MapQuest refused to follow the order and posted the message “We’re not changing it” on X, joining the public criticism of the name change.

The defiant posts sparked a huge increase in downloads: MapQuest rose to No. 1 among free apps in Apple’s U.S. and Canadian App Stores, with roughly 80,000 iOS downloads in the United States and Canada on Sunday, up from an average of about 500 earlier in August. Google Play downloads jumped from around 1,000 per day to 20,000 on Saturday.

On August 30, total downloads passed 100,000, the best day for the service in a decade, and the company said usage had increased roughly 50‑fold, indicating that many people actually opened the app.

“People spoke with their downloads,” MapQuest general manager Doug Berger told Business Insider. The episode shows how a company’s public opposition to a controversial government order can quickly turn into massive user support and a top‑ranking position in app stores.