Foursquare City Guide

Foursquare Labs Inc.

Company type	Private
Industry	Mobile application, Local search, Social networking (former)
Founded	2008 (2008)
Founder	Dennis Crowley, Naveen Selvadurai
Headquarters	New York City , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Dennis Crowley (co-founder), Naveen Selvadurai (co-founder)
Products	Foursquare City Guide, Swarm (companion app), Places API
Website	foursquare.com

Overview

Foursquare City Guide, widely referred to simply as Foursquare, is a mobile application designed for local search and discovery, developed by Foursquare Labs Inc. The platform delivers tailored suggestions for nearby venues by analyzing a user's past browsing and check-in activities.

The application was launched in 2009 following its creation in late 2008 by founders Dennis Crowley and Naveen Selvadurai. Prior to this, Crowley had developed a similar initiative called Dodgeball as part of his graduate thesis at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP). Google acquired Dodgeball in 2005 but discontinued it in 2009, replacing it with Google Latitude. Unlike Foursquare, Dodgeball operated through SMS rather than a dedicated app. Foursquare expanded on this concept by leveraging the GPS capabilities of modern smartphones such as the iPhone to accurately determine user locations and offer enhanced interactive features.

Up until late July 2014, Foursquare incorporated a social networking component that allowed users to share their whereabouts with friends through "check-ins." Users could notify the app of their presence at specific locations via mobile websites, text messaging, or dedicated applications by selecting from a list of nearby venues identified by the service. In May of that year, the company introduced Swarm, a companion application that separated the social networking and location sharing features from Foursquare City Guide. Subsequently, on August 7, 2014, Foursquare released version 8.0 of its app, which eliminated the check-in functionality and location sharing elements to concentrate solely on local search capabilities.

It was announced on October 21, 2024, that the Foursquare City Guide app would be discontinued on December 15, 2024, with its web version following suit on April 28, 2025. The companion app Foursquare Swarm will continue operating and will incorporate features previously exclusive to the main Foursquare app.

Features

Key functionalities encompass local discovery and personalized suggestions, expert advice and tips, flavor preferences, automatic location identification, user ratings, curated lists, Superusers, brand partnerships, and the Places API.

Location detection

File:Foursquare on watch phone.jpg

Foursquare application displayed on a Pebble Steel smartwatch

Foursquare employs its exclusive Pilgrim technology to ascertain the whereabouts of users. When individuals enable continuous location sharing, Pilgrim pinpoints their position by analyzing past check-in patterns alongside current GPS data, cell tower triangulation, signal strength from cellular networks, and nearby Wi-Fi signals.

Superusers

The platform features a tiered system of ten Superuser levels. To achieve Superuser status, individuals must apply and successfully complete a specialized evaluation that assesses both the quality and volume of their contributions. Only those granted Superuser privileges have the authority to modify venue details. As Superusers continue to submit valuable edits, they can progress through higher levels reflecting their ongoing contributions.

Brands

Previously, Foursquare enabled businesses to establish pages featuring tips, allowing users to "follow" these companies and receive their recommendations upon checking in at specific locations. On July 25, 2012, Foursquare introduced Promoted Updates, an app enhancement designed to open a new revenue channel for the platform. This initiative permitted businesses to send notifications to Foursquare users about promotions or available products.

Places API

The foundational technology behind Foursquare is integrated into applications such as Uber and Twitter.

Former features

Earlier iterations of Foursquare included functionalities like check-ins and location sharing; however, these features were transferred to the companion app, Foursquare Swarm, in 2014.

In previous versions, users who checked into a location more frequently than anyone else over the past 60 days earned the title of "Mayor" of that venue. This title could be claimed by another user who surpassed the former mayor's check-in count. Businesses often motivated mayors by offering rewards such as discounts on food and beverages. As user numbers increased, competing for mayorships in densely populated areas became challenging. The mayorship feature was removed from version 8.0 of Foursquare and later reinstated within Swarm.

Users could earn badges by checking into venues; some badges were linked to venue "tags," with the badge awarded depending on those tags. Other badges were specific to certain cities, venues, events, or dates. Starting in September 2010, badges could also be earned by completing tasks without requiring check-ins. The removal of badges in version 8.0 caused dissatisfaction among some long-time users.

The app formerly employed a points system where users accumulated numerical scores for each check-in, with over 100 opportunities to earn bonus points—such as being the first friend to check into a location or becoming its mayor. Gamification and game design elements were central components of the user experience. Although points and leaderboards were discontinued in version 8.0, these features were later reintroduced in the Swarm app.

Another feature called "Specials" served as incentives encouraging users to check into new or favorite locations. More than 750,000 businesses provided "Specials," which included discounts and complimentary items aimed at attracting both new and returning customers. Examples ranged from a free beer for the initial check-in to a 10% discount at a restaurant.

Swarm

Main article: Swarm (app)

In May 2014, Foursquare introduced Swarm, a companion application designed to separate the social networking and location-sharing features from the main Foursquare app. Swarm functions as a lifelogging platform, allowing users to maintain a personal archive of their visited locations. It provides analytics on visited venues and includes a search tool to help users recall past destinations. Additionally, Swarm enables sharing of location history with friends and viewing their check-ins. Users earn points through check-ins, represented by virtual coins, and can compete on weekly leaderboards with their friends. Visiting various types of venues unlocks digital stickers. While using both apps simultaneously is optional, Swarm’s recorded check-ins assist Foursquare in tailoring better venue recommendations based on user preferences.

Availability

Foursquare is accessible on Android and iOS platforms. In the past, versions were offered for Symbian OS, Series 40, MeeGo, WebOS, Maemo, Windows Phone, Bada, BlackBerry OS, PlayStation Vita, and Windows 8.Template:Primary source inline Users can also access Foursquare through mobile web browsers; however, those using feature phones need to manually search for venues since GPS functionality is generally unavailable on these devices.

History

File:Naveen Selvadurai.jpg

Naveen Selvadurai, co-founder of Foursquare

Launch and early development

Foursquare initially launched in 2009 across 100 metropolitan areas worldwide. By January 2010, the platform expanded its location model to permit check-ins from any location globally.

In September of that year, Foursquare unveiled version 2.0 of its check-in application, shifting focus towards guiding users to discover new venues and activities beyond simply sharing their current location. The update introduced a feature allowing users to add locations to a personal to-do list within the app and receive notifications when nearby to-do items were available.

By February 21, 2011, the platform had amassed approximately seven million user IDs. The company was projected to exceed 750 million check-ins by mid-2011, averaging around three million daily check-ins. On August 8 of that year, President Barack Obama joined the service with plans for White House staff to share tips about locations the president had visited.

During the same year, user demographics indicated an even distribution between male and female accounts with half of the user base located outside the United States. More recent data reports approximately fifty-five million active users monthly.

On June 7, 2012, Foursquare released a comprehensive redesign described as an entirely new application. The revamped "explore" feature enabled users to navigate venues by category or perform targeted searches such as "free wi-fi" or "dumplings". The update incorporated elements from social discovery, local search functionalities as well as adopting the "like" mechanism popularized by Facebook.

Swarm

In May 2014, Foursquare introduced Swarm, an auxiliary application to Foursquare City Guide, designed to separate the social networking and location-sharing components into a distinct app. Subsequently, on August 7, 2014, Foursquare rolled out version 8.0 of its platform, which eliminated check-in and location-sharing functionalities and shifted its focus toward local search capabilities.

Foursquare Day

The term Foursquare Day was created by Nate Bonilla-Warford, an optometrist from Tampa, Florida, on March 12, 2010. The concept originated as he sought innovative methods to promote his practice.

In 2010, McDonald's initiated a spring pilot campaign leveraging Foursquare Day. Customers who checked into McDonald's locations on that day via Foursquare were eligible to win gift cards valued at $5 or $10. According to Mashable, this campaign resulted in a "33% increase in foot traffic" to McDonald's outlets, as evidenced by the rise in Foursquare check-ins.

Privacy

In February 2010, the website Please Rob Me was launched, which aggregated publicly available Twitter posts originating from Foursquare check-ins to identify users who were away from home. This site aimed to highlight the risks associated with careless location sharing.

In March of that year, a privacy vulnerability was detected involving users who linked their Twitter account with Foursquare. When a user was accompanied at a location by a Foursquare contact also connected via Twitter, the system could post messages such as "I am at Starbucks – Santa Clara (link to map) w/@mediaphyter" directly onto their Twitter timeline. Similarly, users who consented to share their location on Foursquare could have their whereabouts publicly broadcast by their contacts on Twitter.

Later in 2010, security researcher Jesper Andersen uncovered a security flaw within Foursquare that sparked privacy concerns. Location pages on Foursquare displayed a collection of fifty randomly selected photos irrespective of individual privacy preferences. Each time a user performed a "check-in" at a venue, their photo appeared on that venue’s page even if they had intended their location information to be visible only to friends. Andersen developed a script that harvested check-in data, reportedly collecting approximately 875,000 check-ins. After notifying Foursquare about this issue, the company addressed and resolved the privacy settings vulnerability.

In response to ongoing privacy concerns surrounding social media platforms in 2011, co-founder Naveen Selvadurai emphasized that "Users decide if they want to push to Twitter or Facebook, over what information they want to share and send," adding that "There is a lot of misunderstanding about location-based services. On Foursquare, if you don't want people to know you are on a date or with a friend at a certain place, then you don't have to let people know. You don't check in." Selvadurai further clarified that Foursquare does not engage in passive tracking; users must actively perform check-ins for their location to be shared.

On May 8, 2012, developers at Foursquare modified its API following the emergence of several "stalker" apps that publicly exposed the locations of all female users within certain areas.

Towards the end of December in the same year, Foursquare revised its privacy policy to specify that users' full names—not just initials—would be shown. Furthermore, businesses gained access to more comprehensive analytics regarding visitors who checked into their establishments throughout the day.

Since then, both the privacy and cookies policies have been updated by Foursquare to clarify how user location data is utilized across new functionalities and offerings.

See also

• Gowalla
• Jiepang – a comparable platform frequently referred to as the "Foursquare equivalent in China"
• Digu – a social networking service from China with similar features

External links

• Official website