Instragram may be migrating away from Foursquare. The photo sharing service currently uses Foursquares database for their location services. It seems that Instagram is now testing Facebook Places for that location tagging feature, an odd move considering the breadth of other popular services currently sing Foursquare.
Instagram, of course, is owned by Facebook. Foursquare, of course, relies heavily on people “checking in” using their service while out and about. The check-in feature led Instagram to tap them originally, but with Places coming along as people use Facebook to note where they are, Instagram may have reason to switch over.
Foursquare’s API powers services like Twitter, Uber, and Flickr. The constant crouwdsourcing provides a more up-to-date idea of what’s what in an area. When a business closes, it’s noted quicker than with traditional methods. Others, Facebook included, are trying to accomplish the same.
An Instagram spokesperson downplayed the testing to Fast Company, telling them they “constantly testing experiences throughout the app to provide the best possible user experience as part of future planning”. While we don’t think Facebook’s check-in feature is bad, it’s likely not as robust as Foursquare. Then again, Facebook may be tapping Instagram users to build out their service, rather than Instagram simply using a different back-end API.
