MapQuest’s unlikely comeback just got even bigger. On Tuesday, the “OG” mapping application (and one that many thought no longer existed!) became the No. 1 overall app on the U.S. App Store, up from No. 8 on Monday.
The surge in new downloads was inspired by MapQuest’s refusal to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America,” after President Trump’s executive order directed the U.S. geographic naming service to adopt the new name amid his ongoing trade push.
After the August 27 order, MapQuest announced on X that it would not change the lake’s name, while both Google Maps and, later, Apple Maps, capitulated. As a result, MapQuest’s U.S. App Store ranking steadily climbed, as consumers downloaded the app to show their support for the company’s stance.
MapQuest’s rank climbed from No. 128 on August 28 to No. 92 the following day, and then hit No. 3 this Monday, August 31, when it was also No. 1 in the Navigation category. By Tuesday of this week, MapQuest had reached the No. 1 spot across both apps and games on the U.S. App Store.
Since the executive order was issued, the app has been downloaded an estimated 632,000 times in the U.S., according to data from market intelligence provider Sensor Tower. Reached for comment, MapQuest said the app had actually seen over 1.5 million installs across the U.S. and Canada combined.
