Claude topped the App Store rankings after U.S. authorities investigated Anthropic.

Claude becomes the leader of free iOS apps

Recently, Claude from Anthropic took first place among free apps in the U.S. App Store. This happened roughly a day after former President Donald Trump’s administration tried to ban Anthropic products for government use because the company refused to cooperate with the Pentagon.

Why does this matter?

The situation caused Anthropic’s name to regularly appear in the news. At the end of the week, Trump posted on Truth Social calling the company’s decision a “terrible mistake.” Simultaneously, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced an intention to designate Anthropic as a national security threat, stripping the company of its ability to work with government and defense agencies.

Trend in the AI‑app market

Earlier in the App Store, other AI solutions were more popular among users. Now Claude is followed by OpenAI’s ChatGPT (second place) and Google Gemini (fourth). According to data from analytics firm Sensor Tower, on January 30 Claude was ranked 131st, but by mid‑February it had entered the top 20, and throughout February held the second spot. ChatGPT remained the leader in first place.

Growth of the user base

Since leaving the January ranking, Anthropic’s free users have grown by 60%. Daily registrations tripled compared to November last year, and paid subscribers increased more than twice this year.