Case Study: Foursquare achieves increased international engagement without disrupting app development with Smartling

How Foursquare increased international engagement without disrupting app development

Foursquare, maker of the Foursquare and Swarm apps used by millions for personalized local recommendations and check‑ins, needed to rapidly expand beyond the U.S. into new markets. The company targeted 11 languages but lacked the internal resources to localize complex web and mobile components, faced concerns about integrating with its multi‑app architecture, and needed to maintain security, code integrity and low latency while scaling globally.

Foursquare adopted Smartling’s cloud translation management system, which integrated with their infrastructure with minimal engineering effort and preserved performance and security. After launching five languages (French, Spanish, Japanese, Italian, German) they saw major increases in sign‑ups and usage within weeks; adding six more over the next year produced even stronger growth. Leveraging community volunteers for culturally relevant translations further boosted quality and engagement, and Foursquare continues to use Smartling to drive its international expansion.

Foursquare

Nina Yiamsamatha

Marketing Manager