Facebook Adds Timeline Apps from Foursquare and The Onion; Over 3,000 Available Now

Image credit: Facebook

If you're a Facebook user, you've likely noticed the new Timeline layout that has started to roll out, bringing a different look to user profile pages and replacing "The Wall" that most people were used to.  Along for the ride come a whole new slew of what Facebook calls "Timeline apps."

Timeline apps aren't games, but rather "lifestyle apps," Facebook's Malorie Lucich told ABC News. "They build upon Facebook's social layer and make people's Timelines more expressive with the things they are doing," she said. In essence, they bring your favorite services and smartphone apps right to your Facebook page.

Today at SXSW, the interactive media conference in Austin, Facebook is announcing some big additions to the Timeline app portal, including apps from Foursquare, The Onion, Fandango, and Endomondo.

Since the launch of the new app platform two months ago, 3,000 apps have become available for users. The apps can be added to users' Timelines and can be set to refresh automatically. For instance, the Spotify app links with the popular music service and shows what music you are or have recently listened to in real time.

The new Foursquare app, which rolls out today, will bring more of the features of the mobile app to the Timeline. (Foursquare, if you've never used it, is a mobile service that lets you tell friends where you are and interesting things you've found on the way.) "We're excited to upgrade the posts we send to Facebook so people can push their Foursquare activities into Timeline and better showcase check-ins, badges, and mayorships," Foursquare's Erin Gleason said.

The Onion app will show videos or articles you've watched or read on theonion.com. Similarly, Fandango's app will show clips of films you've watched through Fandango and let you add movies you want to see. The new Endomondo app, which is a fitness app for tracking workouts and run routes, will bring those maps straight to people's Timelines.

All Facebook Timeline apps are available here; the new ones from Facebook and The Onion, Facebook said, are being added today.