Foursquare Swarm

Foursquare Swarm is a mobile app that allows users to share their locations with their friends and create a record of their experiences in their personal lifelog. Swarm launched for iOS and Android devices on May 15, 2014. A spin-off from and companion app to Foursquare City Guide, Swarm allows users to check-in to a given location,[3] and see who is nearby.[4] These check-ins are chronologically listed to create a personal lifelog for each user, which serves as a digital library for all the places they’ve been, in a searchable database that can be revisited and shared.

Foursquare Swarm
Remember everywhere.
Screenshot
A user's Swarm profile holds all of their personal stats within the app, such as check-ins, mayorships, streaks, photos, and stickers they have unlocked
Developer(s)Foursquare Labs
Initial releaseMay 5, 2014 (2014-05-05)
Stable release(s)
iOS6.4.10 / April 13, 2020 (2020-04-13)[1]
Android6.5.9 / March 27, 2020 (2020-03-27)[2]
PlatformiOS, Android
Available in12 languages
List of languages
English, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish
TypeSocial networking service
Websitewww.swarmapp.com

Location and check-in data collected in Swarm are used to improve a user's recommendations in Foursquare City Guide. Splitting check-ins and general location sharing in to the separate Swarm app was designed to let the main Foursquare app focus on exploring and discovering information on locations, in a Yelp-like fashion.[5] Swarm supports checking in with photos or stickers attached to it, and allows broadcasting of check-ins to other networks including Facebook and Twitter. Swarm features include a shareable and interactive personalized map, and unique stats like total lifetime check-ins, number of unique categories visited, and data on streaks and mayorships.

Features

Swarm 5.0, released on iOS August 8, 2017 and on Android August 16, 2017, was the most significant update to the app’s core functionality since launching in 2014, focusing more on lifelogging.

Major features include check-ins,[6][7] messaging,[8] stickers,[9] challenges,[10] mayorships,[11] history search,[12] and merchandise.

Reception

CNET described the app as a "bold move", and praised it for removing some of the "clutter" of Foursquare and focusing on letting the user "quickly see where your friends are and make plans".[13] The redesign was unpopular with some existing Foursquare users, who complained about its lack of gamification elements, and the need to download two apps for what used to be contained in a single Foursquare app.[14]

Foursquare is calling Swarm’s latest incarnation the “lifelog,” and it’s meant to offer a new way of thinking about the trademark check-in process that’s less about gamification and leaderboards and more personal. With younger smartphone users gravitating toward text, photos, and videos that disappear — and the more raw and genuine style of sharing that allows — Foursquare now wants to create a space where you can plant a virtual flag, to come back to a memory and savor it later on in life.[15]

References
  1. "Foursquare Swarm on the App Store". App Store. Apple Inc. April 13, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  2. "Foursquare Swarm on the Play Store". Google Play. Google. March 27, 2020. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  3. "Foursquare's Swarm App Tells Your Friends Generally Where You Are", Gizmodo, 2014-05-01
  4. "Foursquare's Swarm And The Rise Of The Invisible App", TechCrunch, 2014-05-15
  5. "Meet Swarm: Foursquare's ambitious plan to split its app in two", The Verge, 2014-05-01
  6. "Mentioning and checking in friends on Swarm", Foursquare Blog, 2014-05-20
  7. "Swarm now lets users check-in without sharing their location". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  8. Swarm Now Has Direct Messages But No More Plans, 16 March 2015
  9. "Swarm on Twitter". Retrieved 2015-10-07.
  10. If every day is a game, then there should be prizes, right? Introducing Swarm Challenges.
  11. "Mayorships and more: How Swarm is going to make your experiences more fun and playful", Foursquare Blog, 2014-05-09
  12. Crook, Jordan. "Swarm kills the clutter, focuses on logging location | TechCrunch". Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  13. Sarah Mitroff (2014-05-15). "Swarm review". CNET. Retrieved 2015-04-20.
  14. "Some Loyal Foursquare Users Are Checking Out After Swarm Spinoff", NPR, 2014-07-30
  15. Statt, Nick (2017-08-08). "Foursquare's redesigned Swarm app is a journal for capturing your travels". The Verge. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
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