No more Girls Around Me

Over the weekend, the Girls Around Me app went from being virtually unknown to highly downloaded to being pulled out of Apple’s app store. The app integrated a mix public information, like maps, Foursquare check-ins, and Facebook pages to show the user who was in the area. Essentially, it could turn your phone into a low-budget, digital stalker. It didn’t, however, do anything a lot of other social apps are doing wrote John Brownly at Cult of Mac:

… it is just as likely to be reacted to with laughter as it is with tears; it is as much of a novelty as it has the potential to be used a tool for rapists and stalkers.
And more than anything, it’s a wake-up call about privacy.

In response to the article, Foursquare pulled the app’s ability to pull user check-in information; although, unprotected Facebook profiles were still fair game. Next the app disappeared from the App Store, while i-Free, the app’s developer, had its inbox stuffed with hate mail. i-Free claims to have pulled the app saying that it is being used as a scapegoat for what a lot of apps already do.