In fact, the firm states that 12.7 million smartphone owners use check-in tools on their handsets, accounting for 17.6 percent of the entire smartphone population or almost 1 in 5, if you prefer.
Adding on feature phone users takes that total up to 16.7 million US mobile subscribers, but it's the apps on smartphones that are really driving the genre's growth.
Teen tantrums
"Although still in their relative infancy, location-based mobile check-in services are seeing rather impressive adoption among smartphone users," said senior VP of mobile at comScore, Mark Donovan.
"The ability to interact with consumers on this micro-local level through special offers, deals and other incentives provides brands with the real-time opportunity to engage consumers through their mobile device."
In all, locaton-based apps are most popular with people between the ages of 25 and 34 years old.
Perhaps surprisingly, one of the groups with the lowest share is the teenage market, with 13 to 17 years olds making up just 8.3 percent of the check-in userbase.
This backs up a UK based study by communications agency Dubit earlier in May, which reported that location-based apps simply do not appeal to teenagers.
Across the pond
According to Dubit's results, almost half of all UK teenagers haven't even heard of location-based social networks, and of those that have, 58 percent don't see the point of them.
Of those that do use apps to check-in, Facebook Places was the most popular, taking 30 percent of the market. Foursquare came in on 5 percent in second place.
According to Dubit's head of research, Peter Robinson, users in the UK are yet to see a purpose to such apps.
"When Facebook Places launched much of the criticism was focused at its lack of gamification," he said. "It just didn't look fun."
Nonetheless, for those that have made the leap, comScore claims Android is the platform of choice, making up 36.6 percent of all check-in service users in the US, ahead of iOS on 33.7 percent and BlackBerry on 22 percent.
[source: comScore]
