ChatGPT Uninstallations Soar 295% in US After OpenAI's Controversial Defense Deal
In the US, the number of ChatGPT mobile app deletions sharply increased following news of an agreement between OpenAI and the US Department of Defense, which, following Donald Trump's decree in 2025, also uses the name 'Ministry of War'.
What is known
According to the analytics company Sensor Tower, on February 28, the number of app deletions in the US increased by 295% compared to the previous day. For comparison, the average daily deletion rate over the past 30 days was about 9%.
Amidst this, competitor Anthropic recorded an increase in interest in its chatbot Claude. App downloads in the US rose by 37% on February 27 and another 51% on February 28 following the company's statement on rejecting a partnership with the defense department. Anthropic explained this by their concern over the potential use of AI for mass surveillance or creating autonomous weapons.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT downloads in the US dropped by 13% on the day of the agreement announcement and another 5% the next day. For comparison, the app previously showed a 14% day-to-day growth.
Claude rose to the top spot in the US App Store. Moreover, the number of 1-star reviews for ChatGPT increased by 775% on February 28, while 5-star ratings decreased by 50%. Similar dynamics were confirmed by data from Appfigures and Similarweb.
Source: TechCrunch
