MapQuest tops Apple App Store after refusing to change Lake Ontario to “Lake America”

Updated on: September 1, 2026 / 10:36 AM EDT / CBS News

Thirty years after launching during the dot-com boom, MapQuest has a new roadmap to success.

The digital mapping company is now the top free app in the Apple App Store after declining to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America," despite President Trump signing an executive order last week to change its name.

"The surge follows MapQuest's decision to keep the historical, familiar names for lakes and gulfs on its maps," the company said Monday in a press release.

ChatGPT is the second-most downloaded free app on Apple.

MapQuest disclosed its decision on social media on Aug. 27, posting "We're not changing it," the same day Mr. Trump signed the order directing the name change.

"We are aware that Lake Ontario is being correctly labeled on our map," the company later posted. MapQuest also launched a tool that allows people to create their own name for the lake.

MapQuest said Monday that hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded the app since the company announced it would keep the name Lake Ontario. Usage of the app is also running roughly 50 times its normal rate, the company said.

"We took…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/entertainment/