Foursquare is separating its app into two parts: one for finding your friends and checking in, and one for finding nearby things to do. Swarm is the company’s new app that takes care of check-ins and finding friends. The app is extremely simple to use, showing you a list of friends from nearest to furthest away.
To check in, tap the location button at the top right and the app will automatically detect where you are. You can choose from a list of nearby locations if the app can’t find you.
Swarm doesn’t rely entirely on check-ins to show where your friends are. Instead, it uses passive location signals to show your location to your friends. If you want to stay private, you can disable this feature (called Neighborhood Sharing) by swiping right on your profile picture at the top.
The app also lets you create a plan for inviting a specific list of friends. You can use this to plan a trip and to chat with your friends about it.
The official Foursquare app still has the ability to check in an find your friends but these features will be removed soon. The updated Foursquare app will focus on discovering things to do, taking on Yelp.
Swarm is available now for Android and iOS at the links below.
Source: Foursquare
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