A spin-off from and companion app to Foursquare City Guide, Swarm allows users to check-in to a given location,[3] and see who is nearby.

[4] These check-ins are chronologically listed to create a personal lifelog for each user, which serves as a digital library for all the places they have been, in a searchable database that can be revisited and shared.

Location and check-in data collected in Swarm are used to improve a user's recommendations in Foursquare City Guide.

[5] Swarm supports checking in with photos or stickers attached and allows broadcasting of check-ins to other social networks including Facebook and Twitter.

CNET described the app as a "bold move", and praised it for removing some of the "clutter" of Foursquare and focusing on letting the user "quickly see where [their] friends are and make plans".