Claude Climbs to No. 1 as Users Dump ChatGPT Post US Defence Deal

New York: OpenAI’s recent agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense has triggered a sharp reaction from users, with ChatGPT seeing a sudden spike in app deletions and negative reviews.

According to data from Sensor Tower, U.S. uninstall rates for ChatGPT’s mobile app jumped 295% on Saturday, February 28, far above its normal daily uninstall rate of around 9% over the past month. At the same time, new downloads in the U.S. fell by 13% that day and dropped another 5% on Sunday. Just a day earlier, downloads had risen 14%.

In contrast, OpenAI rival Anthropic appeared to benefit from the backlash. After stating it would not partner with the U.S. defense department due to concerns about surveillance, autonomous weapons, and broader national security implications, downloads of its Claude app rose sharply.

The stance has also drawn scrutiny at the policy level, with U.S. defense officials reportedly flagging Anthropic as a potential security risk in recent assessments.

Sensor Tower reported U.S. downloads increased 37% on Friday and 51% on Saturday. Appfigures estimated an even bigger jump of 88% on Saturday.

Claude climbed to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store over the weekend, marking a significant rise from the previous week. It also reached the top free iPhone app ranking in several other countries, including Canada and Germany.

User reviews reflected the shift in sentiment. One-star reviews for ChatGPT surged 775% on Saturday, while five-star ratings fell by half, according to Sensor Tower.

The rapid changes suggest users are closely watching how AI companies align with government and defense agencies.