ChatGPT uninstalls nearly triple after OpenAI and Department of Defense contract

Anthropic, the developer of Claude, came into conflict with the US Department of Defense, which sought to lift restrictions on Claude due to its surveillance and military uses. This ultimately led to Anthropic being designated a 'supply chain risk' by the US government, leading to a new AI contract with OpenAI. Following this, app market research has confirmed that ChatGPT's popularity has declined while Anthropic's has soared.

ChatGPT uninstalls surged by 295% after DoD deal | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/02/chatgpt-uninstalls-surged-by-295-after-dod-deal/

The incident began when Anthropic, which had $200 million in contracts with U.S. intelligence and defense organizations, steadfastly refused to comply with a request from the Department of Defense to lift the Claude restrictions. Negotiations between Anthropic and the Department of Defense ultimately collapsed, prompting Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, under direction from President Donald Trump, to designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk.

President Trump claims that Anthropic's left-wing fanatics have attempted to control the U.S. military, and orders the severance of ties. Secretary of Defense Hegseth will designate Anthropic as a 'supply chain risk' - GIGAZINE

Shortly after Anthropic and the Department of Defense's negotiations broke down, OpenAI signed a new AI contract with the Department of Defense. CEO Sam Altman commented, 'The contract was obviously rushed and didn't look good. We really wanted to calm things down,' and said the contract was signed to ease tensions between the Department of Defense and the AI industry.

OpenAI agrees to AI contract with Department of Defense, shortly after Anthropic negotiations collapse - GIGAZINE

Following OpenAI's signing of the contract, a movement to 'cancel ChatGPT' arose on the Internet, and at the same time, a trend of support for Anthropic, which was in conflict with the government, emerged. As a result, Anthropic's Claude app rose to the top of the App Store rankings.

Claude rises to number one in the App Store rankings, users support Anthropic's conflict with the government - GIGAZINE

Taking advantage of this trend, Anthropic has opened up the memory feature to free users in order to attract new users, and has also added the ability to import memories from other AIs.

Anthropic opens Claude's memory function to free users to acquire AI switching users & adds memory import function - GIGAZINE

According to TechCrunch, citing data provided by market intelligence provider Sensor Tower, ChatGPT app uninstalls in the US increased by 295% on February 28, the day the news of OpenAI's contract with the US Department of Defense became public, compared to a typical 9% increase over the previous day over the past 30 days. Downloads on the same day were down 13% and the following day, March 1, were down 5%. Meanwhile, downloads increased by 14% on February 27, the day before the partnership announcement.

Furthermore, the number of 1-star reviews for the ChatGPT app, which indicates a negative rating, increased by 775% on the 28th compared to the previous day, and by 100% on March 1st. Conversely, the number of 5-star reviews, which indicates a positive rating, decreased by 50%.

Meanwhile, downloads of Anthropic's Claude app were reported to have increased by 37% on February 27 and 51% on February 28. TechCrunch notes that 'the data suggests some consumers support Anthropic's position on this issue.'