Peeple App, ‘The Yelp For People,’ Is Back: Did The Co-Founder Learn Her Lesson?

Peeple, the self-proclaimed “Yelp for people,” has officially launched in North America earlier this week despite all of the controversy surrounding the app. It received backlash late last year when it became known that it allows you to rate human beings as if they’re places of business. Since its launch, it has received little attention in the mobile and tech areas, for good reason.

When Peeple was announced in October, people took to social media to express their outrage. It’s bad enough that people get judged on social media. What’s the necessity of rating people on an app? Now that the app has launched on Apple’s App Store, some are finding out that it’s a huge waste of time.

Actor Phillip Keene (start of TNT’s Major Crimes) said on the TalkingTech podcast that the new mobile app could cause huge amount of problems. Peeple co-founder Julie Corday did learn her lesson. Somewhat. She ditched the 5-star rating system and now just accepts positive reviews. The app also shows you how many times a user has been reviewed. You can still write a bad review, but it’s not posed unless the other person has a Peeple account and accepts the review. It’s still a concern for most people because it places your personal information out there for everyone on the app to see.

Why Peeple is boring https://t.co/43KHnAInEn by @JessConditt pic.twitter.com/OdUc0bmLBX

— Engadget (@engadget) March 10, 2016

The fine folks over at SFist tried out the Peeple app to see if it was worth all of the fuss. Oddly enough, to download Peeple and start using it, you must be “over 21 years of age and reside in Canada.” If you don’t meet the requirements, then you can still use the app even though you’re violating its Terms and Conditions.

The Peeple app uses your Facebook profile then accesses your iPhone’s contacts to see if any of your friends are on the app. You will then complete a profile using three words to describe your interest, occupation, and passion. The problem with this app is that no one is likely to use Peeple anytime soon. It has received way too much backlash and controversy to incite interest.

Since the app’s launch earlier this week, it has received plenty more criticism from its users. It currently has a 1.5 star rating out of 154 reviews on the Apple’s App Store.

People can use the app in one of the following three categories: personal, professional, and dating, according to the Peeple website, which is back up and running after receiving its share of negative attention.

“We are a concept that has never been done before in a digital space. We want character to be a new form of currency. Peeple will provide you a safe place to manage your online reputation while protecting your greatest assets by making better decisions about the people around you.”

Of course, it’s not the first app that has a rating system for people.

Lulu is a mobile app (available on iOS and Android) that allows women to make both positive and negative reviews of men based on their personal, romantic, and sexual appeal. That app has also received a 1.5 star rating out of 13 reviews on Apple’s App Store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx0v0RFYczE

Another app called Knozen is described as a fun mobile game that allows users to rate their co-workers’ personality, quirks, and work ethic by providing photos of users and answering questions like “Who is more likely to leave work early for a date?” or “Who is more likely to sing out loud?”

Peeple is currently only available to iOS users in North America, preferably Canada. An Android version has not been released; however, it’s unlikely due to its unpopularity with the public.

Learn more about Peeple in the video below.

What are your thoughts on Peeple? Do you think it has lived up to its hype about being a “positivity” app? Or do you think it will cause too much trouble? Sound off below in the comments section.

[Photo by Maridav/Shutterstock]