Foursquare is killing its city guide app to focus on the check-in app Swarm

Foursquare is shutting down its city guide app to focus on improving its Swarm app, which allows users to check-in to locations. The city guide app will close on December 15, while the web version will remain available until early 2025. This move marks a reversal of the company's strategy from a decade ago, when it split its services into two separate apps. The company plans to introduce new features to Swarm throughout the year to support new use cases. Additional updates are expected early next year. The reason for this change in strategy is unclear, but the company laid off over 100 employees earlier this year to "streamline" operations. Foursquare founder Dennis Crowley expressed disappointment with the news, saying he's been in a "funk" over the decision. Despite this, Crowley stated that the company is "doing fine". The shutdown of the city guide app marks the end of an era for one of the App Store's earliest success stories. Foursquare is shifting its focus back to its check-in service, which was a key part of its original app. The company's future now lies with Swarm, which will be the primary app for users.