Our dystopian not-so-distant future may soon include concerns about receiving Yelp-like one-star reviews from dissatisfied dates, or just about anyone who has your phone number. Possibly launching as soon as November, the upcoming Peeple app, which will launch on iOS first, is essentially Yelp for human beings.

According to The Washington Post, Peeple's current system does not include an opt-out service. So long as your name is present within the database, your reviews, good or bad, will remain open to public viewing. That said, the creators seem conscious of the risk of abuse, and have devised methods for mitigating the possibility. For example, in order to submit a review, a user will need to be above 21, have an established Facebook, and create the listing under their real name. It appears as though only positive ratings will be posted immediately, while negative comments will sit in queue for 48 hours, allowing their recipient to negotiate absolution.

Additionally, the Peeple website claims that the app will have no tolerance for “profanity, bullying, health references, disability references, confidential information, mentioning other people in a rating you’re not currently writing a rating for, name calling, degrading comments, derogatory comments, sexual references, mention of confidential information, racism, legal references, hateful content, and other parameters.” Whether Peeple can enforce its regulations, however, is an entirely different question. Even social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook have had trouble responding quickly enough to online abuse.

Peeple, which calls itself a “positivity app," has ostensibly noble ideals. The mission is to “find the good in you.” It even allows you to search for people within a certain rating, enabling you to surround yourself with the “best of the best.” Unfortunately, human beings are naturally contentious, emotional creatures. It’s hard to imagine Peeple only being used for the forces of good. While the idea of a two-star rating from an ex-colleague might seem trivial, it could have horrifying, long-reaching repercussions. Employers already use social media to investigate prospective employees, with some purportedly demanding access to personal accounts. Peeple will just make it easier.

At the same time, Peeple could also be seen as a more transparent take on existing social media. Likes, follower counts, and even MySpace’s Top 8 feature are all ways we calculate the value of an individual—so why shouldn't there be a service that allows us to blatantly participate in a global popularity contest?