Ghetto Tracker is the original name of a new app designed to help people track, identify and avoid dangerous neighborhoods — or as the site described, “ghetto” and “unsafe” areas.
In less than one day, the backlash from consumers slamming the app as racist prompted the creators to change the name to Good Part of Town, reports The Huffington Post.
Despite the name change, the app’s mission remained the same and allowed users to identify “which parts of town are safe and which ones are ghetto, or unsafe.”
According to The Week, the start-up app functioned using a rating system where community members and locals rate areas of the neighborhood to alert rich travelers of places to avoid, “especially at night.”
Who can benefit from the app? “Students, traveling professionals, people on vacation, anyone moving to a new city, and it can even help people become more familiar with their own city,” the site said.
The site originally featured a white family of four smiling on the homepage but as a result of the complaints, the image was replaced with a photo that portrayed a more ethnically diverse family.
In addition to these changes, all mentions of the word “ghetto” have been removed from the website.
The Week reached out to the creators to confirm the app’s existence. In response, they said:
“The only thing that’s satire is the name, and I’d classify it as more tongue-in-cheek. The functionality is very real and serious.”
The website has since been taken down.
Follow Lilly Workneh on Twitter @Lilly_Works