MapQuest climbs to top of U.S. App Store after retaining historic lake name
MapQuest became the leading navigation app in the U.S. Apple App Store after it kept the name Lake Ontario on its maps, prompting a surge in downloads.
MapQuest reported that its navigation app reached the No. 1 spot in the U.S. Apple App Store’s navigation category and No. 8 among all free apps after it announced it would continue using the historic name Lake Ontario on its maps. The decision came in response to a presidential order to rename the lake "Lake America" for U.S. users, a change adopted by Google Maps and Apple Maps but rejected by MapQuest.
The company said the move generated roughly 50 times its usual traffic, with hundreds of thousands of new downloads recorded by the evening of Aug. 30. It also rose to No. 2 among free apps in Canada. Doug Berger, MapQuest’s general manager, said the firm chose to "be part of the conversation" and provide an app that retains familiar names, noting that users signaled approval by downloading the app.
MapQuest has added a feature that lets users rename Lake Ontario within the app, extending a similar tool it introduced for the Gulf of Mexico earlier this year. Public-relations consultant Eric Yaverbaum said the company capitalized on a cultural moment without forcing a political stance, but cautioned that businesses should tread carefully when engaging in political issues.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Aug. 27 directing the Interior Department to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America" for U.S. users, a move tied to broader trade tensions between the United States and Canada.