Location Based Apps – 9 Hot Ideas for Creating

Love it or hate it, but geolocation is likely to be present in over 90% of apps that are installed on your smartphone. In fact, Touchscreen sensors, 5G, GPS, and Camera functionality are the four pillars that the mobile app world is resting on right now. So, if you’re up to making a successful location-based service app, you’d better take advantage of most, if not all, of these breakthrough technologies.

The geolocation feature can be applied in literally any industry domain, whether you’re running a carwash company or a corporate health insurance project. In short, geolocation performs two functions:

1. It tracks the movement of the device.

2. It reports this data to the server (as well as vice-versa, notifying the counterparty’s activity, such as during goods or services exchanges, such as Uber drivers and passengers keeping up with each other’s locations).

Needless to say, data is the new oil of the Digital Economy. Making real use of this data can bring additional value to your company and your customers as well. By the way, the location data market was valued at $10 billion last year, and it’s set to balloon in size by more than twofold by 2027. We have collected top geolocation app ideas. Use this article for digital transformation, creating a mobile app, or a new venture.

Despite privacy concerns, geolocation technology simplifies life. It has spawned numerous mobile apps essential for daily activities in urban environments. Many, especially younger users, rely on navigation apps like Google Maps, weather services, ridesharing, food delivery, sports, and dating apps. What location-based app ideas can boost your software solution, support your business, or lead to success? Let’s explore!

What Are Location-Based Mobile Apps?

Location-based service apps/location-aware apps are the applications that offer various services depending on the user’s location as identified using GPS or data from the cell tower and facilitated by Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity. There are several types of services out there:

1. Location-based search for various services and places: restaurants, timetables for public transport, and health professionals. For example, the Tripadvisor location app lets you view sights and reviews for them nearby, which is handy if you’re looking for a place to visit in a new city:

2. Ones that send push notifications: various loyalty program apps and apps that allow earning points that can be exchanged for discounts or gift сertificates. For example, Shopkick gives users points (kicks) when they enter certain shops, incentivising people to enter stores and purchase products since they are already there. This concept/marketing trick is a spin-off version of awarding people bonus points every time they spend.

3. Apps for tracking movement, finding people (or belongings): apps for tracking geolocation of family members and friends or safety apps (such as “find my iPhone”), dating apps, and communication apps for joining others in sports activities, hobbies, trips, and the like. Tinder-like dating apps are probably the most obvious example here.

During the pandemic, apps were created to track COVID-19 spread and perform contact tracing. For instance, the NHS app encouraged users to share location data to help epidemiologists pinpoint infection hotspots.

Apple has been a long-time pioneer of “Find My iPhone” and synonymous tracking capabilities for all its families and lineups of devices. Just this past Wednesday, April 20th, however, Apple decided to up their game in this direction by unveiling a new lineup of item trackers dubbed “Airtags”, which are designed to serve specifically as trackers, which you attach to things like your car in case you are not mindful of where you park it, car keys, or house keys.

Revolutionising Transportation with Geolocation

Location-based apps have transformed transportation with real-time geolocation. Ride-sharing services match riders with nearby drivers, making travel more efficient. Public transit apps offer real-time bus and train updates, helping users plan effectively. These technologies reshape mobility, providing quicker, more reliable transportation options tailored to users’ locations.

Enhancing Financial Services Accessibility

Location-based apps have transformed the financial industry by enhancing access to banking services, ATMs, and institutions. They help users quickly find nearby services, improving convenience. For example, users can effortlessly locate ATMs or bank branches, streamlining daily transactions. This shift has improved accessibility, especially for users in unfamiliar areas.

Transforming Shopping Experiences with Location-Based Apps

Location-based mobile apps revolutionise shopping by providing personalised experiences tailored to user location. They gather data on preferences and behaviours to deliver location-specific recommendations and offers, both in-store and online. Retailers leverage this data to enhance customer engagement and increase foot traffic to physical stores. Features like in-app promotions and personalised suggestions create a tailored shopping experience that meets modern consumers’ needs.

Increasing Customer Visits to Retail Locations

Location-based apps boost visits to retail locations through proximity promotions and real-time notifications about nearby sales and events. This increases foot traffic and enhances the shopping experience, allowing businesses to engage customers when they’re most likely to visit.

Connecting Users with Nearby Service Providers

Location-based apps help users find nearby service providers, like restaurants and healthcare professionals, connecting them with local businesses. Whether locating a plumber, gym, or ride-sharing service, these apps pinpoint options based on real-time geolocation, enabling businesses to reach more local customers and improve service access and user satisfaction.

Fostering Connections through Location-Based Social Networking

Location-based social networking and dating apps transform how people connect. They match users based on geographical proximity, enabling real-world interactions. By focusing on location, users can meet new friends, find dates, or engage with local communities. This functionality fosters real-time, relevant connections that create meaningful relationships.

Enriching Travel Experiences with Customised Itineraries

Travel planning apps using location data transform how tourists organise trips. They create personalised itineraries based on user interests, providing a customised experience. From hotel bookings to local attractions, travellers receive tailored recommendations, enhancing their journey and facilitating exploration with convenience and insight.

Data Collection for Tailored User Experiences

Location-based apps collect user behaviour data, allowing businesses to deliver personalised experiences. By analysing this data, companies can provide location-specific recommendations, targeted promotions, and tailored services, enhancing user satisfaction and improving business efficiency.

Enhancing User Engagement and Retention

Location-based apps enhance user engagement through specific features and services. Real-time notifications, personalised content, and relevant recommendations encourage user return, promoting loyalty. By addressing user needs based on location, these apps improve retention, ensuring ongoing interaction.

Monetisation Opportunities in Location-Based Apps

Location-based apps offer various monetisation options, mainly through in-app advertising and partnerships with local businesses. By leveraging user location, these apps deliver targeted ads that drive conversions for nearby businesses. Additionally, partnerships with local stores or service providers can establish a revenue-sharing model, boosting profitability while ensuring a user-centric experience.

Gaining a Competitive Edge in the App Marketplace

Location-based apps offer a competitive edge by utilising real-time geolocation data for unique services. Features like personalised recommendations, targeted marketing, and easy connections to nearby businesses help these apps stand out. They meet users’ specific needs based on location, enhancing their chances to attract and retain users seeking convenience and relevance.

Some More Location-Based App Ideas

Mobile App for Social Networks – Drophook Case

very fisherman knows that success in this activity depends on many factors. In addition to such obvious things as spinning and bait, success depends on the spot you choose, season, weather, setting, and time of day.

That is what we’ve found out during our development of Drophook – Web & Mobile Social Network for fishing lovers. Among other social media features, like messaging options and user profiles, Drophook emphasises geolocation functions.

Keeping in mind those audience preferences, we’ve also added an interactive map that builds on that, overlaying and showing users the best places where they can count on getting a nice catch. Just like you sometimes see experienced fishermen bunched up in a certain spot, Drophook can help facilitate this by allowing fishermen to coordinate where they meet for good fishing results and perhaps offering a good socialising time. The app allows users to pin favourite fishing spots on the map, so they can share locations with friends and find a place in the future, no matter how deep inside the wilderness it might be.

We also added a nautical map with GPS navigation that will be handy for those who like fishing from a boat. This option is beneficial in terms of app promotion, as long as there is a vast audience base of fishers who prefer the sea, lake, or river to shore.

On top of all these geolocation features, there are a few other pertinent types of functionalities left to mention:

• Location-Based Notifications, so the fisherman could be notified if there are, say, environmental spawning triggers that can contribute to spawning starting nearby. In turn, other similar activities that would be beneficial for hunters to know about are sent to them.

• Weather Forecast is pinned upon the map to allow users to check weather conditions before going to sea, shore, or to hunt.

 Location-Based Offers App

This idea could find its application in any service-based business. The app can map restaurants and parking places, or develop a location-based discount app that will display all hot sales and discount offers nearby.

This kind of application is also popular in retail. Supermarkets and other retailers integrate GPS into their apps to help users find stores near them. The application can be a powerful tool if you need to increase your brand awareness, attract more new customers, and keep the existing client base engaged and loyal. The geolocation app for offers is a great chance to boost your business and make it more profitable.

On-demand Community App

The other approach is to make a location-based platform that would connect people to each other instead of to places. Surf & Yoga is a great example of such an app that uses location technology. Thanks to the power of geolocation technology, we’ve made a platform for an active community of users so that they can share with each other their knowledge in Yoga and Surfing.

Geolocation is one of the most important “Surf & Yoga” features as it helps users find perfect morning yoga spots with a breathtaking sunrise view of sandy bays with high waves and preferably no sharks.

Dating App

Most dating apps use geolocation as their primary technology, as people want to make acquaintances or get to know those who live nearby. We recently finished a project that provides a unique experience of meeting new people through the blind date app, INCINQ.

It would connect people first and foremost based on their location. Of course, the application also takes into account gender, age, rating, personal characteristics, etc., the user must fill in all the fields in the profile so that the system can select a suitable date for him/her.

Fitness App

There are many application types: route planners for running, tracking training results (like distance travelled in a set time), finding gyms or coaches. We are working on this project for a European client.

The goal is to help travellers maintain their training and activity. Finding essentials in a new city can be challenging. 

The app, combined with location-based services like Tripadvisor, allows users to quickly find training grounds, schedule sessions, invite trainers, and make payments. Users can plan runs through parks, bridges, and riversides, or visit attractions while burning calories before heading to recommended bars or restaurants via Foursquare, where they can check in on Facebook. 

This app is available on ios and Android thanks to Flutter. The future may involve apps that integrate various concepts from companies like Nike Running, Tripadvisor, and Facebook, creating compelling hybrid solutions.

The same principle can be used to pinpoint other suitable locations:

• Weather apps
  This app can help to check the weather forecast in a particular area for whatever purpose users might need to check the weather for reference.

• On-demand delivery
  This type implies the delivery of different services – barbers, food, babysitters, neighbours, etc. A geolocation feature helps to find the required service fast and easily, as it shows the results of available options near you at any given moment in time.

• Social networks and messengers
  A geolocation feature can be used in different ways if we talk about social networking. Users can share their geolocation, mark it on their posts, check into places, and mark themselves as safe in the face of troubling events such as terrorist attacks or other morbidities, such as severe natural disasters.

• Healthcare.

? Startup app ideas

More examples of mobile apps that can incorporate location-based functionality can be found in our Startup App Ideas Series.

Location-Based Messaging App

We used geolocation in Sparkle – Social Instant Chat, which enables users to create and join public chats with people nearby. This mobile app is a location-based messaging tool that locates all active users in the same area and connects them via chat. Besides, Sparkle allows users to set the radius within which the location-based chatting will be available to others by using geolocation technology.

Additional applications for the radius feature in location-based apps:

• Live Video Streaming App that will allow users to find and watch what’s happening nearby. For more on live streaming app development, you can find it here.

• Local Parties Finder for travellers and those who are looking for night activities.

• Support Groups & Sponsor Finder for disabled people or people with addiction who urgently need a helping hand.

Location-Based Application for Travellers Example

This is probably the most obvious example of an industry that relies heavily on geolocation technology. There is literally no booking, sightseeing, or guiding app that doesn’t take advantage of geolocation. But even in such a highly competitive and crowded market, there do exist some untouched or undersaturated niches.

So, just for a change, let’s take a look at the platform that targets a more luxurious audience – Sea Guide – TripAdvisor for the Yachting World. The LBS platform is a crowd-sourced, rating-based guide for those who enjoy water activities, especially yacht enthusiasts.

It stands out with extensive and user-friendly mapping features that enable quick additions of sites, yacht locations, and services. Yachting veterans can add precise GPS coordinates of their boats, including Latitude and Longitude. A similar aspect can be integrated into the Uber for Services (Boats App) outlined in our Startup App Ideas Series.

Photo Location Finder App

Sometimes it’s hard to find a place even if you have a picture of it. The easiest way is to search by picture through Google. Sadly, this is not going to work if you have a photo of the bar’s interior.

It turns out that making such a location-based app may be a great tool for both HoReCa advertisers and visitors. The advertisers could use this app to locate happy customers’ photos, and customers may count on gifts from restaurants and cafes for check-ins like those used to be in the Foursquare app. This is a mutually beneficial idea for both business owners and their clients.

Health and Fitness apps

A study by NYU Langone Medical Center found that 58% of U.S. smartphone owners downloaded at least one health or fitness app, making this a promising opportunity for financial growth in your business. Joining a burgeoning industry, even late, is better than not entering at all.

Integrated geolocation in these applications helps users track workouts, patterns, and progress. For instance, sports enthusiasts can use GPS data to plan and monitor their walking, cycling, and running routes, as well as record activities like swimming. By developing a functional software solution, you can attract many athletes. You could also include features for finding nearby running partners and locating healthy food options after workouts.

 Weather apps

It’s always nice to know what weather to expect for the day in your area, it helps you to plan your attire for the day and helps you decide whether to keep an umbrella handy or not. Geolocation is hence a useful feature to have with your weather app, a must-have feature of any weather application, particularly for those who are constantly moving around and travelling.

Besides current conditions, such apps may show short-term forecasts, for instance, for the next day or week, as well as send alerts about impending storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, or just upcoming heavy rainfall to be mindful of. This allows users to get push notifications about unfavourable weather conditions before they happen and be prepared, staying ahead of the surprises Mother Nature might have in store for them.

IoT-based applications

Most IoT solutions have GPS functionality integrated into them, so the list of options is almost endless. For instance, if you’ve always dreamt of contributing to the intelligently built society you live in, you can make your city or community smarter by developing a mobile app that monitors traffic, parking, vehicles, and cargo via wireless sensors.

Another idea is to create an application for smartwatches, which are skyrocketing in popularity nowadays. This can, for example, be a fitness app or an app for running or cycling, which are users’ favourite choices.

Features of the location-based app

Map interface

A simple news feed interface is becoming outdated. Map as an interface is a great feature to add instead of a news feed. Thus, users can follow any location-based updates in real-time.

Notifications

Notifications are a standard and obvious element of mobile apps. All users have to do is turn on notifications or alerts when adding events or meetings into the calendar. It makes the user experience better and easier as users receive notifications only when they need them.

Information filter

As location-based news can be incredibly broad, it is important to separate news by category for better digestion. A good feature is when users can filter themes that interest them and get alerts only on the chosen topics they subscribe to.

Suggestions

The app can also suggest information about local events, news, or whatever based on your likes, the pages you follow or visit, or personal interests based on AI algorithms.

Reward program

It is a great feature that can help grow local businesses. For example, users can get points or gather awards for attending certain places or events. Later, they will be able to exchange these points for perks such as free entry.

Geolocation APIS for Mobile Apps

What is a map API? The Map API provides location intelligence for software developers building location-based products and services. It is a key component for location-aware apps, rich maps, and geographic data retrieval.

There are four Google Maps APIS to choose from based on your mobile app’s requirements. You can select one or use all for new GPS app ideas.

• Google Maps API displays the map itself and allows you to change the colour scheme, hide labels, use a different road density, and switch between sites. Also, you can now create a custom map style so that the map will fit your branding.

• Google Places API. It grants access to the detailed and categorised database of 100 million places.

• Google Maps Directions API. According to the latest survey, 58% of U.S. adult smartphone owners use their devices to look up directions. Along with directions, this API allows users to choose a transportation mode or take multiple modes.

• Google Distance Matrix API. It estimates travel time and distance based on a user’s destination, traffic conditions, and suggested routes.

All of these Google Maps APIS have dedicated versions for Web, Android, and ios.

Stage of building a location-based app

Here comes a question: how to start the development of a location-based app in your business/industry and successfully launch it? We created a short guide on where, with what tools and how to build it.

Do your research and due diligence on the market

Before choosing the area or beginning to develop your location-based app, make sure that it is worth the effort and recognised. Find out about common features, functionality, the set of services, designs, and other options of competitors’ apps. The next step is to compare them, reveal weak sides, and transform them into strong sides in your solution. You also need to define your target audience, research their interests, and determine whether your app would be useful to them.

Choosing a reliable tech partner

The second step is to search for a reliable tech partner who will satisfy your requirements in the app accurately and deliver highly qualified services. Check their portfolio to see if they have experience in developing location-based apps before and if the launches were successful. 

Tech specs

Before choosing the required technologies, you, along with Business Analysts, need to define critical challenges and features that will need to be included in your application. As part of the process, developers will also pick out the appropriate technology stack to be used in the development.

Level of security

Security is a crucial feature in location-based apps. All users have to be sure that their data is protected from scammers when they let the app use their geolocation. It is also important to consult with the team you chose about the importance of this safety net and how it will be ensured. Usually, all bugs and errors are revealed when the application is at the testing stage.

The Future of LBS Mobile Technology

As we adapt to smartphones, the future of LBS apps is evolving. These apps now extend beyond the “check-in” functions of Foursquare and Facebook and surpass the navigation services of Google Maps.

Geofencing, in-store mapping, and location-based ads have recently gained prominence. These marketing and user experience initiatives are set to thrive as more businesses, retailers, restaurants, and services integrate LBS technology into their apps. LBS features enhance content relevance and improve users’ in-app experience.

From gaming to ordering and consuming, LBS technology significantly enhances mobile app functionality. Without LBS features, many apps would not see the same level of downloads and usage today.

Conclusion

A geolocation feature is essential for app development across various industries, including healthcare, marketplace, media, and travel.

Obvious applications include taxis, map services, sports, food delivery, and dating. Most modern apps are location-based, helping users access information on events, meetings, and local updates.

Users can simply enable geolocation to stay informed about their neighbourhood through notification alerts if desired. If you have an idea for a location-based app or believe it can enhance your business profitability, contact us.

Our Business Analysts will help you research the market of the apps that form the competitive landscape and build a business strategy for your own impregnable solution.

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