WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - MapQuest is seeing a major boost in app downloads after refusing to follow President Donald Trump's order to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America' on its maps.
The company said it received hundreds of thousands of new downloads after announcing it would continue using the name Lake Ontario. Usage of the app also climbed to 50 times its normal level. Data from Sensor Tower showed MapQuest recorded 184,000 global downloads and 162,000 U.S. downloads during the week beginning Aug. 24, with both figures more than 10 times higher than the previous week.
The surge pushed MapQuest to No. 1 in the U.S. App Store's navigation category, No. 4 among non-gaming apps and No. 8 overall. In Canada, it reached No. 2 overall.
MapQuest said its decision was intended to preserve names familiar to users. The company also launched a tool allowing users to jokingly rename the lake and share the result online.
Meanwhile, Google Maps has adopted the 'Lake America' name for U.S. users while retaining 'Lake Ontario' for Canadian users. Apple Maps continued displaying Lake Ontario as of Monday.
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