MapQuest Surges to No. 1 in the Apple App Store, 30 Years After Inventing Online Mapping

Hundreds of thousands of downloads push usage to 50 times its normal rate as users embrace the brand's decision to keep familiar lake and gulf names

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MapQuest, the original internet mapping service, is the No. 1 Navigation app and the No. 8 overall free app in the U.S. Apple App Store, and the No. 2 overall free app in the Canada Apple App Store, as of 7 p.m. PDT on August 30. It is the highest chart position in the brand's 30-year history. Hundreds of thousands of people have downloaded the MapQuest apps since Thursday, and usage is running roughly 50 times its normal rate.

The surge follows MapQuest's decision to keep the historical, familiar names for lakes and gulfs on its maps. For users who want something different, the company offers a lighthearted alternative: a tool that lets anyone rename the lake themselves, live now at gulfof.mapquest.com/lakeontario. MapQuest first built the tool in February 2025 for the Gulf of Mexico and expanded it this week to cover Lake Ontario.

"We took the same approach we did with the Gulf of Mexico: be part of the conversation, and give people an app that keeps the names they're familiar with," said Doug Berger, General Manager of MapQuest. "Hundreds of thousands of people signaled to us this weekend that we got it right, by downloading our app."

MapQuest launched in 1996 as one of the first mapping services on the web and is used by tens of millions of people each month. The MapQuest app is available now for free on iOS and Android.

About MapQuest

MapQuest is one of the most recognized names in digital navigation, helping tens of millions of people every month find their way across the United States and around the world. Launched in 1996, MapQuest pioneered online mapping and turn-by-turn directions, and continues to deliver trusted maps, routing, and local discovery through MapQuest.com and the MapQuest mobile app. Beyond consumer navigation, the MapQuest Platform offers a developer-grade suite of geocoding, routing, and mapping APIs that power location experiences for businesses across logistics, real estate, retail, and SaaS, and the company's RoadWarrior product serves last-mile delivery drivers with multi-stop route optimization. MapQuest is owned and operated by System1, Inc. Visit MapQuest.com to learn more.

About System1, Inc.

System1 (NYSE: SST) operates flagship consumer brands across shopping, travel, and search — including MapQuest, Startpage, CouponFollow, and Dogpile — alongside a best-in-class customer acquisition and marketing platform powered by AI and machine learning. For more information, visit System1.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, particularly any statements regarding System1's future results. App store rankings and usage figures reflect a point in time and are subject to change.