MoviePass App Tracks Your Location Before and After Movies [Updated With Statement]

[Cigsm]

Uh I didn’t sign up through Apple. Idk if you can even sign up on the app.

And AMC didn’t block them, MoviePass blocked AMC to divert the traffic to other theaters.

Actually Moviepass doesn't have the power you think they do. They can be shut down very easily. The card they are using is like any other credit card.. HOWEVER, the little 1's and 0's can be blocked by the theaters. This is how AMC accomplished their block at their high traffic locations. Even small town theaters in my area have flat out told me they have blocked that card as well. Very very easy to do! These guys are also bypassing Apple's subscription based services which is also a no no, so Apple gets zero dollars from them. All in all, they are very shady and I wouldn't put any trust in their business model.

 

[Cigsm]

You realize all the data is anonymized right? So those hackers see customer 632182 left movie and went to doctors office. Yay?

What happened to the internet mantra if it’s free, you are the product. Why would I want to pay a subscription fee to allow them to profit off my use.
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Say the company is hacked. If you pick up your kids after a movie, go for a psychiatric visit that people didn’t know you were seeing. The hackers or even shady people that legitimately buy the data can use the data nefariously. Even if you don’t do something illegal, why would you want strangers to have this information and still have them charge you while they rake in the $$?

 

[ersan191]

You realize all the data is anonymized right? So those hackers see customer 632182 left movie and went to doctors office. Yay?

And customer 632182 drives to lat,lon residential area after the movies regularly, so that's probably their home address - maybe we should start sending junk mail to their house advertising stupid crap we think they want to buy. And if we sell this info to Amazon they can cross reference 632182's home address with their Amazon purchase history we know what customer 632182 buys, as well as their name, phone number, and e-mail - let's start putting purchase recommendations for blu-rays of movies they've seen in theaters in their Amazon search results. And if we sell this info to Google they can crosscheck 632182's LTE and WiFi IP's with AdSense data we know what sites 632182 visits, and for how long - let's put ads in their web pages for new movies that we think they will click on, or for stores near the places they visit.

Now we've built an entire profile for 632182 so we can target them for all sorts of things.

Oh crap, someone hacked our servers and stole all of our customer data - we now have their home address, I wonder how hard it would be to get their name, e-mail, family members, phone numbers, social media... Neat, we also know exactly where they go to work too since we're allowed to track their location anytime we want and on weekdays that's where 632182 is before they go home and to the movies... And based on all this location data we have from 632182 we can figure out when they're least likely to be home.

Once you start to amass even more data, like any of those 'sign up your credit card and get 3% cashback at x restaurants' now has access to your entire credit card spending history. And then they can determine how wealthy you are. And this snowball of data can grow and grow.

Now 632182 has a name, a face, a home address, the company they work for, a phone number, an e-mail, times you're not likely to be home, your estimated income... The list potentially goes on and on depending on who you allow access to this data.

You can pretend it's anonymous all you want but it's not hard to connect the dots once you have access to more and more information. Your privacy is valuable, stop throwing it away for trinkets and minor conveniences.

 

[wongster41]

That is incorrect.

Sounds like you're misinformed. Believe me, I'm not incorrect when Moviepass blocked the 10+ AMC theaters, they blindsided AMC and AMC was on twitter telling Moviepass subscribers it wasn't on their side and they knew nothing of it. Moviepass later sent an email stating it was them that blocked certain AMC theaters. I know this because I'm invested in $HMNY and they own 78% stake in Moviepass.

If you still don't believe me, I suggest you read this

https://www.polygon.com/2018/1/25/16934190/moviepass-theatres-amc

and this

https://twitter.com/AMCHelps/status/956910735770054670

 

[riverfreak]

It appears we have many paranoid and unhappy people here.

Amazed at how many say "I will never use a service like this". Do those people think they have made some earth shattering statement or stand?

Stopping the slow and probably inevitable erosion of your personal rights and privacy need not require an earth shattering statement or stand. It only requires the tiniest degree of awareness and some simple choices.

 

[AlphaTeam]

It's a pain because the real process for most people is to:

1. Drive to theater(!)
2. Pick a movie and time
3. Check in, which loads the appropriate dollar amount onto the card
4. Purchase ticket

It's not so bad if you're already near the neighborhood, but if you're like most people you probably want to purchase a ticket for a future showtime. I just canceled my MoviePass subscription when I read about how they're using their paying customers as leverage to negotiate deals with movie theaters and distributors, and signed up for Sinemia. It's basically the same idea as MoviePass, but limits you to two screenings a month. The subscription fee is slightly more (if you're paying monthly), but you get access to any screening, not just 2D. I haven't actually used it yet, so it could have its own set of drawbacks. *Fingers crossed* that this is a better experience.

Buy a ticket on your regular CC ahead of time. Get to the theatre return your ticket, buy again with your MP card.

 

[DesterWallaboo]

Turn off location sharing... problem solved.

 

[happygodavid]

This article got me in research mode. If anyone is interested, here is a great interview with the CEO. After watching it, I am even more confident in my choice to support this company.

 

[wongster41]

This article got me in research mode. If anyone is interested, here is a great interview with the CEO. After watching it, I am even more confident in my choice to support this company.

I'm not saying they could be the next netflix, but I think now it's a great time to buy stock in $HMNY since they own 78% of Moviepass. Moviepass IPO is suppose to be happening soon, or $HMNY will just change its name to moviepass and buyout the rest of the stake.

 

[StarShot]

It shouldn't be a surprise...it was obvious their business model was selling your personal data.

Not sure what the big deal is here? Of course I have to turn on locations when outside a theater in order to load my Movie Pass Debit card. After the movie if I turn the Movie Pass location off or close the app, how are they then tracking me? I have "locations" only selected when using the app.

This said, I really don't care if they track me or not. Can't beat the price of using it for movies EXCEPT with the Hollywood crap, sometimes it hard to find a couple of movies month that i would want to see.

 

[DotCom2]

This article got me in research mode. If anyone is interested, here is a great interview with the CEO. After watching it, I am even more confident in my choice to support this company.

Very interesting listen.

 

[THE JUICEMAN]

You can’t knowingly give it away is my point.

Oh yes I can. I do it everyday when I send an email from my Gmail account, post on facebook, tweet, use google maps to get to work, swipe my credit card, login to a wifi network, buy a movie with Movie Pass, etc etc etc. Unless I get off the grid then my information is up for sale and I'm okay with that because I enjoy using these services.

 

[DotCom2]

Oh yes I can. I do it everyday when I send an email from my Gmail account, post on facebook, tweet, use google maps to get to work, swipe my credit card, login to a wifi network, buy a movie with Movie Pass, etc etc etc. Unless I get off the grid then my information is up for sale and I'm okay with that because I enjoy using these services.

Don’t forget using your Smart TV as well.