Apple and Foursquare discuss data share deal

Apple has opened discussions with Foursquare, the developer of a social media application that allows users find and share location-based information, about the possibility of sharing data.

The Wall Street Journal reports that talks took place in San Francisco at a time when Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue and Foursquare CEO Dennis Crawley both happened to be in the area, with the former checking in via Foursquare.

With Foursquare's mobile app containing plenty of information about local places, such as bars and restaurants, it's likely Apple is interested in working with the social media provider about improving its own maps service.

Released in September, Apple Maps was the iPhone and iPad producer's attempt to move users away from Google Maps.

However, Apple's first attempt at producing its own map software was widely criticised due to a combination of missing information and errors. The embarrassment led to the company firing Apple Maps manager Richard Williamson.

Sharing data with Foursquare would mark a further attempt by Apple to become less reliant on Google Maps, which was previously used to provide local data for iPhones and iPads.

iOS already uses Yelp, a local directory and social networking service in its products, but a move involving Foursquare would solidify an attempt to strike out on its own when providing map services.

That's despite Apple recently releasing a downloadable version of Google Maps to iOS 6 users and apologising for the inconsistency of its in-house maps software.