ChatGPT clearance was increased by 295% after DoD

US app downloads for ChatGPT’s mobile app jumped 295% daily on Saturday, February 28, as consumers responded to news of OpenAI is a project of the Department of Defense (DoD), which was rebranded under the Trump administration as War Department.

This data, which comes from a market intelligence provider Sensor Towerrepresents a significant increase compared to ChatGPT’s daily average of 9%, as measured over the past thirty days.

Meanwhile, US downloads of OpenAI’s competitor, Anthropic’s Claude, jumped by 37% on a daily basis on Friday, Feb. 27, and 51% from Saturday, Feb. 28, the company announced that they will not cooperate with the US Department of Defense. Anthropic said it was unable to approve the deal due to concerns that AI could be used to monitor Americans and use autonomous weapons, which AI is not designed to do safely.

A consumer group that seems to favor Anthropic’s views on this issue, the data shows.

Additionally, ChatGPT’s download growth was affected by the news of its DoD deal, with its downloads in the US dropping 13% daily on Saturday, shortly after news of its deal became public. The drop continued on Sunday, where it dropped 5% daily. (Before the deal was announced, the app’s downloads grew 14% day-to-day on Friday.)

These quick updates also appeared on the Claude’s App Store page, as the program hit no. 1 on the US App Store on Saturdaywhere it continues since Monday, March 2. This is a jump of more than 20 ranks compared to the previous week (Feb. 22, 2026).

Customers are also sharing their thoughts on OpenAI’s performance in app reviews, with ChatGPT’s one-star rating increasing 775% on Saturday, and then growing 100% daily on Sunday, Sensor Tower reported. Five-star reviews dropped immediately, down 50%.

Other third-party providers support Sensor Tower’s findings.

Artfor example, he noted that Claude’s daily downloads in the US on Saturday surpassed ChatGPT’s for the first time. It also saw Claude’s downloads in the US increase, but its estimates put the number even higher: it is 88% daily on Saturday.

It also reported that Claude is now the No. 1 free iPhone app in six countries, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Switzerland, and the US.

A third party market intelligence provider, Similar websitesaid that Claude’s downloads in the US last week were about 20x what they were in January, but this could be due to reasons other than politics, it warned.