Peeple, dubbed Yelp For People, Is Terrifying
3 min read
There’s a new app on the horizon called Peeple that is going to put everyone in the spotlight whether you want to or not. Peeple allows you to rate other people like a restaurant or an online purchase. The creators claim that Peeple focuses on the positivity of people but we all know that humans are not always positive creatures. Where it becomes a serious problem is there is no way for you to opt-out of being rated, whether or not you are a user of the app.
That means if you have a bad day or a run in with a co-worker you may get a 1-star review. What does that mean? Hopefully nothing as long as no one takes this concept seriously but what if employers, business partners, customers start to use this as a guide. Ratings will have no context, paint you in a bad light from one bad day, potentially reveal behaviors that are one-offs or used behind closed doors with close friends.
People claims that no anonymous reviews are allowed and everyone needs to have a Facebook account at least 6 months old. Not foolproof for the anonymous. They have a no bullying policy and will kick people off that are over the top mean. Peeple has a built in ‘growth hack’ in their service so this may never take off. The ‘growth hack’ means that core service cannot be accessed or read unless you sign up. So you may see a person and a star rating but can’t see the review details unless you sign up for the app.
Where Peeple falls over is anyone can sign up anyone else if they know their cell number. However, from what I read, you as a person has no say or control to opt-out of that. I suspect as this gets going, if it does, they will be forced or sued to change their ways and users being signed up to be rated have to approve it first. Then everyone denies it and this crap service dies before it starts.
This is where social networking has gone too far. Of course you are going to have bad reviews, low stars from some people, everyone does. Anyone that says otherwise is lying. You don’t get along with everyone in your lives, we never do, and if you think you do there have been times you rubbed someone the wrong way and may not even know it. Peeple would throw all those interactions into a blender and profile you in a way that is not reflective of who you truly are.
You act differently in a business meeting, on the golf course, at a ball game, with your kids, etc… That’s the beauty of being human. Peeple is just a dumb idea that is a slippery slope of bad things. If you think people are self-conscious when it comes to their Facebook profiles, what if you had an app that adds a score to you? What if all your friends team up and give you a 1 star rating? I can’t see anything positive around this long term.
We just had Australia rule that defriending someone on Facebook constitutes workplace bullying. What if they rated that person 1 star on top of it?
End of line.
Binary Blogger has spent 20 years in the Information Security space currently providing security solutions and evangelism to clients. From early web application programming, system administration, senior management to enterprise consulting I provide practical security analysis and solutions to help companies and individuals figure out HOW to be secure every day.
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