A new smartphone app called SketchFactor allows users to report on “sketchy” parts of areas, in order for others to avoid them. Sounds like a good idea?  Maybe not.

The main issue with the app is that it relies primarily on personal perceptions about what makes a neighborhood “sketchy.” The app does include publicly available data, but will heavily crowdsource from people’s experiences they choose to share on the app.

As helpful as this app may sound, it may ultimately create more racial profiling and classism. Users of the app will share their biased opinions on what they believe is “sketchy.” Demographics and average income already play a role in how many people determine the safety of a neighborhood. 

SketchFactor's creators, Allison McGuire and Daniel Herrington, developed the app because of McGuire’s uncomfortable experiences living in Washington, D.C. before moving to New York. In an interview with Crain’s New York Business, McGuire explained that she understood that SketchFactor could turn into a gateway for racism, but hopes it will empower people of color to report racial profiling:

"And even though Dan and I are admittedly both young, white people, the app is not built for us as young, white people. As far as we're concerned, racial profiling is 'sketchy' and we are trying to empower users to report incidents of racism against them and define their own experience of the streets,” said McGuire to Crain’s New York Business.

The app will launch on Friday on iTunes.