Foursquare Axes City Guide App to Focus on Check-In App, Swarm

A decade ago, the company split its applications into two separate entities.

Foursquare Ends Its Iconic City Guide App

An era ends as Foursquare, once a pioneering hit on the App Store, announces the shutdown of its signature city guide application to focus on enhancing its other app, Swarm.

A Significant Strategic Shift

Foursquare’s decision to discontinue its app on December 15, while keeping its web version active until “early 2025,” signals a major shift from its strategy a decade ago. Back then, Foursquare controversially split its popular “check-in” feature into a separate app, Swarm, transforming the original Foursquare app into a city guide filled with user reviews and local recommendations.

Foursquare Returns to Its Roots

Foursquare proclaims a renewed focus on the “check-in” feature, planning to roll out new functionalities in Swarm throughout the year. “We are unlocking new use cases that might better meet your needs,” the company stated, hinting at more updates coming “early next year.”

Unanswered Questions

The rationale behind favoring Swarm over the eponymous app remains unclear. Earlier this year, the company laid off over 100 employees in an effort to “streamline” its operations. Dennis Crowley, Foursquare’s founder and current co-chair of the board, expressed in a Threads post that the company is “fine,” yet he shared his disappointment: “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t really disappointed by this news,” he wrote.