Non-Foursquare users can now view updates from user friends

Foursquare now lets users share information with friends who do not have the app installed on their phones. The post on the Foursquare blog reads, “Foursquare has tons of helpful information about places, like photos, menu items, and great tips from insiders and local experts. Now, it’s even easier to share that information with your friends.”  So now when you tweet about a place, or post on Facebook, email or text about it with friends who do not have access to the app, they will instead be linked to a new page showing the most important details about that page. In an official blog post, Foursquare confirms that this new page has been designed such that great tips and photos are all highlighted. These also include other details such as the address, phone number, and other details. 

Share information with non-Foursquare contacts

Foursquare has been abuzz with activity this month, more so with updates to its Android and iOS apps arriving only a couple of days ago. Those using the Foursquare app on their Android devices should experience a host of bug fixes. In the Explore option, if users type 'Hot Chocolate' or 'cider', they will be able to spot some nearby. To be able to avail the update, users need to have devices running Android 2.1 and above. The Foursquare iOS app too was updated, taking it up to version 5.4.3. Foursquare has improved the check-in notifications with this update.

A cautious Foursquare was reportedly making changes to its Privacy Policy and began notifying its users that more of their information and data will be made public. Foursquare detailed the changes it proposes to make to the app and the Privacy Policy on its blog.

Starting January 28, 2013, Foursquare displays entire names on their site as opposed to only the first name and the initial of the last name, which is how it shows names right now. Foursquare decided to make this change after receiving several complaints from users who found this feature confusing. The post notes that users are not required to use their real names and can change their names using privacy settings.

"In the original versions of Foursquare, these distinctions made sense," Foursquare explained in an e-mail it sent out to its users. "But we get e-mails every day saying that it's now confusing."

Foursquare is also making changes to its Privacy Policy to make it easier for business owners to view more data about check-ins made at their venues. “A business owner (say, a restaurant manager) can see their top customers on Foursquare, just as they could identify the people who walk through their door most often,” the blog post said.