While there are many geolocation apps like FourSquare in the app store, Loopt is the first major geolocation app to take advantage of iOS 4's new background location feature.
Like similar apps,
Loopt lets you "check in" to restaurants and other establishments, as well as see who else is checked in there. An article on
Mashable.com tells us that Loopt's latest update lets you share your location without manually checking in, by turning on the background location feature. When turned on, Loopt will continue to monitor the location and update Loopt's system as you move around.
If you have friends who are also using this feature, you will get a notification if they arrive in your area. If you're finishing dinner at a restaurant, and a group of friends arrive at the club next door, you can pop in and join them. Even if those friends do not have the background location feature turned on, you will get notified if they check-in to an establishment near you. This feature even works with friends who are using Loopt on Android devices.
For those worried about inadvertently sharing their location, the background location service is turned off by default. Even if you turn it on, it will only stay on for 24 hours and will turn itself off again. This protects those who turn it on and forget about it.
For users of Loopt, this is a pretty cool new feature. Download it for free in the App Store and let us know how it works in the comments.
