Foursquare has finally released its upgraded namesake app, after announcing earlier this summer it was splitting its popular location-based social media service into two separate apps. The new Foursquare comes with a completely new look, and some cool new features, provided you trust the company to protect a lot more of your location data.

Trading in the gamified location sharing and badge system for a system that emphasizes hyper-personalization and contributing reviews, the new Foursquare app has grown up and is looking to kill Yelp. And in place of the big check-in button, the new Foursquare takes advantage of background GPS tracking in smartphones to build up its recommendation engine into a monster that just might be able to do that.

Foursquare: Personalization is Key

Even before you login to the new Foursquare app, it's already begun asking you about your preferences.

And with such a thorough catalogue of location information, reviews and other data already built into its recommendation service through the years of activity during Foursquare's first phase, the new app requires a lot of input from new users to narrow down its suggestions to fit your personality. In fact, browsing the home screen of Foursquare is downright overwhelming, until you start using the app's filtering mechanisms.

And those filters are extensive. Beyond location, categories, and keywords, Foursquare's search and browse features let you home in on what you're looking for by price, hours, and two lists comprising dozens of possible features as specific as "accepts credit cards," "dog friendly," or "good for dates," as well as menu items you might want.

(Photo : Robert Schoon)

Beyond those filters, Foursquare lets you filter by places you've liked, have (or haven't) been before, and other "Only on Foursquare" filters that take advantage of the location and activity history you'll create by using the app -- even just by having the app on your phone.

The Promise and Problems with Pervasive Location Tracking

That's because of Foursquare's passive tracking feature, which might creep some people out. Just like their new Swarm app -- the more social, gamier side of the newly forked location-based social network -- Foursquare can track your location even when you're not using the app. Unlike Swarm, which lets you toggle that location tracking with a prominent slide bar at the top, Foursquare passively tracks your location by default, and you have to go into the settings to turn it off.

(Photo : Robert Schoon)

The pervasive location tracking (which Foursquare promises will not kill your battery) will enable Foursquare to know a lot more about locations you frequent than the detached data points that the old user-generated, manual check in-based Foursquare could. It's probably why Foursquare thinks it no longer needs to make location data-sharing a social game -- you don't need to incentivize users to volunteer data that you're now obtaining on a constant basis.

If you're comfortable with it, Foursquare's location tracking will likely make its recommendations even more on the money than ever before. And the app can even serendipitously notify you whenever you're nearby a place Foursquare thinks you'll love. But these days, after a year of NSA surveillance revelations and major IT companies being hacked, many users might be unwilling to give a social network or its advertisers access to that much personal information.

The Yelp Killer?

While Swarm takes care of the social aspect of Foursquare (whether successfully or not is still up for debate), the Foursquare app is definitely all about beating Yelp. Instead of the game of badges, Foursquare's social aspect incentivizes sharing "tips" on restaurants or other locations, which are basically the same thing as user-generated reviews. Share more tips, get more followers and likes, and Foursquare will award you with "expertise" -- a status symbol that can also cut two ways (for example, who wants to be an "expert" at dive bars?).

Just like with Swarm, it might take a few updates and a little bit of adjustment before many veterans warm up to Foursquare (it has a 2 star rating in the iTunes store right now, matching Swarm). And it's still too early to tell if the two-app strategy and focus on reviews will help Foursquare take on the behemoth of Yelp.

But this tidbit of information suggests it could: "On our first day" of the newly launched app, said a Foursquare spokesperson to VentureBeat, "we had five times as many tips as our best day ever."

Tap That App?

The new Foursquare is definitely worth a try -- whether you're a veteran user or a newbie. It's a great way to find out more about everything around you than you ever wanted to know, and the fact that its detached from the social gaming aspect of Swarm might actually attract new users that were never interested in participating.

However, you might decide to turn off the GPS location tracking, either out of concern for your privacy or your battery, and that will disable one of the ways Foursquare's recommendations can seem so magical.

In any case, it's free for iOS and Android, so we recommend you at least give it a try.