Foursquare is killing its city guide app to focus on the check-in app Swarm

It’s the end of an era for one of the App Store’s earliest success stories. Foursquare is shutting down its signature city guide app in order to “focus our efforts on building an even better experience in Swarm,” the company said in an update. The app will shut down December 15, while the web version will stay online until “early 2025.”

The shutdown is a notable reversal of a strategy the company announced a decade ago when it, controversially, opted to split its famed “check-in” service into a separate app. That app became known as Swarm while the Foursquare-branded app became a “city guide” full of user-generated reviews and local recommendations.

Now, Foursquare says its future is, once again, the check-in. “We’re also introducing exciting new features and capabilities into Swarm throughout the year (👀 some of which may look familiar to you) in order to unlock new use cases that may better support your needs,” the company said, adding that additional updates are expected “early next year.”

It’s not clear why the company is changing its strategy to elevate Swarm over its namesake app. The company laid off more than 100 employees earlier this year in an effort to “streamline” operations. Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley, who is currently co-chair of the company’s board of directors, said in a post on Threads that the company is “doing fine,” though he expressed disappointment with the news. “I would be lying if I didn't admit that I have been in a real funk these last few days over this news,” he wrote.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/foursquare-is-killing-its-city-guide-app-to-focus-on-the-check-in-app-swarm-191054153.html?src=rss https://www.engadget.com/social-media/foursquare-is-killing-its-city-guide-app-to-focus-on-the-check-in-app-swarm-191054153.html?src=rss
Created 3h | Oct 21, 2024, 9:20:32 PM


Login to add comment

Other posts in this group

Meta is bringing back facial recognition with new safety features for Facebook and Instagram

Meta is bringing facial recognition tech back to its apps more than three years after it

Oct 21, 2024, 11:40:44 PM | Engadget
Nintendo Alarmo review: Charming, yet frustrating

Alarmo is the quintessential Nintendo product: It's a fun and quirky spin on a bedside alarm clock (with a motion sensor!) that mines your love for everything Nintendo. It's a $100 device entirely

Oct 21, 2024, 9:20:30 PM | Engadget
8BitDo's $40 Analogue 3D controller arrives on March 19

Peripheral maker 8BitDo has revealed when you'll be able to get your hands on its 64 Controller. This is designed to work with the upcoming

Oct 21, 2024, 9:20:29 PM | Engadget
Alan Wake 2's upcoming PS5 Pro update will add a 4K ray-tracing mode

Today marks five days before Alan Wake 2’s first anniversary, a

Oct 21, 2024, 6:51:04 PM | Engadget
Star Citizen spinoff Squadron 42 has been delayed again until 2026

The single-player Squadron 42, set in the Star Citizen universe, has been delayed all the way to 2026. This is interesting because the developers said the game was “feature comple

Oct 21, 2024, 6:51:02 PM | Engadget
Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite is reportedly its next premium mobile chip

Another year, another flagship Qualcomm mobile chip. But things are reportedly a bit different with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, the company's newest offering headed to premium smartphones. For one, it'

Oct 21, 2024, 6:50:59 PM | Engadget