San Francisco residents are furious that a new app lets you spy on bars to see how busy they are

A bizarre new app lets San Francisco residents monitor local bars via live video feed to see what’s going on and how busy the venues are. 2Nitelaunched earlier this year, uses a network of cameras at various Bay Area establishments to provide remote information about what’s happening in those locations.

“The all-in-one app to manage, promote, and discover nightlife,” proclaims the app’s website. On its app page, the program encourages users to “scroll” through its “discovery page,” where various live streams are visible. Users can also purchase tickets to events (like concerts) at the venues in question through the app. So far, the app has only signed deals with “five to eight venues.” The San Francisco Standard writes:.

“This app got me laid,” one user said five stars on Apple’s App Store. “Best way to buy tickets to events. 2nite is the truth and the future,” the excited user wrote.

Not everyone is so enthusiastic. In fact, some patrons at a local bar were predictably disturbed (and even frightened) by an app that remotely monitors them and broadcasts their drinking to an unknown number of strangers on the internet.

“You should be able to let loose in a bar where Big Brother isn’t watching you,” said one young woman. said the That’s the standard response when asked about the app. “Go to a fucking bar,” she added, seeming to balk at the app’s usefulness. “And if it’s not cool, you go to another bar.”

“Completely invasive,” is how another bar patron apparently described it.

Of course, your choice will vary. Lucas Harris, 2Nite’s co-founder, said the app’s partner companies control the cameras and that the streams are primarily intended to “provide a glimpse into live performances at bars, clubs, and other event venues,” the Standard writes. Harris and his co-founder, Francesco Bini, also told the outlet that they implemented blurring on the live streams to anonymize the streams and prevent partygoers from being identified.

Gizmodo has reached out to the app’s developers for more information and will update this article if they respond.