GILBERT, USA: Arizona-based developer Dapper Gentlemen is grinning over its app Ugly Meter, which is being touted as an alleged "Bully Tool."
According to the release, Ugly Meter app takes a picture and scans it using facial recognition, generates derogatory and hurtful comments based on your "ugliness score."
"Your face looks like it was in the dryer with a bunch of rocks," it might say, or, "When you walk pass a bathroom, the toilet flushes." These remarks and photos can then be posted on social media networks like Facebook or Twitter, possibly without the victim knowing.
Stephen Balkam, CEO of Washington-based Family Online Safety Institute, told the New York Post: "I can see that the guys who programmed it were having a bit of fun and all ... If you're 25, 26 or 28, this sort of thing could be quite funny or amusing. But in the hands of a 14- or 15-year-old, it could be quite the reverse."
Dr. Gwenn O'Keeffe, author of "Cybersafe: Protecting and Empowering Kids in the Digital World of Texting, Gaming and Social Media," says, "There's a fine line between teasing and razzing one another ... [This app] is just hurtful. It could have crushing blows on kids with low self-esteem. There's just nothing good that could come from an app like this."
So far the creators of the app insist that its purpose is for "fun" and "humorous purposes."
One of the creators, Jo Overline, remarked to news outlets: "All of our insults are PG-rated. We kept it pretty clean on purpose. There will always be bullies out there and we can't control what they do. Parents need to take responsibility for their own children."
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