MapQuest, the self-described “OG of online mapping,” experienced a significant surge in app downloads and usage after refusing to comply with an executive order from President Donald Trump to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” As a result, MapQuest’s iOS app climbed to No. 4 in the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts for non-game apps and achieved the No. 1 position in the Navigation category in the United States. The company reported “hundreds of thousands” of new downloads and a 50-fold increase in app usage since maintaining the original name of the lake [https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/].

Market intelligence provider Sensor Tower corroborated the surge, noting that MapQuest saw 184,000 global and 162,000 U.S. app downloads during the week beginning August 24, representing more than a tenfold increase week-over-week. In the U.S., daily downloads increased by 128% from August 26 to August 30. MapQuest’s general manager, Doug Berger, stated that the company’s approach was to “be part of the conversation” and provide an app that retains familiar names, which resonated with users who downloaded the app in large numbers over the weekend. The company also released a humorous online tool allowing users to rename Lake Ontario as they wish and share the results on social media [https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/31/mapquests-app-surges-to-no-1-in-navigation-after-refusing-to-rename-lake-ontario/].

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