ChatGPT uninstalls surged by 295% after DoD deal

U.S. app uninstalls of ChatGPT’s mobile app jumped 295% day-over-day connected Saturday, February 28, arsenic consumers responded to the quality of OpenAI’s woody with the Department of Defense (DoD), which has been rebranded nether the Trump medication arsenic the Department of War.

This data, which comes from marketplace quality supplier Sensor Tower, represents a sizable summation compared with ChatGPT’s emblematic day-over-day uninstall complaint of 9%, arsenic measured implicit the past 30 days.

Meanwhile, U.S. downloads for OpenAI competitor, Anthropic’s Claude, jumped up by 37% day-over-day connected Friday, Feb. 27, and 51% arsenic of Saturday, Feb. 28, aft the institution announced that it would not spouse with the U.S. defence department. Anthropic said it was not capable to hold connected the woody presumption implicit concerns that AI would beryllium utilized to surveil Americans and beryllium utilized successful afloat autonomous weaponry, which AI is not yet acceptable to bash safely.

A acceptable of consumers seemingly favored Anthropic’s presumption connected the matter, the information suggests.

In addition, ChatGPT’s download maturation was besides impacted by the quality of its DoD partnership, with its U.S. downloads dropping by 13% day-over-day connected Saturday, soon aft the quality of its woody went public. Those downloads continued to autumn connected Sunday, erstwhile they were down by 5% day-over-day. (Before the concern was announced, the app’s downloads had grown 14% day-over-day connected Friday.

These accelerated changes were besides reflected successful Claude’s App Store ranking, arsenic the app deed No. 1 connected the U.S. App Store connected Saturday, wherever it continues to beryllium arsenic of Monday, March 2. That’s a leap of implicit 20 ranks compared with astir a week earlier (Feb. 22, 2026).

Consumers are besides sharing their opinions astir OpenAI’s woody successful the app’s ratings, wherever 1-star reviews for ChatGPT surged 775% connected Saturday, past grew 100% day-over-day connected Sunday, Sensor Tower said. Five-star reviews declined during the aforesaid period, dropping by 50%.

Other third-party information providers backmost up Sensor Tower’s findings.

Appfigures, for instance, noted that Claude’s full regular U.S. downloads connected Saturday surpassed those of ChatGPT for the archetypal time. It besides saw the U.S. downloads of Claude increase, but its estimates enactment that fig adjacent higher: by 88% day-over-day connected Saturday.

Claude is present besides the No. 1 escaped iPhone app successful six countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, and the U.S.

A 3rd marketplace quality provider, Similarweb, noted that Claude’s U.S. downloads implicit the past week were astir 20x what they were successful January, but that could beryllium due to the fact that of further reasons beyond the governmental issues.