Three decades after its inception amid the dot-com boom, MapQuest is charting a new course for success.
The digital mapping service has ascended to the position of the most downloaded free application in the Apple App Store, notably choosing not to alter the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” This decision comes in the wake of an executive order signed by President Trump last week aimed at changing the lake’s name.
In a press release issued on Monday, the company attributed its surge in popularity to its commitment to preserving the traditional names of lakes and gulfs on its mapping platform.
ChatGPT ranks as the second-most popular free app on Apple at this time.
MapQuest made its stance clear on social media on August 27, stating, “We’re not changing it,” coinciding with the day Trump signed the order for the name change.
Subsequently, MapQuest affirmed that Lake Ontario is accurately represented on its maps. The company also introduced a feature enabling users to suggest alternative names for the lake.
According to the company, the app has seen a significant influx of downloads, with hundreds of thousands of new users since the announcement to retain the Lake Ontario name. Usage has surged to approximately fifty times its typical level.
“We adopted a similar strategy to what we did with the Gulf of Mexico: engage in the conversation and provide users with an app that reflects the names they know,” stated Doug Berger, MapQuest’s general manager, in a Monday announcement. “This weekend, hundreds of thousands of users indicated we made the right choice by downloading our app.”
President Trump initiated the name change for Lake Ontario last week amid growing trade tensions between the U.S. and Canada, which resulted in both nations imposing 50% tariffs on certain imports after failing to reach an agreement.
The White House has not yet responded to inquiries regarding MapQuest’s decision to retain the name Lake Ontario.
Over the weekend, Google Maps revealed it would be updating its platform to reflect Trump’s revised name for Lake Ontario, which is located on the border between New York and the Canadian province of Ontario. A search for “Lake Ontario” on Google now redirects users to “Lake America.”
As of September 1, Apple Maps continues to display the name “Lake Ontario” for the body of water.
Founded in 1996 and based in Denver, MapQuest was among the pioneer mapping services, offering detailed navigation instructions that many users printed out for their journeys before the widespread adoption of GPS technology.
Edited by Alain Sherter
