Foursquare launches Swarm, an app just for check-ins, & shifts focus to search

Foursquare plans to split itself in two, with a single app for check-ins, and another for search, chief executive Dennis Crowley told The Verge.

The company’s original focus on check-ins and badges will move over to a new app, dubbed Swarm. Meanwhile, Foursquare will focus on local search.

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While it’s unclear if the Foursquare app will kill off check-ins entirely, the company shares on its blog that Foursquare as we know it will “go through a metamorphosis” and relaunch this summer.

More from the company blog:

“We believe local search should be personalized to your tastes and informed by the people you trust. The opinions of actual experts should matter, not just strangers. An app should be able answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station.’ We’re right now putting the final touches on this new, discovery-focused version of Foursquare. It’ll be polished and ready for you later this summer.”

Swam will launch on iOS and Android “in the coming weeks, and soon after on Windows Phone,” but you can add your name to the list here.