U.S. app uninstalls for the ChatGPT mobile app spiked 295% per day on Saturday, February 28, as consumers reacted to news of OpenAI’s contract with the Department of Defense (DoD), which was renamed the Department of the Army under the Trump administration.
This data from market intelligence provider Sensor Tower shows a significant increase compared to ChatGPT’s typical daily uninstall rate of 9% measured over the past 30 days.
Meanwhile, U.S. downloads of OpenAI competitor Anthropic’s Claude increased by 37% on Friday, February 27th, and 51% as of Saturday, February 28th, after the company announced it would no longer partner with the US Department of Defense. Anthropic said it was unable to agree on terms of the deal due to concerns that AI could be used to surveil Americans or be used in fully autonomous weapons, which AI is not yet ready to do safely.
Data shows that some consumers appear to support Anthropic’s position on this issue.
Additionally, ChatGPT’s download growth was impacted by news of its partnership with the Department of Defense, with downloads in the US dropping 13% from the previous day on Saturday, shortly after news of the partnership became public. These downloads continued to decline on Sunday, down 5% per day. (On Friday, before the partnership was announced, app downloads were increasing 14% per day.)
These rapid changes are reflected in Claude’s App Store rankings, with the app taking the No. 1 spot in the US App Store on Saturday, where it remains as of Monday, March 2nd. This is a jump of more than 20 ranks compared to about a week ago (February 22, 2026).
Consumers also shared their opinions about the deal with OpenAI in app ratings, with ChatGPT’s one-star reviews jumping 775% on Saturday and 100% on Sunday compared to the previous day, according to Sensor Tower. Over the same period, 5-star reviews declined, by 50%.
Other third-party data providers corroborate Sensor Tower’s findings.
For example, Appfigures noted that Claude’s daily total downloads in the US on Saturday exceeded ChatGPT’s downloads for the first time. Downloads of Claude in the U.S. also increased, but estimates put the number even higher, with an 88% daily increase on Saturday.
The magazine noted that Claude is currently the No. 1 free iPhone app in six countries outside the United States, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.
SimilarWeb, a third market intelligence provider, said Claude’s downloads in the U.S. over the past week were about 20 times higher than in January, but warned that it could be due to reasons other than political issues.
