We enjoy bringing you news about various popular apps and have previously brought you details of Ugly apps, most of which are entertaining, fun apps that can be used to distort faces. However it seems there is now real worry that an Ugly Meter app could disturb and taunt children and we’d like to know your views on this.

First we’ll give you some details of the app concerned so you can see what the debate is all about. The Ugly Meter iOS app by Dapper Gentlemen is available at this App Store link for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad running iOS 3.0 or later, at a price of £0.69 ($0.99). The app has been featured by celebs such as Howard Stern, Jay Leno and Mike O’Meara and the general idea is that the app scans a photo of you (or your friends) and gives a rating between 1 and 10 on the Ugly Scale. There are also sound effects and comments thrown in so beware if you come out as a 10.

Those who use the app can see which of their circle of friends is rated the ugliest and also share the results on Facebook and Twitter. A premium version of this iOS app for devices running iOS 3.2 or later is Ugly Meter PRO, which costs £2.99 ($4.99) and is available here. The PRO version explains your facial structure and gives a rating on how ugly or beautiful you are on a scale between 1 and 100.

There’s also an Android version of Ugly Meter available at this Google Play link. Ugly Meter for Android is for devices running Android 1.5 or later and is priced at £0.61. This app is the same as the first iOS app in that it gives an ugly rating between 1 and 10 on the Ugly Scale. On the face of it the Ugly Meter app sounds like a way to share some lighthearted fun between friends, as long as it’s not taken too seriously of course.

However there are concerns among parents that if the Ugly Meter app is used by children it could be upsetting and damage esteem. World News tells how current debate about the app has given rise to some people saying that children, who may take it too seriously or use it to insult other kids, need to be protected from this app. Developer Jo Overline has said that the app is meant to entertain and not insult and of course in the right hands we’re sure this can be fun. We can also see though how children could use the app to upset other kids and that it could affect a child’s confidence.

We’d like to hear your thoughts on this debate about the Ugly Meter app. Do you think that apps such as this have a place as a form of entertainment? Maybe you think it should be banned, or alternatively feel it’s up to parents to prevent their children using the app? Send your comments to us to let us know how you feel.