Loopt Star

Foursquare launched pre-2010, but its wide adoption over the year and the emergence of many other location-based services signaled a huge trend in the making. Soon, even Facebook got into the game with Facebook Places, which quickly came under scrutiny for its privacy practices. While the services are generally safe to use, it's important to remember to monitor privacy settings to make certain you're only sharing information about your location with people you choose.

Deals
Once users were willing to share their whereabouts with friends and contacts, it wasn't long until retailers and other companies jumped into the mix, offering special deals for checking in or becoming the mayor of a certain location. Facebook Deals launched with partners like Gap and Virgin America, offering incentives to visit and check into stores. And after initially competing with other check in services, location-based deal app Loopt Star combined with Facebook Places, offering one unified map.

Location-based services also took advantage of the news, offering a little bit of humor amid the recent in-the-news rigors of airport security; Foursquare offers a Baggage Handler badge, and Loopt even launched a Touched by TSA giveaway to reward fliers for their cooperation with TSA authorities. Foursquare also took advantage of the recent elections, offering badges for voters, too.

And, just last week, one Foursquare superuser rigged his front door to open when he or his close friends checked into his apartment via Foursquare. Slightly extreme but kind of cool.

Find out what's next for location-based apps and services when you read more.

A good number of you check-in fans are already using Loopt Star on your iPhones to earn some fantastic rewards, and now even more users can get in on the action with the Loopt Star for Android app.

Available now in the Android Market (search Loopt Star), you can find great deals nearby and check in to promotional locations for discounts. It's free, so what are you waiting for?


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If you've got an itch to get out of town, now is the time for SF and LA residents to head on down to the airport or grab a taco lunch — when you check in to either SFO or LAX airports or one of two designated taco trucks with Loopt Star, you'll get an email offer for two-for-one tickets to Mexico via Virgin America's newest flight routes to Cabo and Cancun.

All you have to do is download Loopt Star (free) (one of my favorite rewards check-in apps) and check in! All the money raised from the two taco trucks will be donated to charity, and you'll get a sweet deal on flights that start at $129 each way. The check-in rewards started at 11 a.m. this morning and will go until 3 p.m. PDT, so get a move on! Find out where the taco trucks are located (in SF and LA only) after the break.

The awesome thing about SCVNGR's new rewards program is that it will show you redeemable rewards in your surrounding area. Loopt Star is stepping up its game and has added the same feature to its own already robust rewards program by using your phone's GPS location to tell you what kind of deals and discounts are around you now.

Although Loopt Star is your second-favorite geo location app (just behind Foursquare), it really beats the latter in offering you ways to save money since you don't have to be the "boss" or "mayor" of a location to cash in. Loopt Star is constantly updating its roster of discount partnerships, having just added a 20 percent off discount at Steve Madden stores nationwide. Just check in, and you'll automatically get 20 percent off a purchase of $50 or more. You can't beat that deal!

You may be obsessed with achieving "Mayor" status at your favorite places on Foursquare, but a new Loopt check-in app may just have you vying to be a "Boss" (and getting a little kickback while you're at it).

Just like Foursquare, Loopt Star (free) allows you to use location-based technology to check in at your favorite places all around your city, earn points and status (like "Boss," or "Honorary Barista" of your neighborhood Starbucks), but also lets you get some rewards for frequently checking in at certain locations. Find out what some of them are after the break.