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Foursquare will soon be splitting its app in two: a new app called Swarm is for keeping up with friends, with the original Foursquare app centered around discovery.
Swarm will be available on iOS and Android in a few weeks, with a Windows Phone version coming a little later.
The new Foursquare will include more personalization, taking into account the user's tastes as well as opinions of trusted friends and experts.
Foursquare announced Thursday it would split its app in two. A new app called Swarm will be a standalone experience for keeping up with friends, while the main Foursquare app would be centered around discovery of new and interesting places.
"We built Swarm because you’ve told us how often you still have to text your friends: 'where are you?' and 'what you up to later?'", the company wrote in a blog post, as The Verge first reported. "We wanted to build a quick way for you to know these two things for all of your friends."
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The act of "checking in" at locations, which Foursquare popularized, will move to Swarm. The app will also function as a heat map of your friends' activity, and users will be able to share their location in a non-specific way, such as revealing what neighborhood you're in.
By providing an easy way to see what your Friends are up to, Swarm is a natural evolution of the original vision of Foursquare, a company spokesperson told Mashable in an email. The app will also have a feature to help make future plans by broadcasting to nearby friends what you're interested in doing.
After Swarm debuts, Foursquare will revamp its original app to emphasize discovery. Comparing local search to flipping through the yellow pages, the company says the app will eventually be personalized to the tastes of the user and trusted people. Those people won't just include friends, but "experts" as well.
Swarm will come to iOS and Android in a "few weeks" and on Windows Phone shortly thereafter. Those interested in downloading it can sign up here. The new version of Foursquare will come in the "near future."