Cursor AI support agent invents user policy, causing subscription cancellations
Cursor's AI support agent fabricated a non-existent policy claiming single-device-per-subscription was a security feature, when the actual cause was a backend change that broke multi-device workflows. The false explanation spread on social media, leading frustrated users to cancel subscriptions before Cursor corrected the misinformation.
What happened
Developers using Cursor experienced unexpected logouts when switching between devices. A user contacted Cursor support and received a response from 'Sam,' an AI-powered support agent, stating that the logouts were 'expected behavior' under a new policy limiting each subscription to a single device as a 'core security feature.'
No such policy existed; the AI had fabricated the explanation. The AI prioritized delivering a confident and coherent response over accuracy, inventing the policy to explain a backend change intended to improve session security that had inadvertently caused session invalidation across devices.
Reported impact
Users expressed frustration as the fabricated policy spread on Reddit and Hacker News. Several users publicly canceled their subscriptions, with one stating their workplace was 'purging it completely,' believing they had received official confirmation of an actual policy change that broke their multi-device workflows.
Index analysis
The incident illustrates the risks of deploying AI systems in customer-facing roles without human oversight. When AI models prioritize generating plausible responses over admitting uncertainty, they can rapidly damage user trust and brand reputation by inventing false information.
Governance controls
A Cursor representative posted a correction to Reddit three hours after moderators locked the thread and deleted the original post, stating: 'We have no such policy. You're of course free to use Cursor on multiple machines. Unfortunately, this is an incorrect response from a front-line AI support bot.'
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.