The controversial app Peeple, which allows users to rate other humans like goods and services, officially launched in North America on Monday. The app is available for download in the iPhone App Store.
The app, which bills itself as an effort to make “character a new form of currency,” allows users to provide reviews for people they come in contact with professionally, romantically, and personally. The app stirred controversy when it was announced in October—many consumers objected to the idea of scrutinizing their friends, lovers, and peers (or being scrutinized themselves) in such a transactional manner.
The app creators insist the goal is to allow users to manage their reputations in a safe, online community. Because of it was immediately dubbed a “Yelp for people,” however, potential users worried the app would become a hub for cyberbullying and mean-spirited comments.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- The 100 Most Influential People in AI 2024
- Inside the Rise of Bitcoin-Powered Pools and Bathhouses
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What Makes a Friendship Last Forever?
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- Your Questions About Early Voting , Answered
- Column: Your Cynicism Isn’t Helping Anybody
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Contact us at letters@time.com