Foursquare removed the famous check-in feature from its main app as it prepares to launch an update that is more focused on providing local information and recommendations.

Android and iOS users wanting to check-in via Foursquare are now pushed to the recently-launched Swarm product, with all past check-ins, friends and photos automatically migrated to the new app.

According to the company, more than three-quarters of users (of which there are 50 million) were already using Swarm before the check-in function was removed from the main app.

For those not using Swarm, they need to download it to continue having the ability to check-in.

Swarm has already received a number of updates since its launch in May and a Windows Phone version is in the pipeline. Consumers with phones running the Microsoft OS will be able to continue to check-in via the main Foursquare app until its release.

The upcoming version of the Foursquare app, due in the next couple of weeks, is touted as providing a more personalised experience, with recommendations based on tastes, preferences, location and people followed, rather than check-ins. The check-in history of existing users will continue to inform their recommendations, however.

Foursquare said the new app heralds the beginning of the ‘personalised local search future’ that it has been talking about since it was established.