War over AI in war: Why many are cancelling ChatGPT subscription

A Pentagon deal, a privacy backlash, a rival app hitting No. 1 – all within the span of a few days. The Claude vs ChatGPT battle over AI’s role in the US military has spilled out of Washington corridors and onto millions of people’s phones. When OpenAI confirmed an agreement with the Department of War to deploy its AI models on classified government networks, the backlash was immediate: “Cancel ChatGPT” began trending across Reddit and X. Multiple reports said that this fallout is now materialising as US app uninstalls of ChatGPT’s mobile app jumped 295% day-over-day on Saturday, February 28, even as Claude became the top free app on Apple App Store in the US, as per data from market intelligence provider Sensor Tower.

‘Cancel ChatGPT’: The deal that started it all

The controversy began when OpenAI confirmed an agreement with the US Department of War to deploy its AI models on classified government networks. The anger was fuelled after President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using Anthropic — the maker of Claude — after the company drew a hard line against AI being used for mass surveillance or autonomous weapons.




It has been a general belief that OpenAI has accepted the terms which Anthropic did not. In fact, CEO Sam Altman admitted that he had made a mistake and “shouldn’t have rushed” to get the deal out on Friday.

“We were genuinely trying to de-escalate things and avoid a much worse outcome, but I think it just looked opportunistic and sloppy,” he said in a post.

Claude vs ChatGPT: The numbers game

Sensor Tower data says that uninstalls of the ChatGPT mobile app surged 295% day-over-day – compared to a typical daily uninstall rate of just 9%. ChatGPT downloads also fell 13% day-over-day on Saturday, continuing to slide a further 5% on Sunday, March 1. One-star reviews for ChatGPT surged 775% on Saturday alone, then grew another 100% the following day. Five-star reviews dropped by 50% over the same period.

Meanwhile, Anthropic's Claude surged 37% in US downloads on Friday and another 51% on Saturday, after Anthropic publicly announced it had refused to partner with the Defense Department. By Saturday, Claude had reached No. 1 on the US Apple App Store, overtaking ChatGPT for the first time. As of Monday, March 2, it remains there, followed by ChatGPT and Google Gemini.

Similarweb noted that Claude’s US downloads over the past week were roughly 20 times what they were in January. Anthropic confirmed the momentum internally, a report said. The company said free users have grown by more than 60% since January, daily sign-ups have hit all-time records, and paid subscribers have more than doubled this year.

This is because for many users distinction mattered. “No ethics,” and “selling out” were among the phrases trending in online communities as users debated the implications of OpenAI's deal. Many described the partnership as a breach of trust — even as OpenAI insisted its agreement contained clear ethical red lines.

OpenAI has pushed back against the backlash and has said that the company will work with the Pentagon on technical safeguards.

“There are many things the technology just isn’t ready for, and many areas we don’t yet understand the tradeoffs required for safety,” Altman said.