A sharp shift in user behavior hit the AI app market after news broke that OpenAI had struck a deal with the United States Department of Defense. Data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower shows that U.S. users began removing the ChatGPT mobile app at an unusual pace.
On Saturday, February 28, ChatGPT app uninstalls in the United States jumped 295% compared with the previous day. Over the past month, the app’s normal day-to-day uninstall change averaged only about 9%. The spike came soon after reports of OpenAI’s partnership with the Defense Department, which the administration of Donald Trump has rebranded as the “Department of War.”
At the same time, the rival AI assistant Claude from Anthropic gained momentum. Downloads of the Claude app in the United States rose 37% day-over-day on Friday, February 27. The growth continued on Saturday, when downloads climbed another 51%.
The shift followed Anthropic’s public statement that it would not enter a similar agreement with the Defense Department. The company said it could not accept terms that might allow AI systems to support surveillance of Americans or enable fully autonomous weapons. Anthropic argued that current AI systems are not ready to manage those risks.
Some consumers appear to support that stance. The market data suggests that users reacted quickly once the news about the defense partnership spread online.
ChatGPT’s download growth slowed soon after the announcement. On Saturday, U.S. downloads for the app dropped 13% compared with the previous day. The decline continued on Sunday, when downloads fell another 5% day-over-day.
ChatGPT Faces Backlash Over Military Policy Shift
Just one day earlier, before the deal became public, the app had seen strong growth. On Friday, ChatGPT downloads had increased 14% day-over-day. The sudden change highlights how fast public opinion can move when technology companies enter sensitive policy areas such as military use.
The impact also appeared in app store rankings. Claude climbed to the No. 1 position on the U.S. App Store on Saturday. As of Monday, March 2, it remained at the top of the ranking. Only a week earlier, around February 22, the app had sat more than 20 places lower.
User feedback in the App Store also shifted. Sensor Tower reported that one-star reviews for ChatGPT surged 775% on Saturday. On Sunday, those negative reviews doubled again, rising another 100%. During the same period, five-star reviews dropped by about half.
Other data firms observed similar trends. Analytics company Appfigures reported that Claude’s daily downloads in the United States surpassed ChatGPT’s for the first time on Saturday. Its estimates suggest an even larger jump than Sensor Tower’s figures, with Claude downloads increasing 88% day-over-day.
The surge in interest was not limited to the United States. Appfigures found that Claude became the No. 1 free iPhone app in several other countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.
How Military Ties are Shifting the AI Market?
Another analytics provider, Similarweb, also tracked strong growth. The firm said Claude’s U.S. downloads over the past week were roughly 20 times higher than they were in January. Still, Similarweb cautioned that the rise could reflect several factors, not only the debate around military partnerships.
The episode shows how public reaction can shape the AI market. Decisions about military cooperation, surveillance concerns, and autonomous weapons can influence how users choose between AI platforms. For companies building large AI systems, these choices now carry both technical and political weight.
For now, the numbers show a moment of turbulence. Whether the trend continues will depend on how companies address public concerns about the role of AI in national security and defense.
