If you are a fan of Foursquare, you have been expecting the new Swarm app with enthusiasm. At the start of this month Foursquare promised its fans it will introduce them to a new application to make their lives easier and better. The official statement was posted on the Foursquare Blog and explained the development of the Swarm like this:

We built Swarm because you’ve told us how often you still have to text your friends: “where are you?” and “what are you up to later?” We wanted to build a quick way for you to know these two things for all of your friends. With Swarm, you can easily see which of your friends are out nearby, figure out who is up for grabbing a drink later, and share what you’re up to (faster and more easily than you can in Foursquare today). Swarm will be available on iOS and Android in the coming weeks, and soon after on Windows Phone.

Last Thursday, Foursquare launched Swarm and so far the reviews have been positive. The app is easy to use, friendly, pretty and intuitive. You can find it in the App Store and Google Play and you can give it a try. Let’s see some of its best features together:

Neighborhood Sharing: this feature allows you to automatically share your location with your friends. If you want them to know you are in the area, a simple swipe will alert them. The location tracker can be turned on an off upon your wish, so you are in total control of your shared whereabouts.

Swarm Plans: this feature lets you make spontaneous meet – up decisions together with the friends that are close to you. You can send a query to them, in the shape of a text message, asking them if they want to join you for drinks or a walk in the park. According to their plans and wishes, they can respond back to you.

Emoji: every time you post an update, you can send a cute emoji to your swarming friends. From coffee, to beer, to running shoes, you can choose from a wide array of emojis to lure your friends into accompanying you.

Check your past check – ins: this is a very appraised feature, especially if you had the best burger of your life in some restaurant and you want to keep it in mind or recommend it to other people. It works great with restaurants and less great with cities, but this search option is a helpful add to the whole Swarm experience.

To conclude, you should give Swarm a chance. Foursquare launched Swarm with its fans in mind and, according to Alyssa Bereznak from Yahoo Tech,

In essence, it strikes that sweet spot between helpful tool and creepy tracking device.