MapQuest, a map app, has surged to number one in the navigation category after refusing to change the name of Lake Ontario.



Following President Donald Trump's executive order to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, veteran map app MapQuest declared that it would not make the change. This has led to a surge in MapQuest downloads.

MapQuest's app surges to No. 1 in Navigation after refusing to rename Lake Ontario | TechCrunch

https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/

On August 27, 2026, following the breakdown of trade negotiations with Canada, President Trump decided to rename Lake Ontario, which straddles the border between the United States and Canada, to Lake America, and changed its name in the U.S. Geological Survey's National Geological Survey System (GNIS).

Google Maps, which uses GNIS naming conventions, has changed its name in the United States to refer to Lake Ontario as 'Lake America.' Apple has not yet made the change, but it has been reported that President Trump directly urged Apple to do so.

Following President Trump's declaration to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America, Google Maps has announced its response, adopting different names for the US, Canada, and other countries - GIGAZINE



Meanwhile, MapQuest, which has been providing its service since 1996, has opposed President Trump's decision and declared that it will continue to use the name 'Lake Ontario.'




Following this, MapQuest's download numbers surged. It temporarily reached 4th place in the US App Store's app category (excluding games) rankings. It also reached 8th place in the overall rankings, making it into the top 10 in rankings that include both apps and games, and it became number 1 in the navigation app category. In the Canadian App Store, it reached 2nd place in the overall rankings.

MapQuest reports that 'since deciding to retain the name Lake Ontario, we have seen hundreds of thousands of new downloads and app usage has increased 50 times compared to normal.'



According to research firm Sensor Tower, the MapQuest app was downloaded 184,000 times worldwide in less than a week after the presidential order was issued, an increase of more than 10 times compared to the previous week.

Doug Berger, general manager of MapQuest, said, 'We took the same approach as we did with the Gulf of Mexico : to provide an app that retains the names people are familiar with. Over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of people downloaded our app, proving that our judgment was correct.'

MapQuest has also released a tool that allows you to rename Lake Ontario to any name you like.




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