The U.S. mobile application for ChatGPT experienced a remarkable surge in uninstalls, escalating by an astounding 295% day-over-day on Saturday, February 28. This dramatic increase appears to be a direct consumer reaction to the recent announcement of OpenAI's agreement with the Department of Defense (DoD), an entity notably rebranded as the Department of War under the current Trump administration.
According to data compiled by market intelligence provider Sensor Tower, this figure represents a substantial deviation from ChatGPT's typical day-over-day uninstall rate, which has averaged around 9% over the preceding thirty days, highlighting the unusual nature of this consumer response.
Concurrently, OpenAI's competitor, Anthropic, saw a notable uplift in U.S. downloads for its Claude application. Downloads climbed by 37% day-over-day on Friday, February 27, and further by 51% as of Saturday, February 28. This positive trend for Anthropic followed the company's public declaration that it would not pursue a partnership with the U.S. defense department. Anthropic cited an inability to reach agreeable deal terms, driven by profound concerns regarding the potential use of AI for surveillance of American citizens and its deployment in fully autonomous weaponry, an application for which AI is not yet considered safely prepared.
The data strongly suggests that a considerable segment of the consumer base resonated positively with Anthropic's principled stance on these critical ethical considerations.
The news of its DoD collaboration also negatively impacted ChatGPT's download trajectory. U.S. downloads for the app experienced a 13% day-over-day decline on Saturday, shortly after the partnership became public. This downward trend persisted into Sunday, with downloads falling an additional 5% day-over-day. This contrasts sharply with the app's performance prior to the announcement, when its downloads had seen a 14% day-over-day increase on Friday.
These swift market shifts were clearly mirrored in Claude's App Store performance. The application ascended to the No. 1 spot on the U.S. App Store on Saturday, a position it has maintained as of Monday, March 2. This remarkable achievement signifies a jump of over 20 ranks compared to its standing approximately a week prior.
Consumers also expressed their dissatisfaction with OpenAI's deal through app ratings. One-star reviews for ChatGPT skyrocketed by 775% on Saturday and then grew by another 100% day-over-day on Sunday, as reported by Sensor Tower. Conversely, five-star reviews saw a significant decrease of 50% during the identical timeframe.
Supporting Sensor Tower's observations, multiple other third-party data providers have corroborated these findings.
For instance, Appfigures reported that Claude's total daily U.S. downloads on Saturday surpassed those of ChatGPT for the very first time. Appfigures also noted an increase in Claude's U.S. downloads, with their estimates placing this growth even higher, at an impressive 88% day-over-day on Saturday.
Beyond its U.S. success, Claude has now secured the position of the No. 1 free iPhone app in six additional countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, and Switzerland.
Another market intelligence firm, Similarweb, indicated that Claude's U.S. downloads over the past week were approximately 20 times greater than those recorded in January. However, Similarweb also posited that while political considerations played a role, additional factors might have contributed to this substantial growth.
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