A 'creepy' new website was condemned today after it secretly uploaded the Facebook profiles of 150,000 students for people to rate based on their looks.
Ratemash.com has been quietly uploading social network pictures without the owner's consent.
Site users are then encouraged to flick through the photos - which appear one after another in a huge gallery - branding each person either 'hot', or 'not'.
'Creepy': The website ratemash.com has been criticised for secretly uploading 150,000 Student Facebook profiles for people to rate based on their looks
'Stalkerish': The site has been quietly uploading social network pictures without the owner's consent
The top 50 faces at each university are then ranked on a leaderboard with a link provided taking people straight to their Facebook profile.
But outraged students slammed the site, branding it 'degrading', 'stalkerish' and 'creepy'.
Durham University student Natasha Henley said: 'I had no clue I was on it and didn't know it existed until today. I never signed up.
'It's quite creepy to think I'm on there, especially since it redirects you to people's profiles and anyone can get onto the site which has quite a stalkerish vibe to be honest.'
Millie Hoskins, ranked 11th at Exeter University, said: 'This is weird and seriously creepy. I've emailed them to ask for my name and photo to be taken down because it feels like a breach of privacy.'
Outraged: Students slammed the site, branding it 'degrading', 'stalkerish' and 'creepy'
Site users are encouraged to flick through the photos - which appear one after another in a huge gallery - branding each person either 'hot' or 'not'
Alice Hodgson, a 2nd year in English & Drama at Birmingham University, said: 'It's really creepy and it's not within anyone's right to rate girls, I hate that idea.
'The fact it links to my Facebook is so weird.'
Ratemash has been quietly uploading photos since March and said that pictures were added by friends when they signed up.
It describes itself as the next Tinder - an app which also pulls content from Facebook to allow users to rate them.
Barriers: Users who want their photos removed have to sign up for the site - connecting it with their Facebook profile - and then delete their picture before emailing him to remove their account
The site even invites users to rate cats and babies if they are uploaded through a profile picture.
Ratemash was founded by Michael Healy, 19, with a £30,000 investment and employs six people.
A description says: 'Ratemash is a buzzing community with members within universities mostly in the UK and around the world who like to go out, party and enjoy themselves.
'The idea of Ratemash is to make it easier to meet new people in universities and to make going out cheaper, more fun and seamless.'
Ratemash was founded by Michael Healy (left), 19, with a £30,000 investment and employs six people
Mr Healey told student newspaper 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 universities. It's just a bit of fun.
'I see it as Tinder for universities - it's a lot more interesting because of the leaderboard.'
Healy said he had received 'fewer than 100' complaints, but refused to comment on claims the site was creepy or an invasion of privacy.
And he admitted users who wanted their photos removed would have to sign up for the site - connecting it with their Facebook profile - and then delete their photo, before emailing him to remove their account.
The Tab spoke with thirty students listed on the site - none were aware they featured on it.
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