Foursquare Swarm
{{short description|Mobile app by Foursquare}}
{{redirect|Swarm (app)|the software by Roccat|Roccat Swarm}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox software
| name = Foursquare Swarm
| logo = SwarmFoursquare.svg
| logo_size = 250px
| logo caption =
| screenshot = Swarm app screenshot.jpg
| screenshot_size = 250px
| caption = 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.
| collapsible = y
| developer = Foursquare Labs
| released = {{Start date and age|2014|5|5}}
| latest release version = {{Latest stable software release/Swarm (app)}}
| ver layout = stacked
| language count = 12
| genre = Social networking service
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
Swarm by Foursquare (commonly known as Swarm) is a mobile app that allows users to share their locations with their friends and create a record of their experiences in a personal lifelog. Swarm launched for iOS and Android devices on May 15, 2014. A spin-off from and former companion app to Foursquare City Guide, Swarm allows users to check-in to a given location,{{cite web |title=Foursquare's Swarm App Tells Your Friends Generally Where You Are |date=May 1, 2014 |url=https://gizmodo.com/foursquares-forthcoming-swarm-app-ditches-check-ins-for-1570286006 |work=Gizmodo}} and see who is nearby.{{cite web |url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/15/foursquares-swarm-and-the-rise-of-the-invisible-app/ |title=Foursquare's Swarm And The Rise Of The Invisible App |work=TechCrunch |date=May 15, 2014 }} 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 have been, in a searchable database that can be revisited and shared.
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 into 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.{{cite web |title=Meet Swarm: Foursquare's ambitious plan to split its app in two |date=May 1, 2014 |url=https://www.theverge.com/2014/5/1/5666062/foursquare-swarm-new-app |work=The Verge}} Swarm supports checking in with photos or stickers attached and allows broadcasting of check-ins to other social networks including Facebook and Twitter. Swarm features include a shareable personalized map, unique stats like total lifetime check-ins, number of unique categories visited, and data on streaks and 'mayorships' (a feature of the platform's gamification elements).
In 2024, the Foursquare Labs company announced that the Foursquare City Guide app would be sunsetted, with remaining features being merged into the Swarm app.
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,{{citation|title=Mentioning and checking in friends on Swarm|date=May 20, 2014|url=http://blog.foursquare.com/post/86312648838/mentioning-and-checking-in-friends-on-swarm|work=Foursquare Blog}}{{Primary source inline|date=February 2022}}{{Cite web|title=Swarm now lets users check-in without sharing their location|url=https://techcrunch.com/2016/04/21/swarm-now-lets-users-check-in-without-sharing-their-location/|website=TechCrunch|date=April 21, 2016 |language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2020}} messaging,{{citation | url=http://wersm.com/swarm-now-has-direct-messages-but-no-more-plans/ |title=Swarm Now Has Direct Messages But No More Plans|date=March 16, 2015}} stickers,{{Cite web|title = Swarm on Twitter|url = https://twitter.com/swarmapp/status/651514054180122624|access-date = October 7, 2015}}{{Primary source inline|date=February 2022}} challenges,{{citation | url=http://blog.foursquare.com/post/145559940858/if-every-day-is-a-game-then-there-should-be | title=If every day is a game, then there should be prizes, right? Introducing Swarm Challenges.}}{{Primary source inline|date=February 2022}} 'mayorships',{{Cite web |title=Looking Back at Foursquare, the App That Made Life a Game |url=https://musebyclios.com/digital-data/looking-back-foursquare-app-made-life-game/ |website=Muse by Clios (The Clios)}}{{Primary source inline|date=February 2022}} history search,{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/08/08/swarm-kills-the-clutter-focuses-on-logging-location/|title=Swarm kills the clutter, focuses on logging location {{!}} TechCrunch|last=Crook|first=Jordan|date=August 8, 2017 |access-date=September 7, 2017}} 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 [their] friends are and make plans".{{cite web|title=Swarm review|url=http://www.cnet.com/products/swarm/|author=Sarah Mitroff|publisher=CNET|date=May 15, 2014|access-date=April 20, 2015}} 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.{{citation |url=https://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/07/30/336531811/some-loyal-foursquare-users-are-checking-out-after-swarm-spinoff |title=Some Loyal Foursquare Users Are Checking Out After Swarm Spinoff |work=NPR |date=July 30, 2014 }}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- [https://support.foursquare.com/hc/en-us/articles/201908440-Swarm-by-Foursquare What is Swarm?], Foursquare Help Center
{{Online social networking}}
Category:Android (operating system) software