Claude hits one million daily signups, passing ChatGPT in Google Play Store

Source: 9to5Google

Claude’s Rapid Growth

Anthropic reports that more than one million people are signing up every day for Claude AI accounts worldwide. This surge has propelled the Claude AI app to become the number‑one free app on both the Google Play Store and the App Store in the US and other regions, overtaking ChatGPT according to data from AppFigures at the time of writing.

Comparison with ChatGPT

While Claude’s daily sign‑ups are now exceeding one million, OpenAI reported 900 million active users per week and over 50 million consumer subscribers as of the end of February 2026. The contrasting growth trends suggest a shift in user preference toward Claude for various generative and conversational use cases.

Controversy Around OpenAI’s Department of War Partnership

OpenAI recently entered a partnership with the U.S. Department of War to deploy AI for classified applications. This move has drawn criticism from some Google employees and others who argue that robust guardrails are necessary. OpenAI maintains that its safety measures prevent the use of ChatGPT or internal models for autonomous weapons or mass surveillance, stating that it has “been working hard to ensure that a classified deployment can happen with safeguards to ensure that red lines are not crossed.”

Anthropic, meanwhile, has been labeled a “supply chain risk” by the DoD—a designation the company plans to challenge in court. Anthropic clarified that it, nor any other company, has a role in operational decision‑making related to mass surveillance or autonomous weapons, as outlined in its statement here.