If you were born after 1990, you will have to imagine this (the rest of us actually lived it)… In the past, if you wanted to drive to an unfamiliar location, you’d need to get a physical map, use a combination of prior knowledge and common sense to determine what would be the easiest way there, either memorize it or write it down.

Today, you can simply type the name of a destination and instantly receive a map showing the quickest route along with turn-by-turn instructions to get there. These advancements, which predated the modern smartphone, were made possible thanks to a service called MapQuest.

In 1994, the GeoSystems Global Corporation was created out of the cartographic division of publishing company R.R. Donnelley, which included Barry Glick, Chris Heivly and Perry Evans.

Two years later, the company adapted its code for online use and launched MapQuest. Data such as the typical speeds of roads was purchased from third-party companies like Navigation Technologies (NavTeq), and updated a few times a year.

At that time, the maps generated had to be printed on paper to be portable. The driving instructions could also be downloaded to “advanced cell phones” (which were heavy and uncommon at the time) and personal digital assistants.

Do you remember printing out 4 pages of MapQuest directions to travel the streets like pirates following a treasure map?

Image credit: Twitter and Reddit

Many organizations used to link to MapQuest on their websites to help customers get to their stores or offices. GeoSystems generated approximately $20 million per year from ads and collaboration agreements this way. In 1999, the company rebranded as MapQuest and went public.

The following year, MapQuest was acquired by America Online (AOL) for $1.1 billion in stock. With the resources of its new owner, the service was able to expand into Europe, launching local sites in multiple languages.

When BlackBerry Was the Future

In the new millennium, competition was growing with services like MSN MapPoint, Yahoo! Local Maps, and Google Maps, which used technologies such as the .NET Framework, Adobe Flash, and JavaScript. These technologies enabled more interactive maps that allowed users to see search suggestions, zoom in and out, move around, and even rate businesses without reloading the page.

MapQuest didn’t want to alienate its existing user base, a large portion of which was still using outdated software like Internet Explorer 5 or Mac OS 9. Indeed, MapQuest remained the most popular mapping service in the U.S., with more than 50 million monthly users and a 50% market share.

MapQuest signed a deal with Research in Motion (BlackBerry) in 2005 to launch the Find Me app, which used the phone’s GPS to show users their location and the location of their friends. Finally, this meant that a single wrong turn would not render the rest of the directions useless.

Finally, this meant that a single wrong turn would not render the rest of the directions useless.

The service was priced at $4 per month, a cost-effective alternative to purchasing a separate GPS device for the car, which was more expensive and required installation.

The following year, MapQuest launched Navigator for mobile phones for $10 per month, which included voice directions and a visual presentation. Only in 2006, MapQuest sold its print publishing division.

In early 2007, weeks before the iPhone was launched, CEO Steve Jobs and team decided at the last minute to include a maps app for the device using data from close ally, Google (how things change and stay the same). Jobs thought that the Maps app would make for a good demonstration of the iPhone’s multitouch technology, though it clearly did much more than that.

Later that year, Google stopped linking to MapQuest and Yahoo! Maps when users searched for names of places, keeping only Google Maps. That gave Google a huge advantage with new users who didn’t have a preferred site yet.

When Google stopped linking to alternative map providers. Source: Google Blogoscoped

AOL failed to leverage its capabilities in the same manner: for most people, it was little more than a news website that offered services like email and instant messaging, which lost popularity by remaining exclusive to AOL’s declining internet service for too long. However, by the end of the year, AOL launched a beta for its new, modern site, as well as a dedicated mobile site featuring live traffic and gas price updates.

In 2008, MapQuest 4 Mobile was launched for BlackBerry, combining the functionality of the mobile site and the previous Find Me app, and a new iPhone site was introduced. That year also saw the introduction of the first Android phones, which of course launched with Google Maps.

In early 2009, a new MapQuest website was released from beta, featuring the ability to drag routes to modify them and integrate social media. The map used the entire screen’s width, which was good for older displays with a 4:3 aspect ratio, but required scrolling down to see the map. Around that time, Google Maps surpassed MapQuest in number of users.

Later that year, MapQuest launched a dedicated Android website, and both MapQuest 4 Mobile and MapQuest Navigator for the iPhone. MapQuest 360 View was introduced to compete with Google Street View. With BlackBerry remaining the most popular smartphone in the U.S., it looked like MapQuest was there to stay, at least as a competitor.

In No Map’s Land

The year 2010 marked a shift in the mobile market from BlackBerry to Android. MapQuest tried to differentiate itself on the iPhone by offering basic voice narration on the free MapQuest 4 app. It also became the first major brand to feature sites based on OpenStreetMap, referred to as the “Wikipedia of maps,” starting in the UK, India and the U.S. and quickly expanding around the world.

Toward the end of the year, MapQuest launched a new site with a different logo and a design similar to Google Maps, which frustrated long-time MapQuest users who felt that if they needed to learn a new interface, they might as well switch to a different service. In 2011, MapQuest released an Android app. The following year, the company began utilizing still cameras to let drivers see traffic conditions for themselves.

In 2012, both the MapQuest and Apple mobile apps switched to using TomTom for their map data. The new Apple Maps was launched in an incomplete state with the iPhone 5, leading to an official apology from CEO Tim Cook and making MapQuest the most downloaded iPhone navigation app. It’s fair to question why the two companies did not collaborate, which could have led to Apple acquiring MapQuest a few years later.

MapQuest attempted to create a social network with MapQuest Vibe/Local, based around user reviews; MapQuest Discover, which let users share photos and lists of favorite locations; and MapQuest Travel Blogs, but without success. The market for social networks may have been saturated by then, or perhaps the old users that MapQuest previously tried to retain weren’t the right audience.

In 2013, MapQuest launched an app for Windows Phone, which was a small but rapidly growing platform at the time, but slowed down soon after. Google acquired the promising competitor Waze, which let users warn others of traffic difficulties, for $1.3 billion. No other app came close to challenging Apple and Google since.

Burned Out or Faded Away?

In 2015, AOL was sold to Verizon, and two years later merged with Yahoo! In 2019, MapQuest was sold to ad-tech company System1, which operates it to this day.

The MapQuest apps are limited to the U.S. and Canada (the site also works for the UK), and like Apple, they incorporate TripAdvisor and Yelp business reviews. The mapping data is provided by Here, which was created out of NavTeq and Nokia.

In 2022, Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and TomTom founded the Overture Maps Foundation, relying on OpenStreetMap and other sources to create maps that are free to use by developers and other map creators.

Unlike Flickr or GeoCities, MapQuest wasn’t a fundamentally mismanaged service. It suffered from the failings of AOL and BlackBerry, from Google becoming ubiquitous, and maybe from a few missed opportunities. MapQuest played a big part in the development of the internet, and doesn’t need to remain popular to be remembered.