ChatGPT’s mobile app saw a sharp spike in uninstalls in the U.S. after news broke of OpenAI’s partnership with the Department of Defense, which was renamed the Department of War under the Trump administration.
According to data from Sensor Tower, U.S. app uninstalls jumped 295 percent day over day on Saturday, February 28. That is a major shift compared to the app’s usual 9 percent average daily uninstall rate over the past 30 days.
At the same time, OpenAI competitor Anthropic appeared to benefit from the backlash. Downloads of its AI assistant Claude rose 37 percent day over day on Friday, February 27, and then increased another 51 percent on Saturday. The surge followed Anthropic’s public statement that it would not move forward with a defense partnership. The company said it could not agree to terms because of concerns that AI might be used to surveil Americans or powerfully autonomous weapons, which it believes are not yet safe.
The data suggests that some consumers responded positively to Anthropic’s stance. Meanwhile, ChatGPT’s own growth slowed. After rising 14 percent day over day on Friday, downloads in the U.S. fell 13 percent on Saturday once news of the defense deal became public. Downloads dropped another 5 percent on Sunday.
The shift was also visible in app rankings. Claude reached the number one spot on the U.S. App Store on Saturday and was still there as of Monday, March 2. That represents a jump of more than 20 positions compared to February 22.
User reviews reflected the reaction as well. Sensor Tower reported that one-star reviews for ChatGPT surged 775 percent on Saturday and then increased another 100 percent on Sunday. At the same time, five-star reviews dropped by 50 percent.
Other analytics firms reported similar trends. Appfigures said Claude’s total daily U.S. downloads on Saturday surpassed ChatGPT’s for the first time. Its estimates showed Claude’s U.S. downloads climbing 88 percent day over day on Saturday. The firm also noted that Claude became the number one free iPhone app in six countries outside the U.S., including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.
Similarweb added that Claude’s U.S. downloads over the past week were about 20 times higher than they were in January. However, the company cautioned that not all of that growth may be tied to political concerns alone.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
Together, the data shows how quickly public reaction can shift app performance, especially when technology companies become involved in controversial government partnerships.
