MapQuest reaches number one in US App Store rankings

MapQuest, a veteran in the digital mapping market, has reached the absolute number one spot among all apps and games on the US App Store. This unexpected success followed the company's decision to defy an order from the US presidential administration to rename Lake Ontario. This was reported by Techcrunch.com reports.

According to ixbt.com, at the end of August this year, US officials issued a decree requiring the country's geographic naming service to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" as part of a trade policy. Following this decision, major tech giants like Google Maps and Apple Maps accepted the change and updated the names on their maps.

Principled position and user support

However, MapQuest chose a different path. The company announced via its official X account that it would preserve the lake's historical name and would not change it. Users warmly welcomed the company's firm stance and began supporting it en masse.

As a result, the app, which was ranked 8th in the US App Store on Monday, climbed to the top spot by Tuesday. According to data from the analytics firm Sensor Tower, the app has been downloaded approximately 632,000 times in the US alone since the decree was announced.

Drastic changes in company activity

According to data provided by MapQuest, the number of installations across the US and Canada has exceeded 1.5 million. New users are not just downloading the app, but are actively participating in its development.

In an interview with TechCrunch, MapQuest General Manager Doug Berger stated that the team is working tirelessly on bug reports and feature suggestions coming from users. According to him, more than half of the downloads recorded since the beginning of the year, specifically 56 percent, occurred during this short period from August 27 to September 1.