Now that you know what Foursquare is and how it works, and have read the previous tutorial on how to use the Foursquare website, you’re probably thinking that it would be useful to be able to take Foursquare.com with you on the go. Because Foursquare helps you find the best places around you to do almost anything, the Foursquare app could be very useful to you. Read the instructions below to find out how to download and sign up for the Foursquare app, as well as how to use the rest of its functions.
To download the Foursquare app
(NOTE: These instructions are written for mobile devices running the Google Android operating system. We will provide prompts where the process may differ on an Apple iOS device, such as an iPhone or iPad.)
- Tap Play Store (or App Store on your Apple iOS device) to open it.
- Tap the search bar and type in “Foursquare.”
- Tap Foursquare – Best City Guide.
- Tap the Install button (or Get and then Install on Apple iOS devices).
- Wait for the Foursquare app to download, and then tap Open to launch it.
How to sign up for Foursquare
Once you have downloaded the Foursquare app, be sure to open it by tapping the Foursquare icon on your home screen.
To sign up:
1. Enable location services on your device so the Foursquare app can find places near you.
Foursquare will immediately prompt you to enable location services on your device. First, tap Grant Access, and then tap Allow.
You will need to enable location services for Foursquare to work, as its purpose involves showing you great things you can do in your general geographical area.
2. Access the settings for your profile to create an account.
To create a Foursquare account, tap the Me icon at the bottom-right corner of the screen.
3. Choose to sign up with your Facebook, Google, or email account.
With Foursquare, you can choose from three different options to sign up. To choose to sign up with your Facebook account, tap the blue "F" icon. To sign up with a Google account, tap the red "G" icon. From there, you will need to follow the prompts and enter the credentials for your Google or Facebook account. To sign up with an email address, tap the grey envelope icon.
4. Fill in your personal information to create a profile.
Tap inside each of the boxes on the next screen and type in or select:
- first and last name
- email address
- a password to protect your account
- date of birth
- gender
There is also an option to add your phone number, but this is not required. When you’re finished, tap the blue Done button in the top-right corner.
5. Confirm your email and begin using the app.
Foursquare will now prompt you to ask if you entered your email address correctly. Tap Yes, and then tap Great on the next screen to start using the Foursquare app.
If you’ve already signed up for Foursquare on the website, you will not need to create a new account. Simply read below to learn how to sign into your existing account on the app.
How to use Foursquare
In the Foursquare app, there are four main menus you can access, each with its own specific functions. Tap Search to search for great locations around you. Tap Lists to access your saved locations. Tap History to be shown places Foursquare thinks you’ve been lately (this is handy for saving them and coming back to them later). And tap Me to change or update your Foursquare profile and settings.
Read below to learn more about each menu, and all the great things you can do with the Foursquare app.
Foursquare Search
Tap Search at the bottom-left corner of any screen to search for great places around you, or to learn about a new city.
Tap in the search bar (it has a magnifying glass in it), and type a phrase related to what you are looking for. From the suggestions that appear, tap on any business to learn more about it. If no place piques your interest right away, you can tap More Results For to see further suggestions.
You can also get quick suggestions by tapping Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Coffee & Tea, Nightlife, or Things to Do at the bottom of the screen. From there, scroll through your results, and tap on the name of a business, location, or activity to learn more about it.
You can also tap Filter to add filters that make your search more specific. You can choose from filters such as price, relevance, rating, distance, hour of operation, features of the business, or what other users think it’s good for.
Once you’ve found a place that you like and are viewing more details about it, you can save it to your lists by tapping Save, or save it to your history by tapping Been Here.
You can rate a business or location by tapping Rate, and then tapping the heart (you love it), the neutral face (you think it was okay) or the broken heart (you didn’t like it).
You can also scroll down to read reviews and tips, or tap Leave a Tip to leave your own review. From there, tap in the text box that appears (it says "What's Good Here?" in our example), type your comment, and then tap Post.
Foursquare Lists
Foursquare lists let you access and review the locations you’ve saved to your account (see above for how to save a location). Tap Lists, and then tap on any of your created lists to view the places you've saved to that list (or tap My Saved Places to view your default Foursquare list of saved places). Tap on the name of any place saved in a list to view its details.
If you need more information about how to create a list or add places to your list, visit our tutorial on how to use Foursquare.
Foursquare History
To view reviews, tips, and ratings of the places you have recently visited, tap History at the bottom of any screen. Foursquare may prompt you and ask you if you have visited a place when you first navigate to the History page. It uses your location (when enabled) to see where you’ve been, and then asks about places in the area you may have visited at that time. You can select Yes or No to indicate if you have or have not been there.
Save, rate, and add tips to places you've recently visited in Foursquare
From this screen, you can conveniently rate and add tips to the places you’ve been. Click the heart icon to choose a rating, and click the paper icon to add a tip. You can also tap on the name of a place to view it in more detail, or complete any of the functions explained above.
Search your history
If you have a lot of recent or saved places, you may be looking for one specific thing. In that case, tap the magnifying glass icon at the top-right corner of the screen, and use your (virtual) keyboard to type in what you are looking for. From your search results, tap on the place you are looking for to view its details.
Foursquare Me
Foursquare Me is where you will find all of your profile, settings, and notifications information. Tap the Me icon at the bottom-right corner of any screen to get started.
Add a picture to your Foursquare profile
To add or change a Foursquare profile picture, simply tap the profile picture icon and then select Use the Camera to take a picture now, or Pick from Gallery to choose an existing picture.
Add tastes to Foursquare
Foursquare Tastes are Foursquare’s way of learning about what you like. By selecting key words and terms, you can help Foursquare better predict which places you might love based on your “tastes.”
To add tastes, simply tap the Tastes box, and then tap the "+" in the top-right corner. You can scroll through the various keywords, or search for specific ones by tapping in the box labelled "Search for a Taste" and typing something in. Tap on any blue keyword to add that taste to your profile. You can also tap any pink keyword to remove a taste from your profile.
Check your Foursquare notifications
To access your notifications, tap the speech bubble icon in the top-right corner of the "Me" screen.
View your Foursquare ratings, tips, and followers
Foursquare will also show you how many tips you’ve posted, places you’ve rated, and how many followers you have. Tap on any one to view your tips, ratings, and followers in more detail.
Edit your Foursquare profile
To edit your profile, tap the menu button (three vertical dots) and then tap Edit Profile.
Tap in any of the boxes shown in the screenshot below and type in or select more information about yourself, such as your first or last name, phone number, email address, gender, or a short biography about yourself. Filling out your profile can make you a more trustworthy contributor to Foursquare. When you’re finished, tap Save.
Change your Foursquare settings
To change your settings, tap the menu button (three vertical dots), and then tap Settings.
From there, tap on any category to access settings related to that particular topic. Tap in any text box and type to add information. Tap on any check box to enable or disable a setting (a check mark means the setting is enabled and an empty box means the setting is disabled).
That’s how you download and use the Foursquare app!
