Foursquare has broken its location-based service up into two separate apps: Foursquare, which will became a local search app, and Swarm.

Swarm enables users to see which of their contacts are nearby and share what theyre currently up to via the companys trademark check-in feature. Because the app is only for these very specific use cases, Foursquare promises it will be faster and easier to use.

The Foursquare app, meanwhile, will refocus on Yelp-style local search, personalised to the users tastes and leveraging opinions from their friends and experts. Foursquares announcement says it wants an app that can “answer questions like ‘give me a great date dinner spot’ and not just ‘tell me the nearest gas station’.”

Its a brave reinvention from Foursquare, as the functionality most associated with its name, the check-in, is being moved into a separately branded app, but it seems that the company is in need of a serious reinvention. Only time will tell whether this gamble will pay off.

Swarm is launching on iOS and Android in the coming weeks, with a Windows Phone launch also in the pipeline. The new Foursquare will follow later this summer.