Following the recent meltdown suffered by the makers of Peeple, the real time people-rating app, the mind turns back to the old adage, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Here’s a look at the most controversial apps yet delivered, and see if that old saying holds up.
Peeple
Undoubtedly the most controversial app of this year, Peeple’s makers insisted it was above-board, but the app’s function of allowing anyone you know to rate you as a person for everyone else to see and without your consent, was hugely divisive and unpopular. Despite this, it’s said to still be pushing ahead with its forecast release. Perhaps proof, if it were needed, that you can be lambasted all day every day and still spin it into a positive.
I’m Rich
An app that cost $999 solely to let a tiny red jewel float on your screen, this app was eventually pulled from the appstore and led apple to actually cap the max price an app could be sold for. But not before it was bought by at least eight of the world’s gullible and gauche. File under genius.
Luxy
One rich person app for which the rich are NOT the butt of the joke is Luxy, a dating app that advertises itself as being “Tinder, minus the poor people”. Astonishingly, this app is still available and appears to be doing a brisk trade, and cultivating a following for people who want free stuff.
DUI Checkpoint Apps
One thing Apple did at least partially ban was the many apps which broadcast the locations of DUI checkpoints in America, designed as a way for people to avoid being breathalysed when drinking. Even after the ban was imposed on many variations, many more sprouted up, and there are said to be as many 60 different versions still available in different countries.
Phone Story
Considering the things that Apple hasn’t banned, it may or may not surprise you that one whimsical little tale did get a lifetime ban from the Apple store, namely Phone Story. A nicely designed game by an activist group with no violence or sexual imagery or regressive or illegal content, it was pulled after four days. Why? Perhaps because it mimicked the purported conditions of workers in Apple’s third world factories. Watch a video of the game below and judge for yourself if it should be the only app on this list to be currently unavailable.
