New app shares gender ratio at popular Boston bars

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) A new cell phone app could help Mass. residents plan a night out on the town, but some say it raises questions about privacy.

SceneTap allows users to look at the ratio of men to women and average age of crowds in some of Boston's most popular bars and clubs. According to the Boston Globe, the app uses cameras mounted on the ceilings of a bar's entrance to collect images on a facial detection reader. It then uses silhouetted images to measure 14 data points on a "featureless face," which allows the app to determine each party goer's sex and approximate age.

Some tell the Globe that this raises privacy concerns about such technology's ability to track people. However, SceneTap's CEO tells the newspaper he believes he may have underestimated the controversial aspects of the technology and that he wants to make sure everyone's personal privacy is respected.

Aside from giving people a look inside Boston area bars, the app also compiles a list of bar specials, events, and pictures taken by photographers at the venues. The app was previously rolled out in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Austin.

So what are some of the bars participating in the new technology? Here is a list of the Boston area bars that already have the technology up and running:

Down Ultra Lounge
Howl at the Moon
Jose McIntyre's
Vintage Lounge
Battery Park
The Place
Kitty O'Shea's
Paddy O's
Hennessey's
Green Dragon
Bell in Hand Tavern
Beantown Pub
The Greatest Bar
Porters Bar and Grill
Brahmin
Clery's
Lir
Dillon's
Sweet Carolines
Baseball Tavern
Who's on First?
Naga
Moksa
T's Pub
Om
Roggie's

To read more: Boston Globe

Cox Media Group