A new app called Peeple is stirring up emotions ahead of the app’s release. The app lets people rate and review other people - that’s right. If you use this app, you can review and rate another person, and other people can then look at those reviews.

As you might imagine, there are some mixed feelings about the new Peeple app - here’s what you can expect from the app.

How Peeple Works

Imagine a site like Yelp, but instead of rating restaurants and other places you’ll be rating people. Why? The developers behind Peeple wanted the world to have a better idea of who they were dealing with. If, for example, you are about to move and you want to find out what kind of landlord situation you’ll be getting into, all you have to do is use the Peeple app to see how others have rated your new landlord.

Of course, you can use the new app to rate potential dates, clients, people you may do business with, and practically anyone that you’ve ever come across. The app works on a star rating system, and you can designate any number of stars from one to five when you want to rate someone.

Getting the App

Right now, Peeple is being beta tested, but in order to use the app you have to be at least 21 years old, and you need to have a valid Facebook account. The app also requires that you use your real and full name. If you want to get a better rating, you can also rate other people when you use the app. All people that use the app are categorized as either Personal, Professional, or Romantic.

The obvious question here is what happens if someone gives you a bad rating that you don’t feel is warranted? If you are given a low rating, you will have 48 hours to work that problem out with the person that rated you. After that time expires, the rating will either stick or you’ll be able to change it. All ratings expire in one year to allow people to grow and change. If you do get a bad rating that you can’t change, you can try to defend yourself publicly.

The Issues

Obviously there are some problems with the Peeple app. Some are noting that this type of app is akin to slander and could cause numerous lawsuits. Others believe that the app is warranted in order to prevent people from working or dating someone that is not a good person. Then again, what some people consider a good person and what others consider a good person are likely starkly contrasting.

What about things like racism and bullying? Well, the app’s developers have told press that they will be carefully reviewing every negative review, and that all users have to sign an extensive list of terms before using the app. Further, if a person does not sign up to use the app and cannot contest a bad rating, that rating won’t be posted. Still, Peeple is going to stir up a lot of emotions - lawyers are, undoubtedly, at the ready.