Foursquare pioneered the trend of ‘checking-in’ to a place — now it sells your data to companies
Foursquare provides technology, data and other business services to some of the biggest brands in the world, including Apple, Microsoft and Samsung
By Saheli Roy Choudhury
Foursquare has gone from a social media app that let users broadcast their favourite bars or restaurants online by “checking-in,” to a company that provides location-based data to some of the biggest retail names in the world: Apple, Microsoft and Samsung to name a few.
Recently, the company signed a partnership with Chinese online travel booking service Ctrip . Now, travellers booking their trips outside China with Ctrip can get recommendations on attractions to visit, restaurants to eat at and general city guides — all based on Foursquare data.
“That’s a typical partnership for us with Chinese companies,” Jeff Glueck, CEO of Foursquare, told CNBC.
“We do the same for Tencent, but Ctrip is obviously a giant player in Chinese travel and we’re excited to bring them onto the Foursquare global location platform,” he added.
In Asia Pacific, Foursquare has partnerships with brands like Tencent’s WeChat and QQ, Samsung, LG, Singapore-based Carousell and more.