Trump’s Lake America controversy is driving interest to these Google Maps alternatives
Just because Google and Apple are now calling it Lake America doesn’t mean everyone has to. After President Donald Trump ordered a new name for Lake Ontario , the two U.S. tech giants quickly fell in line, relabeling the body of water on their digital maps. The move sparked a backlash among some users, already unhappy with the companies’ decisions to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of…
The controversy surrounding President Donald Trump's renaming of Lake Ontario to Lake America has piqued interest in Google Maps alternatives. This move, along with Apple's own renaming of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America, sparked backlash among users concerned about digital privacy. As a result, many are turning to map services offered by non-big tech companies.
MapQuest, a free app owned by System1 since 2021, saw a surge in downloads following the naming controversy, and is available in multiple countries. TomTom, a Dutch company known for its GPS devices, offers a free map app for Google and Android phones that focuses on drivers. HERE WeGo, owned by Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz, is hailed as a close alternative to Google Maps with features for various modes of transportation and offline maps.
Other privacy-focused map apps, such as Organic Maps, OSMand, Magic Earth, Sygic, Mapy.com, and Citymapper, cater to users concerned about data collection and offer diverse features like offline maps, public transportation routes, and bike scooter options.
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