Economy
People Just Won't Give Up on Awful Neighborhood Apps
SketchFactor is the latest in a series of user-experience-driven mapping apps with the distinct smack of genteel paranoia.
Another day, another tone-deaf neighborhood innovation. Let's call them poortals: apps designed to help the privileged avoid the poor.
SketchFactor, which launches on Friday, is the latest in a seemingly endless series of misguided navigation apps. Like many of its predecessors, SketchFactor crowdsources user experiences to compile a sketchiness rating for neighborhoods in several large metro areas. And like nearly all of its predecessors, SketchFactor appears to suffer from some fatal flaws.