MapQuest reaches top spot

The legacy navigation app shot to No. 1 across all apps and games on the U.S. App Store, rising rapidly from rank 128 in just a few days.

“became the No. 1 overall app on the U.S. App Store”

Defying the 'Lake America' order

The surge followed MapQuest's public refusal to rename Lake Ontario to 'Lake America' following a presidential executive order.

“MapQuest announced on X that it would not change the lake’s name”

Surge in new downloads

The app saw over 1.5 million downloads across the U.S. and Canada, with over half of its year-to-date downloads occurring in under a week.

“over 1.5 million installs across the U.S. and Canada combined.”

Users turn into active fans

New users are actively sending feature requests, submitting bug reports, and leaving reviews as MapQuest's small team works to support them.

“What’s been incredible is that people aren’t just installing our app — they care enough to communicate directly with us”

Contrasting with Big Tech rivals

While Google Maps and Apple Maps updated their applications to match federal databases, MapQuest used its independence to take a stand.

“As a much smaller player, MapQuest has more freedom to take a stand and buck the typical conventions.”

A history of political defiance

MapQuest previously kept the Gulf of Mexico's original name and recently launched an interactive tool letting users custom-rename Lake Ontario.

“It still calls the Gulf of Mexico by its original name, instead of Gulf of America.”

MapQuest's journey to System1

Once the pioneer of web mapping, MapQuest lost its lead to Google and was acquired by System1 in 2019 after passing through AOL and Verizon.