According to The Business Insider report, the Palo Alto-based startup Loopt announced on Friday that it soon be launching the first third-party iPhone app that works in the background - the Loopt app circumvents the Apple restriction upon developers, pertaining to the use of true background processes!

Saying that it had received the requisite go-ahead from AT&T, Loopt, the location-based social networking service, elaborated that its app can track a user's location based on network connections, with users requiring to manually-enable the tracking feature.

For its singular and seemingly-notable app - "Always-On Location Service for the iPhone" - Loopt has sought the help of networking partners for delivering a solution sooner than its location-awareness rivals like Google Latitude, Brightkite and Whrrl.

The service is being offered by the company for $3.99 a month; as well as a 14-day free trial for those who desire to test the service.

About the new service, Loopt founder and CEO Sam Altman said that the ability to operate in the background was practically the most-requested feature ever since Loopt's debut on the iPhone last year.

Referring to Loopt's iPhone app operating in the background, Paul Boutin of the tech news site VentureBeat said: "Other apps will no doubt sprout this same background functionality, but not overnight. For now, Loopt is ahead of the pack!"