<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
City	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
,	O
commonly	O
known	O
as	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
is	O
a	O
local	O
search-and-discovery	O
mobile	B-Application
app	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Foursquare	B-Application
Labs	O
Inc	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crowley	O
had	O
previously	O
founded	O
the	O
similar	O
project	O
Dodgeball	B-Application
as	O
his	O
graduate	O
thesis	O
project	O
in	O
the	O
Interactive	O
Telecommunications	O
Program	O
(	O
ITP	O
)	O
at	O
New	O
York	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
bought	O
Dodgeball	B-Application
in	O
2005	O
and	O
shut	O
it	O
down	O
in	O
2009	O
,	O
replacing	O
it	O
with	O
Google	B-Application
Latitude	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dodgeball	B-Application
user	O
interactions	O
were	O
based	O
on	O
SMS	B-Device
technology	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
an	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
was	O
similar	O
but	O
allowed	O
for	O
more	O
features	O
,	O
allowing	O
mobile	O
device	O
users	O
to	O
interact	O
with	O
their	O
environment	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
took	O
advantage	O
of	O
new	O
smartphones	O
like	O
the	O
iPhone	O
,	O
which	O
had	O
built-in	O
GPS	O
to	O
better	O
detect	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Until	O
late	O
July	O
2014	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
featured	O
a	O
social	O
networking	O
layer	O
that	O
enabled	O
a	O
user	O
to	O
share	O
their	O
location	O
with	O
friends	O
,	O
via	O
the	O
"	O
check	O
in	O
"	O
-	O
a	O
user	O
would	O
manually	O
tell	O
the	O
application	B-Application
when	O
they	O
were	O
at	O
a	O
particular	O
location	O
using	O
a	O
mobile	B-Application
website	I-Application
,	O
text	O
messaging	O
,	O
or	O
a	O
device-specific	O
application	B-Application
by	O
selecting	O
from	O
a	O
list	O
of	O
venues	O
the	O
application	B-Application
locates	O
nearby	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
launched	O
Swarm	B-Application
,	O
a	O
companion	O
app	O
to	O
Foursquare	B-Application
City	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
,	O
that	O
reimagined	O
the	O
social	O
networking	O
and	O
location	O
sharing	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
as	O
a	O
separate	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
7	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
launched	O
Foursquare	B-Application
8.0	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
version	O
removed	O
the	O
check-in	O
feature	O
and	O
location	O
sharing	O
,	O
instead	O
focusing	O
on	O
local	B-Application
search	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
recent	O
statistics	O
show	O
Foursquare	B-Application
with	O
approximately	O
55	O
million	O
monthly	O
active	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
features	O
include	O
local	B-Application
search	I-Application
and	O
recommendations	O
,	O
tips	O
and	O
expertise	O
,	O
tastes	O
,	O
location	O
detection	O
,	O
ratins	O
,	O
lists	O
,	O
superusers	O
,	O
brands	O
,	O
and	O
Places	O
API	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
uses	O
proprietary	O
technology	O
,	O
Pilgrim	O
,	O
to	O
detect	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
past	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
has	O
allowed	O
companies	O
to	O
create	O
pages	O
of	O
tips	O
and	O
users	O
to	O
"	O
follow	O
"	O
the	O
company	O
and	O
receive	O
tips	O
from	O
them	O
when	O
they	O
check-in	O
at	O
certain	O
locations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
July	O
25	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
revealed	O
Promoted	O
Updates	O
,	O
an	O
app	O
update	O
expected	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
new	O
revenue	O
generation	O
stream	O
for	O
the	O
company	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
new	O
program	O
allowed	O
companies	O
to	O
issue	O
messages	O
to	O
Foursquare	B-Application
users	O
about	O
deals	O
or	O
available	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
's	O
underlying	O
technology	O
is	O
used	O
by	O
apps	O
such	O
as	O
Uber	B-Application
and	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Earlier	O
versions	O
of	O
Foursquare	B-Application
supported	O
check-ins	O
and	O
location	O
sharing	O
,	O
but	O
as	O
of	O
Foursquare	B-Application
8.0	O
,	O
these	O
were	O
moved	O
to	O
the	O
service	O
's	O
sibling	O
app	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
Swarm	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
previous	O
versions	O
of	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
if	O
a	O
user	O
had	O
checked	O
into	O
a	O
venue	O
on	O
more	O
days	O
than	O
anyone	O
else	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
60	O
days	O
,	O
then	O
they	O
would	O
be	O
crowned	O
"	O
Mayor	O
"	O
of	O
that	O
venue	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
mayorship	O
feature	O
was	O
retired	O
from	O
version	O
8.0	O
and	O
reimplemented	O
in	O
Swarm	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
version	O
8.0	O
points	O
and	O
leaderboards	O
were	O
retired	O
,	O
but	O
were	O
reimplemented	O
in	O
the	O
Swarm	B-Application
app	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
Specials	O
"	O
were	O
another	O
feature	O
of	O
the	O
app	O
that	O
acted	O
as	O
an	O
incentive	O
for	O
Foursquare	B-Application
users	O
to	O
check	O
in	O
at	O
new	O
spots	O
or	O
revisit	O
their	O
favorite	O
hangouts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
launched	O
Swarm	B-Application
,	O
a	O
companion	O
app	O
to	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
that	O
migrated	O
the	O
social	O
networking	O
and	O
location	O
sharing	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
into	O
a	O
separate	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Swarm	B-Application
acts	O
as	O
a	O
lifelogging	O
tool	O
for	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
keep	O
a	O
record	O
of	O
the	O
places	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
,	O
featuring	O
statistics	O
on	O
the	O
places	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
,	O
and	O
a	O
search	O
capability	O
to	O
recall	O
places	O
they	O
have	O
visited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Swarm	B-Application
also	O
lets	O
the	O
user	O
share	O
where	O
they	O
have	O
been	O
with	O
their	O
friends	O
,	O
and	O
see	O
where	O
their	O
friends	O
have	O
been	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Though	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
necessary	O
to	O
use	O
both	O
apps	O
,	O
Swarm	B-Application
works	O
together	O
with	O
Foursquare	B-Application
to	O
improve	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
recommendations	O
-	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
Swarm	B-Application
check-ins	O
help	O
Foursquare	B-Application
understand	O
the	O
kinds	O
of	O
places	O
they	O
like	O
to	O
go	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
is	O
available	O
for	O
Android	O
,	O
iOS	O
&	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
devices	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Versions	O
of	O
Foursquare	B-Application
were	O
previously	O
available	O
for	O
Symbian	B-Operating_System
OS	I-Operating_System
,	O
Series	B-Operating_System
40	I-Operating_System
,	O
MeeGo	B-Operating_System
,	O
WebOS	B-Operating_System
,	O
Maemo	B-Operating_System
,	O
Windows	B-Protocol
Phone	I-Protocol
,	O
Bada	B-Operating_System
,	O
BlackBerry	O
OS	O
,	O
PlayStation	B-Device
Vita	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Users	O
may	O
also	O
use	O
their	O
mobile	O
browsers	O
to	O
access	O
Foursquare	B-Application
mobile	O
,	O
but	O
feature	B-Device
phone	I-Device
users	O
must	O
search	O
for	O
venues	O
manually	O
instead	O
of	O
using	O
GPS	O
that	O
most	O
smartphone	B-Application
applications	I-Application
can	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
started	O
out	O
in	O
2009	O
in	O
100	O
worldwide	O
metro	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
January	O
2010	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
changed	O
their	O
location	O
model	O
to	O
allow	O
check-ins	O
from	O
any	O
location	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
September	O
2010	O
Foursquare	B-Application
announced	O
version	O
2.0	O
of	O
its	O
check-in	O
app	O
which	O
aimed	O
to	O
direct	O
users	O
to	O
new	O
locations	O
and	O
activities	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
just	O
sharing	O
their	O
location	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
has	O
also	O
created	O
a	O
button	O
that	O
would	O
add	O
any	O
location	O
in	O
the	O
app	O
to	O
a	O
user	O
's	O
to-do	O
list	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
app	O
would	O
now	O
remind	O
the	O
user	O
when	O
there	O
were	O
to-do	O
items	O
nearby	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
February	O
21	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
reached	O
7	O
million	O
users	O
IDs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
8	O
,	O
2011	O
,	O
President	O
Barack	O
Obama	O
joined	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
with	O
the	O
intention	O
that	O
the	O
staff	O
at	O
the	O
White	B-Application
House	I-Application
would	O
use	O
the	O
service	O
to	O
post	O
tips	O
from	O
places	O
the	O
president	O
has	O
visited	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
June	O
7	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
launched	O
a	O
major	O
redesign	O
,	O
which	O
they	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
whole	O
new	O
app	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
incorporated	O
features	O
from	O
social	O
discovery	O
,	O
and	O
local	B-Application
search	I-Application
applications	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
the	O
"	O
like	O
"	O
feature	O
made	O
famous	O
by	O
Facebook	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
May	O
2014	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
launched	O
Swarm	B-Application
,	O
a	O
companion	O
app	O
to	O
Foursquare	B-Application
City	I-Application
Guide	I-Application
,	O
which	O
moved	O
the	O
social	O
networking	O
and	O
location	O
sharing	O
aspects	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
to	O
a	O
separate	O
application	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
August	O
7	O
,	O
2014	O
,	O
the	O
company	O
launched	O
Foursquare	B-Application
8.0	O
,	O
a	O
new	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
service	O
which	O
removed	O
location-sharing	O
and	O
check-in	O
features	O
,	O
pivoting	O
to	O
local	B-Application
search	I-Application
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
Day	O
was	O
coined	O
by	O
Nate	O
Bonilla-Warford	O
,	O
an	O
optometrist	O
from	O
Tampa	O
,	O
Florida	O
,	O
on	O
March	O
12	O
,	O
2010	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2010	O
,	O
McDonald	O
's	O
launched	O
a	O
spring	O
pilot	O
program	O
that	O
took	O
advantage	O
of	O
Foursquare	B-Application
Day	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
users	O
who	O
checked	O
into	O
McDonald	O
's	O
restaurants	O
on	O
Foursquare	B-Application
Day	O
were	O
given	O
the	O
chance	O
to	O
win	O
gift	O
cards	O
in	O
$5	O
and	O
$10	O
increments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mashable	O
reported	O
that	O
there	O
was	O
a	O
"	O
33%	O
increase	O
in	O
foot	O
traffic	O
"	O
to	O
McDonald	O
's	O
venues	O
,	O
as	O
apparent	O
in	O
the	O
increase	O
in	O
Foursquare	B-Application
check-ins	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2010	O
,	O
a	O
site	O
known	O
as	O
Please	O
Rob	O
Me	O
was	O
launched	O
,	O
a	O
site	O
which	O
scraped	O
data	O
from	O
public	O
Twitter	B-Application
messages	O
that	O
had	O
been	O
pushed	O
through	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
to	O
list	O
people	O
who	O
were	O
not	O
at	O
home	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
of	O
March	O
2010	O
,	O
a	O
privacy	O
issue	O
was	O
observed	O
for	O
users	O
who	O
connected	O
their	O
Twitter	B-Application
account	I-Application
to	O
Foursquare	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
user	O
was	O
joined	O
at	O
a	O
location	O
by	O
one	O
of	O
their	O
Foursquare	B-Application
contacts	O
who	O
was	O
also	O
using	O
Twitter	B-Application
,	O
that	O
user	O
could	O
allow	O
Foursquare	B-Application
to	O
post	O
a	O
message	O
such	O
as	O
"	O
I	O
am	O
at	O
Starbucks	O
–	O
Santa	O
Clara	O
(	O
link	O
to	O
map	O
)	O
w/	O
@mediaphyter	O
"	O
to	O
their	O
own	O
Twitter	B-Application
feed	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similarly	O
,	O
if	O
a	O
user	O
had	O
agreed	O
to	O
Foursquare	B-Application
location	O
sharing	O
,	O
that	O
user	O
's	O
Foursquare	B-Application
contacts	O
would	O
be	O
able	O
to	O
share	O
their	O
location	O
publicly	O
on	O
Twitter	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
white	O
hat	O
hacker	O
Jesper	O
Andersen	O
discovered	O
a	O
vulnerability	O
on	O
Foursquare	B-Application
that	O
raised	O
privacy	O
concerns	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
foursquare	B-Application
's	O
location	O
pages	O
display	O
a	O
grid	O
of	O
50	O
pictures	O
that	O
is	O
generated	O
randomly	O
,	O
regardless	O
of	O
their	O
privacy	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Andersen	O
contacted	O
Foursquare	B-Application
about	O
the	O
vulnerability	O
,	O
and	O
Foursquare	B-Application
responded	O
by	O
fixing	O
their	O
privacy	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2011	O
,	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
privacy	O
issues	O
regarding	O
social	O
networking	O
sites	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
co-founder	O
Naveen	O
Selvadurai	O
stated	O
that	O
"	O
Users	O
decide	O
if	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
push	O
to	O
Twitter	B-Application
or	O
Facebook	O
,	O
over	O
what	O
information	O
they	O
want	O
to	O
share	O
and	O
send	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
There	O
is	O
a	O
lot	O
of	O
misunderstanding	O
about	O
location-based	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Foursquare	B-Application
,	O
if	O
you	O
do	O
n't	O
want	O
people	O
to	O
know	O
you	O
are	O
on	O
a	O
date	O
or	O
with	O
a	O
friend	O
at	O
a	O
certain	O
place	O
,	O
then	O
you	O
do	O
n't	O
have	O
to	O
let	O
people	O
know	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Selvadurai	O
also	O
stated	O
that	O
Foursquare	B-Application
does	O
not	O
passively	O
track	O
users	O
,	O
which	O
means	O
a	O
user	O
has	O
to	O
actively	O
check	O
in	O
to	O
let	O
people	O
know	O
where	O
they	O
are	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
May	O
8	O
,	O
2012	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
developers	O
changed	O
its	O
API	B-General_Concept
in	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
stalker	O
"	O
applications	O
which	O
had	O
been	O
making	O
the	O
locations	O
of	O
all	O
female	O
users	O
within	O
a	O
specific	O
area	O
available	O
to	O
the	O
public	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
late	O
December	O
2012	O
,	O
Foursquare	B-Application
updated	O
its	O
privacy	O
policy	O
to	O
indicate	O
it	O
would	O
display	O
users	O
 '	O
full	O
names	O
,	O
as	O
opposed	O
to	O
an	O
initial	O
for	O
a	O
surname	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Foursquare	B-Application
has	O
since	O
updated	O
both	O
its	O
privacy	O
policy	O
and	O
cookies	O
policy	O
to	O
detail	O
how	O
location	O
data	O
is	O
used	O
in	O
new	O
features	O
and	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
