The Ontario Provincial Police released an app this week called “Send This Instead” (iOS|Android), aimed at getting kids to send a snarky response to a request for nude pics instead of the nude pics themselves. While I applaud the sentiment, I’m dubious that this will actually work – but if it even stops one kid from feeling obligated to give up the digital goods, then it’s worth it. I can’t help but look at the app with a critical eye, though:

• Oh my god that iOS icon is PAINFUL please fire your designer
• They asked “funny people we knew” for snappy responses, and the best they could come up with included one racial insult (“eskimo” is frowned upon by some), and several prison rape jokes. Great job, funny people.
• Grammatical and punctuation errors make me want to punch babies and are why we can’t have nice things.
• Blah blah greater good, they mean well, etc – but there are some things that are just unforgivable: the app, when installed, will take it upon itself to SAVE ALL ITS IMAGES TO YOUR PHOTO ALBUM. It doesn’t ask you, or tell you that this is going to happen – it asks for access to your photos (standard iOS behaviour), then saves over 40 stupid pictures to your device. NO. HELL TO THE FUCKING NO. I’m sure that most people aren’t nearly as anal retentive as I am about their phone space, but you do NOT go saving shit I didn’t approve to my goddamn phone! Just for that, I’m sending naked pictures to anyone who asks or otherwise! That’s right – say hi to me in the hall, and you’re getting a goddamn naked picture. SUCK IT, ONTARIO PROVINCIAL POLICE. YOU GO TOO FAR.

Grumble. This entire user experience is just fucking awful.

seriously though, this is fucking hideous. doesn’t look like this on android, either.