Someone from MoviePass’ corporation communication department probably wishes they gave more media briefing/trainings to their CEO so they wouldn’t be in the hot water they’re currently in. CEO Mitch Lowe revealed some things about how the app tracks users’ locations before and after they watch movies, and now users are complaining that this was not explicitly stated in their privacy policy. The company is now backtracking and emphasizing that the data they collect is not being sold to anyone and is being used “to market potential customer benefits.”
Aside from the fact that users didn’t know that they were being tracked, the way that Lowe talked about it during his presentation involved a bit of bragging like they know how you get there and where you go after. “We know all about you,” were his exact words and that sounded a bit ominous. To be fair, he also did say that they don’t sell that data, but rather they use it to market the film. But people probably won’t go beyond the fact that their location data is accessed by the app and that they’ll use that data to monetize.
MoviePass’ official statement after news about his talk reached various news outlets also emphasized that the data they get will be used to create marketing opportunities for the moviegoing experience. But the privacy policy that users agree to when they use the app just mentions a “single request” for location but not about tracking before and after. Lowe referenced a patent that they have and this may refer to the one that covers booking a ticket and using GPS ping to avoid fraud.
The latest news is that MoviePass has removed the “unused app location capabilities” which is most likely in response to all the uproar. However, this is only for their iOS app. Hopefully, the update for Android isn’t far behind.
