Foursquare gets local for businesses

NEW YORK — Foursquare, the mobile application that helps users and their friends "make the most of where [they] are," has expanded to offer updates from the businesses where users are loyal customers.

Appearing in the app's "friends" tab, the Local Updates feature provides Foursquare users with updates from businesses automatically when a user is in the same city, Foursquare said. Local Updates share local businesses' latest news via new specials, photos and any other information. Additionally, the businesses' updates only appear when users are close enough to stop by.

If users want to stop receiving updates from a particular business, they easily can do so with one tap, Foursquare noted.

"It’s an easy way to keep up with news from places you frequent, including things like new specials, pictures of the latest shipment of shoes, or a serendipitous food truck appearance," the company stated in its blog announcing the new feature. "The best part is there’s no extra work for you to do: we already know you care about a place if you’ve checked in often or liked it, and will show you updates from it when you’re in the same city."

The Local Updates tool is free for businesses and will be available to Foursquare's nearly 1 million claimed businesses, beginning later this week.