Domino Effect of Cooperation with the US Government, ChatGPT Loses 1.5 Million Users
In recent days, more than 1.5 million users are reported to have left OpenAI’s platform following controversy over the company’s cooperation with the United States government, particularly the Department of Defence. According to Forbes on Wednesday, 5 March 2026, OpenAI’s decision to allow the US Department of Defence to use its AI models within a classified network sparked a strong backlash. Many users have chosen to switch to Claude, Anthropic’s chatbot, after the company refused to grant unfettered access to the US government.
A site coordinating a boycott of ChatGPT claims more than 1.5 million people have left the service. In addition to the Defence Department partnership, OpenAI’s contract with ICE and a US$25 million donation by OpenAI President Greg Brockman to MAGA Inc. are cited as further sources of user disillusion.
Meanwhile, Claude’s app is reported to have surged to the top of App Store downloads, surpassing ChatGPT.
Important Steps Before Deleting Your ChatGPT Account
If you are considering closing your ChatGPT account and switching to another AI service, there are several important steps to ensure your data and chat history are not lost.
The first step is to export all your chat data. OpenAI provides a feature to download a complete archive of all users’ chat histories.
The process is not instantaneous and may take some time until you receive an email containing the download link. Therefore, users are advised to wait until the file is received before fully closing the account.
The steps to export data via a web browser are as follows:
Open ChatGPT in a web browser.
Click the profile icon in the bottom-left corner.
Select Settings.
Click Data controls.
Press the Export button next to the ‘Export data’ option and follow the on-screen instructions.
In the same menu, there is an option to delete all conversations. However, deletion is permanent, so you should ensure the data archive has been successfully downloaded beforehand.
According to OpenAI’s support page, deleted conversations are scheduled for permanent deletion, but the process can take up to 30 days.