14 DAY TRIAL // Ugly Meter, an iPhone app that scans the contours of your face to determine just how ugly you are, has given Angelina Jolie a 2.0 rating telling her she shines brighter than our closest star.
Ugly Meter didn’t think much of Brad Pitt, though, who scored an unfair 8.0 on the ugly meter, where a high mark is worse, not good. The app told Angelina “You’re so hot that you make the sun jealous,” and then told Brad “You could walk through a haunted house and come out with a paycheck.” Clearly its algorithms are messed up, at least regarding males.
Eugene Overline, one of the app’s authors, assures customers that “It’s just a game - it’s definitely not meant to be taken seriously.”
Yet the app’s description on iTunes states: “Do you ever wonder if you're ugly and your friends just don't tell you? Do you have an ugly friend, and you just don't know how to tell them? The Ugly Meter takes your photo and scans the details of your face to give you a rating of 1-10 on the Ugly Scale. If you rate a 10, you probably have a face that only a mother could love. Depending on how bad your rating is, the Ugly Meter will comment on your looks!”
The description says nothing about the app being a joke, meaning that whoever uses it without reading the Daily Mail’s report may end up feeling quite bad about themselves.
Some parents are afraid their kids will be laughed at in school when they compare results on their devices. For example, Samantha Miller, a mother of two from the same town as app developers Dapper Gentlemen, told KmiaTV that she didn't want anyone telling her kids they’re not attractive.
She specifically said: “It's tough enough being a kid - and now a phone can tell you how you look?”
Indeed, the problem is a delicate one. This is not the first time this issue is raised, but it appears the developers of Ugly Meter will continue to thrive on their app, which currently tops App Store charts.
In fact, version 3.12 released March 17 is said to feature “improved scanning accuracy.” The update further adds Chinese translations, making sure most of Asia knows they’re ugly too.