User reports 'phantom' Claude usage draining 34% quota without prompts
OwlsExterminator · reddit · 2026-08-22
A Claude Pro user reported significant usage accounting anomalies. Without sending prompts, 34% of a 5-hour session was drained just by browsing Project Knowledge and viewing old chats.
Key Findings:
- Phantom Drain: Navigating projects, reviewing materials, or uploading files deducts quota.
- Ghost Model: While using Opus 5, local logs showed claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929 usage appearing, often mirroring Opus meter changes instantly.
Speculated Causes:
- Silent downgrade/fallback to Sonnet;
- Background process using Sonnet;
- Active hidden chat session;
- Incorrect model ID in telemetry;
- Strange usage meter reconciliation logic.
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