BeautifulPeople.com is an online dating service where applicants to the website are voted in or out by existing members of the opposite sex over a 48-hour period.[1][3]
BeautifulPeople.com was launched in Denmark in 2002. The site was launched in the United States and the United Kingdom in 2005 and went global in 2009.[4][5][6] The website has attracted considerable controversy in the media and much criticism since its inception due to its exclusive business model of only allowing perceived attractive men and women to join the dating community.[7] The website's managing director Greg Hodge claimed that it is "based on a fundamental principle of human nature".[8]
About 20 percent of applications to the site make it into the community.[9]
In 2012, BeautifulPeople launched an exclusively gay version of BeautifulPeople.com. BeautifulPeople launched a satirical campaign in support of same-sex marriage in the United States in June 2012.[10]
In January 2010, BeautifulPeople removed 5,000 members from the site for gaining weight.[11]
In June 2011, BeautifulPeople.com was attacked by a virus which allowed users to join without going through the mandatory 48 hour voting process. Reportedly 30,000 people who were mistakenly let into the dating community were kicked off of the website as a result. The media dubbed the virus "Shrek" after the animated film with an underlying story line of how looks should not matter.[12]
As of 2013, BeautifulPeople was regularly hosting events for its members in the US and Europe. In order to gain entrance to BeautifulPeople.com events, attendees must look as attractive as they have represented themselves online or they will be turned away by the door screeners, who the media have coined the "Beauty Police".[13]
In 2016, private data from over 1.1 million user profiles and 15 million messages exchanged between members were leaked after BeautifulPeople had erroneously made it available on a MongoDB test server.[14] The information made public included addresses, education, employment, income, and sexual preferences.[14]
See also
References
- ^ a b Nesdoly, Tracy (2008-06-24). "Only pretty people need apply to website". The Star. Toronto. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Company lookup". Central Business Register. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
- ^ "BeautifulPeople.com axes holiday weight gain members". BBC News. 2010-01-04. Archived from the original on 5 January 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ Nugent, Helen (2005-04-30). "Only the beautiful need apply". The Times. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ^ "Lonely hearts website for beautiful people only goes global". London: Telegraph. 2009-10-26. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ^ Barker, Olivia (2005-07-28). "USATODAY.com – 'Beautiful' Web site is only skin deep". Usatoday30.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ^ "Lonely hearts website for beautiful people only goes global". London: Telegraph. 2009-10-26. Archived from the original on 11 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ "Beautiful enough for BeautifulPeople.com?". Hello Hygge.
- ^ "Dating site rejects 'ugly' Poms". Brisbane Times. 2009-11-12. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
- ^ Hodge, Greg (2012-07-31). "Forgive Them, For They Know Not What Is Gay". HuffPost. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ^ Sam Jones (2010-01-04). "Beautiful People expels 5,000 members after festive weight gain | Life and style". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ^ Rupert Neate (June 20, 2011). "Dating website for beautiful people dumps 30,000 members | Life and style". The Guardian. Retrieved 2013-10-27.
- ^ "Beauty Police Turn Ugly People Away at Dating Site Events". Mashable.com. 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2020-02-29.
- ^ a b Lee, Seung (2016-04-25). "1.1 million dating profiles at BeautifulPeople.com leaked and for sale on dark web". Newsweek.