictest of the four.

Close all open F&O and commodity positions. Groww never squares them off for you.
Go to Profile > Settings > Lock F&O Trading.
Read the warning, then use Slide to Lock F&O.

What it blocks: new F&O and commodity orders. Stocks and mutual funds still work. You can still view positions and orders.
How long and undo: locked until 11:59 PM the same day. You cannot reverse it.
On web: Groww's pages only show the app steps. Check on the web platform.
Softer option: F&O Pause also stops F&O trading, but you can resume it at any time.

Groww Safe Exit

Safe Exit closes all your open F&O positions when your profit or loss reaches a limit you set. Open the F&O Positions tab and tap Set Safe Exit. Groww's October 2026 guide shows two choices, "Limit loss at" and "Protect profit at". You can set it only during market hours, 9:15 AM to 3:30 PM, and it clears at the end of the day. We found no official page that links Safe Exit to Lock F&O.

How do I stop myself from trading?

A kill switch works best as the last step of a plan you make before the market opens. This is not investment advice. It is one simple way to set it up.

Pick your max daily loss. Use the daily loss limit calculator to choose a rupee number.
Size each trade from it. The position size calculator stops one trade from using the whole day's limit.
Let the broker exit for you. On Dhan, set P&L Exit with the kill switch ticked. On Groww, set Safe Exit. On Upstox, use auto square-off.
When you hit the limit, lock. Close what is left and turn on the kill switch at once. Do not wait to "win one back". See revenge trading.
For a longer break, turn off the F&O segment on Zerodha or Upstox, which stays off until you turn it on again.

If you lose money most months, a longer break is worth thinking about. SEBI found that about 90% of traders who lost two years in a row and kept trading lost again. See our SEBI F&O study FY26 guide.

Why is a kill switch not enough?

A kill switch is useful. But it has limits that matter most on a bad day.

It acts only after you decide. Someone has to press it. In the middle of a loss, that is the hardest moment to do it.
You must close positions first. That means taking the loss before the lock starts, which is what many traders avoid.
It does not see habits. It does not notice a fast re-entry after a loss, a tenth trade in an hour, or a second buy in a falling option. See overtrading and averaging down in options.
Most can be undone. Dhan allows one undo a day. Zerodha and Upstox reopen after 12 hours.
It works for one broker only. If you have two accounts, the second one is still open.

This is the gap we are building TradeGuard AI for. It does not block orders. No outside app can. It watches your account read-only and flags revenge trades, overtrading and averaging down as they happen, so you see the pattern before the day's limit is gone.

Common questions

Can I turn off the kill switch after I turn it on?

It depends on the broker. Zerodha and Upstox let you turn the segment back on after 12 hours. Dhan lets you turn it off once a day. If you turn it on a second time that day, it stays on until the day ends. Groww's Lock F&O cannot be undone until 11:59 PM.

Do I need to close my positions before I use the kill switch?

Yes, on all four brokers. Zerodha, Dhan and Groww ask you to close open positions first, and Zerodha and Dhan also ask you to cancel open orders. Upstox needs open positions closed and cancels open orders in that segment for you.

Does Zerodha have an automatic kill switch based on loss?

Not as of 8 October 2026. Zerodha's kill switch is manual. In 2021 Zerodha said it was working on a loss-based trigger, and replies on its TradingQnA forum in 2026 said P&L alerts and exits are in progress, but we found no launch.

Which broker has a P&L based auto exit?

Dhan has P&L Exit, which can also turn on the kill switch. Upstox has P&L Alerts with Auto Square-Off on its Add-On plan. Groww has Safe Exit. We did not find one on Zerodha as of 8 October 2026.

Does a kill switch stop GTT or basket orders?

On Zerodha, a GTT, basket order or SIP that triggers while the segment is off will be rejected. For the other brokers we could not confirm this on an official page, so check in the app.

Catch the bad trade before you need the kill switch

TradeGuard AI flags revenge trades, overtrading and averaging down, and shows the cost in rupees. On the Guard plan (Dhan first), your broker exits at your max daily loss and turns on the day kill switch. Not live yet.

Get early access

Sources

All checked on 8 October 2026. Menu names in apps can change after an update.