According to Media Play News, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe had some interesting things to say during his Hollywood presentation that took place late last week, entitled “New Oil: How Will MoviePass Monetize It?” Most notably, he openly admitted that his app tracks people’s location, even when they’re not actively using the app:
“We get an enormous amount of information… We know all about. We watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterwards.”
Lowe also commented on how they knew subscribers’ addresses, their demographics, and how they can track subs via the app and the phone’s GPS. This drew nervous laughter from the crowd—many of whom were MoviePass subscribers themselves—but Lowe assured them that this collecting of tracking data fits into their long-term revenue plan. He explained that their vision is to “build a night at the movies,” with MoviePass eventually directing subscribers to places to eat before movies, and places to grab drinks afterward (all for a cut from the vendors).
We knew MoviePass was collecting data on us from the start—that’s how they plan to make their money—so how is this any different? Well, subscribers are claiming they didn’t clearly disclose such persistent location tracking in their privacy policy. In regard to location tracking, the privacy policy mentions a “single request” in a section titled “Check ins” that’s used when you’re selecting a theater and movie to watch. However, the section also mentions real-time location data “as a means to develop, improve and personalize the service.” It’s a vague statement that could mean just about anything, but it’s understandable if users didn’t assume it meant watching them wherever they went, even when they’re not using the app.
Source: MoviePass Is Tracking Your Location
Robin Edgar
Organisational Structures | Technology and Science | Military, IT and Lifestyle consultancy | Social, Broadcast & Cross Media | Flying aircraft