Dan Frommer wrote about something I noticed after downloading the new Facebook app for iOS: floating buttons is becoming a thing. The chat bubbles or whatever they’re called hover and so does the “new story” indicator. And like Dan, I first noticed it with the new Foursquare app.

Oddly enough, I like how Foursquare applies the floating button but loath how Facebook does it. First, the chat bubbles are annoying since they get in the way and clutter up my screen. Plus, I have to drag and drop them to an ’X’ to close them which is a waste of effort. Foursquare’s button is fixed and clearly conveys its purpose.

If used well, it could be a great way to clean up an app’s interface. If it isn’t, it’s going to look ugly.