Foursquare users have checked in over five billion times since the app launched in 2009, but soon that’s all about to change with a dramatic update.
Today, the company announced that Foursquare will shift to being all about local discovery, and a separate app called Swarm will be for checking in to locations.
Swarm will include functionality users are already familiar with, including push notifications to let you know when friends are nearby. It’s expected to launch on Android and iOS “in the coming weeks” with it eventually heading over to Windows Phone.
“We built Swarm because you’ve told us how often you still have to text your friends: “where are you?” and “what you up to later?” We wanted to build a quick way for you to know these two things for all of your friends.”
As evidenced by the logo pictured above, Swarm will still be part of Foursquare, just as a separate entity.
We’ve seen the rise of local search/discovery services like Yelp over the past several years, and that’s exactly what the Foursquare app will soon focus on:
“We believe local search should be personalized to your tastes and informed by the people you trust. The opinions of actual experts should matter, not just strangers. An app should be able answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station.’ We’re right now putting the final touches on this new, discovery-focused version of Foursquare. It’ll be polished and ready for you later this summer.”
To be among the first to know when Swarm launches, you can sign up via its official website or follow @SwarmApp on Twitter.
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