Foursquare's new app forgoes check-ins
Who needs check-ins when apps always track your location?
I'm Bridget Carey and this is your CNET Update.
Foursquare is testing out a new app that would automatically detect your location and give you advice about the place you're at without ever opening up the app or checking in.
About 2000 Android users will be the first to try it out and it will roll out to all 35 million users later this year.
This passive location feature works in the background to detect when your phone has stopped at a certain place for a bit; say for example, you're eating at a restaurant and then after a few moments, an alert will pop up on your phone about how you should try something on the menu that your friend recommends.
This feature would make Foursquare more useful for people who don't really care to always pull out their phone to check in to every location they visit, but it could also freak people out, realizing that they're always being tracked, not to mention it could be a huge battery drain.
On Twitter, tweets are viewed in reverse chronological order with the most recent sitting on top, but to make it easier to follow along with a real-time conversation, Twitter is changing its design on the web and in apps to group conversations together with a blue line so you can read it in chronological order.
That way, a conversation is clear with just a glance at the Timeline.
The change is rolling out to users now along with another update that makes it easier to report abuse if someone is threatening you on the network.
Got a few updates for you to keep an eye on.
For those of you that video chat with Google+ Hangouts, you'll notice the quality of video will get better.
Google Hangouts are upgrading to 720p HD video.
If you're still waiting for your Google Chromecast to arrive at your doorstep, iPhone and iPad owners can now set up the streaming device using a Chromecast app for iOS rather than doing the setup from a PC.
That's just Google showing some love to iOS owners.
And the Flickr app for iOS got a boost.
The update has
new features including custom-designed filters and camera tools like grids.
Some pro editing tools like enhance, crop, sharpen, and adjust color are now free.
Flickr is pushing to become the tool you use to take photos, not just a place to share them.
The animated GIF library, Giphy, is on a mission to have animated GIFs automatically play in your Facebook feed.
Well, we are one step closer to accomplishing this important goal for mankind.
If you find a GIF you like on Giphy, just click the button to share on Facebook
and it appears like an embedded video, so others can click play to watch it loop.
Animated GIFs don't work normally on Facebook because the site doesn't wanna look like a blinking, flashing MySpace mess, but who knows, you may someday live to see that change.
That's your tech news update.
For more on these stories, head to CNET.com/Update.
From our studios in New York, I'm Bridget Carey.
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