Controversial people-rating app Peeple launches on iOS. (Photo : YouTube/Peeple)
After its initial announcement caught flak upon release in 2015, controversial people-rating app Peeple is now facing backlash over its proposed business model.
Launched this week on iOS devices with an Android version is reportedly on the way, Peeple allows users to review their fellow humans. Across three categories, Personal, Professional and Dating, the latter of which has yet to go live, users can rate other people as Positive, Negative or Neutral, ditching the proposed five-star ratings system that the app was announced with.
When Peeple was announced, there was controversy surrounding the fact that the ability to rate anyone could lead to bullying and torrents of abuse. However, the launch iteration of the app seems to address this.
Reviews of people who do not have Peeple accounts will not be public. Users can post reviews and send a text inviting them to sign up to the app and people can also decide which reviews are public on their profile, which in turn contributes to a score which is displayed on the profile in a small orange circle.
Moreover, Peeple's terms and conditions prohibit abuse, derogatory comments, racism, sexism, hateful content and more. The terms are several pages long and some have said that it's unlikely that most users will read the lengthy document, but the fact that it has been considered is being seen as a positive, at least.
However, while these changes will mostly welcomed by anti-bullying advocates and those with similar concerns, the Peeple business model may soon allow the app's founders, Julia Cordray and Nicole McCullough, to profit from negative reviews, Tech Crunch reported.
The Peeple team is currently considering something called The Truth License which would allow paid users to see any reviews (negative or positive) that has been published about a person. This is just one money-making avenue being considered, along with in-app search credits and personality testing.
Other concerns with Peeple's future is that it is "boring", according to Engadget. The publication questions whether Peeple, with its positive review-curating, is any different from the likes of LinkedIn, Google Plus and resume sites, which also allow people to collect positive quotes and references about themselves.
Many are eager to see whether or not the headline-grabbing app will take this criticism on board and become more than a controversial flash in the pan. Watch the Peeple launch trailer below:
