New Delhi: MapQuest, an online mapping service that was once a staple of the early internet, has made a comeback in the US. The app has climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings after refusing to rename Lake Ontario as “Lake America.” The renaming push was due to a directive from US President Donald Trump.
Founded in 1996, MapQuest was among the first major online mapping services and became a familiar tool for road trips during the 1990s and early 2000s. Its popularity declined with the rise of in-car GPS systems and competitors such as Google Maps and Apple Maps.
As of Tuesday afternoon, MapQuest was the No. 1 free app on Apple’s App Store, overtaking popular apps including ChatGPT and ESPN Fantasy Sports. It was also ranked 8th among free apps on Google Play.
Lake Ontario to Lake America
The surge came after MapQuest said it would not change the name of Lake Ontario, following Trump’s executive order seeking to rename the lake as “Lake America”.
The Trump administration’s move came amid heightened tensions with Canada and a broader trade dispute with its northern neighbour.
Last week, Trump floated the idea of renaming Lake Ontario, saying the US did not expect to be “doing much business with Ontario any longer.” On the first day of his second term, Trump had similarly signed an executive order to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America”.
MapQuest General Manager Doug Berger said the company had taken the same approach to the Gulf of Mexico renaming.
“We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they’re familiar with,” Berger said in a company press release on Monday.
MapQuest also launched an online tool allowing users to rename the lake to whatever they chose.
Also Read: Lake America? Trump mulls renaming Lake Ontario, expresses love for French Canadians amid trade war
Google, Apple take different approaches
Other mapping platforms have taken a different approach. Google Maps changed the name depending on the user’s location. According to CNN, users accessing Google Maps in the US would see “Lake America”, while those in Canada would continue to see “Lake Ontario”.
Apple Maps also changed the name to Lake America on Tuesday, although some users continued to report seeing Lake Ontario. US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox that Trump had directly contacted Apple regarding the name change. Apple has not publicly commented on the claim.
On Tuesday, MapQuest said that usage of its app had increased roughly 50 times compared with the previous week.
Edited by Maryam Hassan