Apple Acquires Spotsetter App

Apple has quietly acquired the Spotsetter app and removed it from the App Store, notes TechCrunch.

Spotsetter was an app that let users get recommendations for great places from trusted friends.


Have friends who share your great taste in food? What about the ones who always find the trending places? And there’s certainly a world traveler among your group of friends. These friends set the standard for the best spots and we call them Spotsetters. Not only do they find all these great spots, they also love to share opinions about them. Spotsetter helps you find these amazing spots and what your friends have to say about them. Find friendly tips, reviews, and photos about these places, no matter where they’ve been shared, all in one app.

The technology layered social data on top of a Maps interface and could be used to beef up Apple Maps. TechCrunch says the deal was mainly about acquiring the technology and the talent of the two founders, ex-Google Maps engineer Stephen Tse and Johnny Lee. Some of the company's also joined Apple but not all.

While the value of the deal is unclear, apparently “investors are happy.” The company had been in discussions with Apple for some time but the deal quickly closed last week after other companies found out about the talks and became interested.

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