ChatGPT’s mobile app saw an abrupt backlash in the United States after news broke of OpenAI’s deal with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), rebranded under the Trump administration as the Department of War.
Fresh data suggests users responded quickly — by uninstalling the app in large numbers and shifting to competitors.
According to market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, U.S. app uninstalls of ChatGPT surged by 295% day-over-day on Saturday, February 28.
That marks a dramatic spike compared with the app’s typical day-over-day uninstall rate of 9% over the past 30 days.
The sharp increase followed public reports of OpenAI’s partnership with the DoD.
Downloads also take a hit
The impact extended beyond uninstalls.
Sensor Tower data showed ChatGPT’s U.S. downloads fell 13% day-over-day on Saturday, shortly after news of the defense partnership became public. Downloads continued to decline on Sunday, dropping another 5% day-over-day.
Just a day earlier, before the partnership was announced, the app’s downloads had grown 14% day-over-day on Friday — underscoring how quickly sentiment shifted.
Claude gains momentum
Meanwhile, Anthropic’s AI assistant Claude experienced a surge in downloads.
U.S. downloads for Claude rose 37% day-over-day on Friday, February 27, and jumped 51% on Saturday, February 28, after Anthropic announced it would not partner with the U.S. defense department.
Anthropic said it could not agree to the deal terms due to concerns that artificial intelligence might be used to surveil Americans or deployed in fully autonomous weaponry — an area it argued AI is not yet safe enough to handle.
The data suggests that some consumers favored Anthropic’s stance.
Claude hits No. 1 On U.S. App store
The rapid shift in consumer behavior was reflected in app rankings.
Claude climbed to No. 1 on the U.S. App Store on Saturday and remained there as of Monday, March 2. That marks a jump of more than 20 positions compared with its ranking around February 22, 2026.
Beyond the United States, Claude also became the No. 1 free iPhone app in six countries: Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.
User sentiment was also visible in app ratings.
Sensor Tower reported that 1-star reviews for ChatGPT surged 775% on Saturday and increased another 100% day-over-day on Sunday. During the same period, 5-star reviews declined by 50%.
The wave of negative ratings appears closely tied to reactions over the DoD partnership.
Other data firms confirm trend
Additional third-party analytics firms reported similar patterns.
Appfigures noted that Claude’s total daily U.S. downloads on Saturday surpassed those of ChatGPT for the first time. Its estimates placed Claude’s U.S. download growth even higher — at 88% day-over-day on Saturday.
Another analytics provider, Similarweb, said Claude’s U.S. downloads over the past week were around 20 times higher than in January. However, it cautioned that factors beyond political developments may have contributed to the growth.
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