MapQuest Refuses Lake Ontario Rename, App Surges to No. 1 in Navigation
By refusing the official rename, a 1996-era map app turned a political naming dispute into a top download, while Google Maps followed the GNIS change.
Reporting from 1 source: GIGAZINE.
MapQuest refused to adopt the renamed American Lake, keeping Lake Ontario on its maps after President Trump's executive order. Downloads surged: the app hit No. 1 in navigation, No. 4 in US apps excluding games, and No. 2 overall in Canada. Sensor Tower counted 184,000 downloads in under a week, up more than 10x week over week. MapQuest reported usage at 50 times normal.
President Trump signed the order on August 27 after US-Canada trade talks broke down, and the US Geological Survey updated its Geographic Names Information System. Google Maps, which uses GNIS names, now shows American Lake in the US. MapQuest, running since 1996, said it would keep Lake Ontario.
The app briefly reached No. 4 in the US App Store apps ranking excluding games, No. 8 overall, and No. 1 in navigation. In Canada it hit No. 2 overall. General manager Doug Berger said the company took the same approach as with the Gulf of Mexico, keeping the names people know, and that hundreds of thousands of downloads over the weekend proved the decision right. MapQuest also released a tool that lets users rename Lake Ontario to anything they choose.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.