I loved Foursquare. I think maybe I used it for a year or two (maybe less!) after it became Swarm until I got bored of it. But I actually loooooved 4sq in the years before I had a smartphone, I was using it as a teenager on my iPod touch. Eventually I started tetering that iPod to my Galaxy Nexus because the 4sq app on Android was sooooo bad for a while. It got good eventually though.
I don’t bother using the App Store for app discovery. I operate on an “if an app is great I’ll probably hear about it organically through all the podcasts I listen to”. I’m also very picky about what apps I even use on my phone. I rarely search on the app store.
Regarding the HomeKit conversation, I think that Apple has an opportunity to really emphasize and market HomeKit Secure Video. Given all of the public backlash against the Ring ad and Flock cameras, Apple has a unique market position that they can capitalize on.
Maybe not. Swarm does not resell or share your data like so many other apps (perhaps the original Foursquare did?). I know this about Swarm because several privacy experts I know still use it. It’s an incredibly useful way to keep a diary of where I’ve been, and the last time I was there. They’ve even modernized the UI in recent years. And it’s free! I don’t know how they manage to do that. I do share my check-ins with a very small opt-in group of friends and acquaintances.
As far as I can tell, the Foursquare privacy policy covers swarm as well, which states the following:
Your personal data, including sensitive personal data, may be incorporated into the products and services we sell (or have sold within the last 12 months) to our enterprise customers and advertising partners or share (or have shared within the last 12 months) with them for cross-context behavioral advertising purposes. To learn more, please refer to the How We Use Your Personal Data section of our Consumer Services Privacy Policy.
In addition, we may allow certain third parties (such as online advertising services and social networks) to collect your personal data, including your sensitive personal data, via automated technologies on our Consumer Services for the purposes of online advertising and/or to provide third-party social network features and functionality. Depending upon applicable law, you may have the right to opt out of disclosing your personal data for these purposes, which may be considered a “sale” or “sharing” for cross-context behavioral advertising under US State Consumer Privacy Laws.
Apple’s Klarna lease-to-own program, hardware subscriptions, and Mark Gurman’s Mac roadmap
Legal updates including the $634M Masimo verdict, Siri lawsuit settlement, and fake Bitcoin wallet lawsuit
Apple’s upcoming smart home push centered on Siri AI
New features coming in iOS 27, watchOS 27, and CarPlay
Picks of the week including the Twelve South PowerBug, BookPlayer app, Casio WS-1600H, and Apple II Mini Replay