MapQuest tops U.S. App Store after defying 'Lake America' order

MapQuest has become the No. 1 app on Apple's U.S. App Store after declining to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' as ordered by the president. The app saw a surge in downloads, with more than half of its year-to-date U.S. installs occurring in the six days following the order. The company says it has received over 1.5 million installs across the U.S. and Canada, and users are actively engaging with the app.

MapQuest's corporate lineage runs through several owners. System1, an internet advertising firm, acquired the service from Verizon in 2019, with Verizon having obtained it through its 2015 purchase of AOL. The company's defiance extends beyond Lake Ontario, as it continues using the original Gulf of Mexico designation rather than the newer alternative.

The download surge is substantial by any measure. Sensor Tower estimates roughly 632,000 U.S. installs since the order, while MapQuest reports over 1.5 million combined U.S. and Canadian downloads. Daily install figures jumped 123% during the surge window, and the company notes new users are actively submitting feature requests and bug reports, keeping its small team occupied around the clock.