This article was published on March 5, 2016

Remember Peeple? It finally launches today, but its niceness is a front


Remember Peeple? It finally launches today, but its niceness is a front

The controversy surrounding Peeple when it was first announced as a ‘Yelp for humans’ type platform resulted in its founders having to scrap their idea and go back to the drawing board.

Following an article by the Washington Post, revealing the real-life burn book, it quickly became one of the most hated apps on the internet last year. Finally launching, the new version of Peeple isn’t quite so horrifying… Or at least that’s what its founders want you to think.

The app’s creators said “people taught Peeple a valuable lesson” and now it will be about ‘recommendations’ instead of ratings. Improved security and privacy means only people who sign up for the app can be written about and will get to choose what recommendations display on their profiles.

This all sounds a little nice for the app that originally wanted to prove humans needed to be publicly reviewed like restaurants but not all the creepiness has been lost. Its founders say they will launch a premium feature next month called The Truth License.

The <3 of EU tech

The latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!

The weird upgrade will let you see everything – good or bad – that has been said about Peeple’s members, whether they like it or not. So Peeple is still creepy as heck.

If its founders had really learned a lot from the feedback it attracted, The Truth License certainly wouldn’t be called that and probably wouldn’t exist.

The name alone is being used to tempt users into believing this paid-tier will unlock the truth or some secrets about other people on the app. This is the same thing Peeple wanted to do when it was first announced, only now you’ll have to pay for the ‘privilege.’

➤ Social reputation app Peeple launches [PR Newswire]

Get the TNW newsletter

Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.

Also tagged with