This Is Proof US Netizens Aren't Messing Around with 'Cancel ChatGPT'

The impact of the controversial OpenAI collaboration with the United States Department of Defense is being felt in the performance of ChatGPT in the US market. Not long after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the agreement to deploy the AI model to the government’s classified networks, waves of protests appeared on social media. From calls to uninstall ChatGPT to mass migration to Claude (Anthropic’s competing AI chatbot). The effect of the protests is reflected in a spike in uninstalls and poor ratings for the AI chatbot launched in 2022. Sensor Tower, a market intelligence company, shows that daily ChatGPT uninstalls in the United States jumped by 295 percent on Saturday, 28 February 2026, shortly after the news of the collaboration with the Department of Defense was announced. By comparison, in the 30 days before the announcement, ChatGPT’s daily uninstall rate averaged around 9 percent. In other words, the spike was about 33 times the normal level. This sharp rise is seen as a direct protest by some users against the collaboration. Sensor Tower notes that downloads of the AI chatbot, which has 900 million weekly active users, fell 13 percent day-over-day on 28 February. On Sunday, 1 March 2026, downloads again fell by a further 5 percent. Just a day before the official announcement, ChatGPT downloads had risen by 14 percent. Meanwhile, the protest wave also showed up in app reviews. The number of one-star ratings for ChatGPT surged by 775 percent on Saturday, and then rose again by 100 percent on Sunday. Meanwhile, five-star ratings were reported to have fallen by 50 percent in the same period. Amid the deterioration in ChatGPT’s performance, its rival Claude from Anthropic recorded a significant surge.