If anyone still cares about 'near' on Vita: Looks like it's not totally dead.
In the old version, it'll tell you where you checked in and clicking on the location name will show you a map
Now, you can still check in, but all the locations will just be called "Location"
And you won't get a map of where.
So, basically: 'near' is still alive and you can still earn game goods from strangers...but now you just don't know where you checked in (which will especially be odd if you're like me and set 'near' to "obtain location automatically at regular intervals"...)