OTT platforms have revolutionized how we consume entertainment — but their autopay features are now under fire for enabling quiet, often unnoticed financial drain.
A recent viral post captured the frustration perfectly. A user shared how their father sent them Rs 150 — only for JioHotstar to instantly deduct Rs 149 via autopay, leaving just a rupee.
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What followed was a flood of similar stories. Users complained of unexpected deductions ranging from a few hundred to even thousands of rupees.
Some even recalled feeling embarrassed after swiping their cards for food or daily essentials, only to find their balance wiped out by unnoticed OTT charges.
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Technically, these platforms follow India’s UPI Autopay rules — which require user consent and allow for cancellation. But the catch lies in the fine print.
Most users unknowingly activate autopay during sign-up, tricked by free trials or seamless payment flows. What’s pitched as “convenience” quietly becomes a recurring burden, feeding off user inattention.
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In the case that went viral, a much-needed Rs 150 credit was drained in seconds — a small but telling example of how autopay systems, though legal, can exploit the unaware.
Legally, it’s not theft. But ethically, it’s a grey area.
The onus today falls entirely on the consumer. Unless users dig into settings on Google Pay, PhonePe, or their banks and disable autopay manually, the deductions keep coming.
But this shouldn’t be the user’s burden alone. Regulatory bodies must step in with stricter disclosure norms, mandatory pre-renewal alerts, and opt-in confirmations — not just buried checkboxes.
Until that happens, autopay will continue to act less like a feature and more like a financial trap.
@JioHotstar dentho kottali ra ninnu pic.twitter.com/U9wJ9n9Q7U
— DEVENDRA ƈυʅƚ (@DEVAA_1) June 25, 2025
