Dive Brief:

• Foursquare, a mobile check-in app that's evolved into a dining and entertainment guide, added a feature on Reddit to let users tag posts with their location, according to a blog post by Foursquare.
• Reddit, whose platform is based around anonymity, currently has 250 million users who use the site to share content and vote on it. Because the new location tags are optional, users can keep their profiles private, anonymous and detail-free, said Mike Harkey, vice president of business development at Foursquare, in the blog post.
• Mobile users who enable location services in Reddit will see a drop-down menu with options for tagging a location. Foursquare has similar location-data partnerships with Snapchat, Pinterest, Twitter and Apple.

Dive Insight:

The feature is Reddit’s latest move toward making its generally text-heavy content more attractive to smartphones users, though it’s unclear how popular the new location tags will be, given the pervasive anonymity of the site. Reddit is slowly evolving from a content-sharing website into more of a social network where people can create public profiles with personal details. Foursquare, which has a formidable database of more than 90 million mapped locations — including stores, restaurants and museums — and its new feature lets Reddit users behave like they do on other social media platforms. Location-based tagging is a common feature on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

The addition of geotagging may make Reddit more appealing to advertisers who have previously shunned the website because of its reputation for showcasing hate speech and controversial content. Location-based content not only brings greater transparency on the site, but could help nearby local businesses engage with users. 

While some Reddit users revel in the freedom of anonymity online, the site has shut down many controversial forums and driven people to other sites. But as the demise of Reddit clone Voat demonstrated this month, some kind of cash flow is needed to pay the bills and keep the service running. If Reddit wants to sustain its self-described position as “the front page of the internet,” it has to balance the needs of its users and sponsors long term.