It's 2026, and each things precocious '90s and early 2000s are cool again. Including, apparently, MapQuest.
The self-proclaimed "OG of online mapping" has changeable up to the fourth-most-downloaded free programme connected Apple's App Store successful the US. It's the most-downloaded Apple app successful Canada and the 21st astir celebrated free app connected Google Play Store, according to AppFigures.
MapQuest's renaissance comes aft the free online mapping work wrote respective posts saying it will proceed to explanation the easternmost Great Lake arsenic "Lake Ontario." The move rejects the Trump Administration's Thursday executive bid that "immediately" renamed the assemblage of h2o betwixt New York and Ontario "Lake America" successful the national government's charismatic database of spot names.
We are alert that Lake Ontario is being correctly branded connected our map.
— MapQuest (@MapQuest) August 31, 2026Google Maps changed the lake's name for American users connected Sunday, while Apple Maps has — truthful acold — kept the Ontario moniker.
That could change, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Fox News connected Monday. Trump "has reached retired to Apple directly," he said, adding that we could spot app updates "coming soon."
In 2025, Apple and Google some updated their representation labels, renaming the Gulf of Mexico to "Gulf of America" aft a akin executive order.
MapQuest, which started successful 1996, became celebrated earlier smartphones became widespread. American families could inquire the computer-based work for turn-by-turn directions to a destination hours distant and past people them earlier hitting the road. AOL scooped up the work successful 2000 for $1.1 billion.
It quickly became obsolete arsenic GPS-enabled phones roseate successful popularity, giving drivers on-the-spot directions, moreover if they took a incorrect turn. Google Maps surpassed MapQuest successful fame by 2008.
The aged level told Business Insider it initially decided to support the Gulf of Mexico's sanction "as a joke astir being truthful aged we don't cognize really to update our maps."
Now, MapQuest says it's seen a 50x surge successful usage — and won't move either assemblage of water's name.
"People said pinch their downloads," Doug Berger, the wide head of MapQuest, said. "They want a mapping app pinch names they're acquainted with."
Google Maps, meanwhile, is the 19th astir celebrated Apple app successful America, 14 slots down MapQuest.
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Ben Shimkus is simply a newsman for the Business News desk. He writes astir cars, transportation, retail, and jobs. Ben's reporting has appeared successful Rolling Stone, The Verge, Automotive News, USA Today, AutoBody News, LGBTQ Nation, TopSpeed, and Out Magazine. He's besides held unit penning positions astatine The U.S. Sun and the Daily Mail. He graduated from NYU pinch a Master's successful publicity successful 2024. Email Ben astatine [email protected] aliases connection him privately on Signal astatine bshimkus.41.
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