Anthropic Reduces Claude Session Limits During Peak Hours

AI company Anthropic implemented new usage limits for its Free, Pro, and Max subscription tiers to manage rising demand and compute capacity. Under the new rules, users exhaust their five-hour session allowances more quickly during weekday peak hours, defined as 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. PT (1 p.m. to 7 p.m. GMT). While overall weekly limits remain unchanged, the company expects about 7% of users—primarily in the Pro tier—to be affected. API-based plans remain unaffected.

The changes surfaced without formal company notice, first appearing as reports from developers using the Claude Code tool. Users claimed they were depleting quotas in minutes, with some alleging that limits dropped even while the tool was idle. Many affected users characterized the behavior as a bug or glitch, noting that simple prompts consumed disproportionate amounts of usage.

Engineer Thariq Shihipar acknowledged the adjustments via X, stating the company is investing in scaling infrastructure. The move sparked backlash from professionals and developers who reported reduced productivity and missed deadlines, with critics citing a lack of transparency. Analysts suggest the throttling may be a strategic effort to move power users and enterprises from fixed subscription plans to revenue-guaranteed API consumption models.