A ‘Hot or Not’ website branded “weird” and “creepy” has sparked anger from York students after it emerged that Facebook profile pictures were uploaded without their knowledge.
Ratemash.com, which claims to “sort out your nightlife”, has drawn criticism from students at the University who “knew nothing about” the website and have “never signed up.”
The site works by users scrolling through photos of guys or girls rating them ‘hot’ or ‘not’.
The top fifty girls and guys rated best at each university are then ranked on a leaderboard with a direct link provided to their Facebook pages.
But Vision has learned that some of those students on the York leaderboard are unhappy about their information being there.
One said: “It’s just really weird. I’m not really happy about them having my information.”
Another told us: “I find it creepy to be honest, and I’m not particularly happy that this has been done without my knowledge.”
The website’s owner, Michael Healy, insists that users are “welcome to remove themselves at any time.” He told The Tab: “People get invited by their friends but they are welcome to remove themselves at any time.”
“I made it for a university [Regent’s University] that my roommates were going to and it got like 50,000 ratings overnight so I thought I’d scale it to other university. It’s just a bit of fun.
“I see it as Tinder for universities – it’s a lot more interesting because of the leaderboard.”
But there are fears that the website could lead to an increase in online stalking.
One student told Vision: “My friend has noticed a recent increase in “random adds” on Facebook with people from Iraq and other countries sending her friend requests, with one even sending her a message of “nice look”.
“We think that this may be linked to the site.”
It is understood that 138 universities across the UK are part of the community, with more than 150,000 students’ Facebook profile pictures uploaded on to the site.
Universities including Anglia Ruskin and Staffordshire are reportedly investigating claims that the website “violates privacy.”
No such action appears to be being taken by officials at the University, but YUSU Welfare and Community Officer George Offer has called on students to “get in touch with Facebook” if they have concerns. He said: “Obviously, any website that objectifies people by getting users to “rate” them based on a photo is a waste of bandwidth, and really not something that most of our students will devote much time to.
“If anyone is concerned, then they should check their privacy settings or get in touch with Facebook.”
Those students who do want their information removed will have to sign up to the site by connecting it to their Facebook and then delete the photo before emailing Ratemash to remove their account.
The site was founded through a £30,000 investment and employs 6 people. A description under its ‘Personalized Reccommendations’ tab claims: “Find people who think you’re hot. If someone thinks your hot and you agree, we’ll match you up.”