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MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

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Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#91

Post by jwe23oi38 »

EggsOnToast wrote: post #44
JustAnotherPat wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

still worth it

This was my feeling too. I don't want to live in a world where everyone is expected to freely give away their data, but if I can do it voluntarily to get get a deal as good as MoviePass then that's a win/win to me. It's $15 for just -one- ticket in my area. MoviePass has been a game changer for me.

I don't generate much sympathy over folks having a hard time with access to first world luxuries.

The resources being used up to power MoviePass, so people can have deals on a novelty experience that they need to keep getting a hit from or they'll.... oh right it's just movies. almost entirely cliche and repetitive after 60 years of figuring out the medium.

"Game changer". Wow your life sounds rough.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#92

Post by matthewaveryusa »

The quantities of money are so low, and the deal I'm getting back is so good I barely care. Then again, I was paying 30/month for moviepass when it just came out years ago.

The sad part is that AMC doesn't have an unlimited plan. Growing up in France I had the UGC illimite pass[1]. Moving to the US killed my movie-going habits from twice a week to maybe once every other month. Then of course moviepass came along and I was confused at how cheap it was. I mean, can't we have a regular pass for 50/month no imax from AMC and call it a day? Someone, either the studios, AMC, or me, is brain-dead and I can't figure out which one it is.

[1] https://www.ugc.fr/les-offres-ugc-illimite.html -- it still exists which means this business model has proven to make sense in France for at least 15 years.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#93

Post by s73v3r_ »

ben_jones wrote: post #25
ibdf wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know why everyone is always so shocked. People want smart devices/services that understand them. Where do you think the data comes from? From you!

Moreover how can our government condemn commercial data mining while at the same time expanding domestic surveillance? "Don't share your data its harmful! Unless you share it with us!".

No, those are two completely separate things.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#94

Post by cityzen »

theklr wrote: post #69
ChadMoran wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

iOS 11 introduced the ability to allow apps to only access your location while you're actively using the app. Using this method should be a good mitigation.

Unfortunately apps don’t care. Waze lingers up to 40 minute after traveling in the background and that’s with supposed in app only mode.

From Apple: "When Location Services is active, a black or white arrow icon appears in the status bar."

If Waze is using it for up to 40 minutes after traveling, you need to decide if you want to know where the cops are or if you want Google to know where you are.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#95

Post by thevardanian »

013a wrote: post #81
AlexandrB wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> We all knew the $10 a month plan was not going to be profitably by itself. How is this kind of "growth hack" not simply dumping[1]? The only new development here is that dumping is no longer limited to large companies with large war chests thanks to the availability of venture capital. The more interesting question is can healthy, truly profitable technology companies develop in an environment where they have to co…

I don't think the environment will stay like this for long. Investors in MoviePass will likely not make their money back. Or maybe they'll break even on a sale of assets to some major theater chain, if everyone involved is smart. Afterward, future investors in companies like this will use MoviePass as another example for the fact the times when you could form a business mostly based on collecting user data is over. T…

People going to theaters is on the decline. If MoviePass reverses that trend they will have shown their value. I'm going to wager they're at a tipping point.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#96

Post by s73v3r_ »

chiefalchemist wrote: post #52

A monthly subscription cost for "unlimited" movies priced lower than the price of a single movie? Mind you, my mum wouldn't understand that at that point she's the product. However, the ol' "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" is something everyone should know. I don't agree with MoviePass' approach - which is the reason I haven't subscribed - but unless it's blatantly illegal I think it's safe to presu…

I think that's the thing people are upset about: Many of these deceptive practices are not illegal, and probably should be. The EU has a good start with their new data privacy legislation; the US needs to adopt that.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#97

Post by throwaway2048 »

EggsOnToast wrote: post #85
throwaway2048 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

some vaugely worded crap that would take a lawyer to figure out buried in a 40 page TOS isn't informed consent, sorry.

I'm not sure why your tone is so hostile when I was just asking a clarifying question. More to your point, I don't see what part of the ToS you found especially convoluted, but since your estimate about the length is so exaggerated I doubt you actually read it. The wording was boring but clear and its formatting wasn't particularly mysterious either. If your point is more generally that we shouldn't be able to just s…

https://i.imgur.com/uPnlHlq.png

Ok, its 11 pages, which according to http://niram.org/read/ should take 32 minutes to read, can be updated at any time, and contains such language as

   You agree to indemnify and hold MoviePass, its officers, 
   directors, shareholders, predecessors, successors in interest, 
   employees, agents, subsidiaries and affiliates, harmless from 
   any demands, loss, liability, claims or expenses (including 
   attorneys' fees), made against MoviePass by any third party 
   due to or arising out of or in connection with your use of the 
   MoviePass Service or Site.
and

   MoviePass's obligations, if any, with regard to its products 
   and services are governed solely by the agreements pursuant 
   to which they are provided, and nothing on this Site should be 
   construed to alter such agreements.
These kind of terms could have very unexpected consequences, and you need real legal expertise to decipher exactly what that means.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#98

Post by tetrahedr0n »

Overall, MoviePass is a step forward for privacy advocates and a benefit to "netizens".

MoviePass just set the price for your data; an abstract possession that people are barely beginning to value as an actual possession of theirs. The going price for tracking your purchasing behaviors before and after attending a movie is the cost of however many movies you can see in a month minus $10.

Facebook paid with a social networking platform to connect you to an unimaginable number of people you probably wouldn't be connected with otherwise. For that, you gave them your history and your super-ego.

Google gave you a map, an email, a phone number, and a bunch of productivity tools. For that you gave them everything.

The value of your data is holding steady or going up, depending on your perspective.

Also, MoviePass took a step in the right direction towards disclosure of intent when their CEO opened his mouth about it. Their TOS is typical, but the CEO is more transparent than most. They should be the brave first company to make their intention transparent.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#99

Post by s73v3r_ »

paulcole wrote: post #14
cryptoz wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a use case in the app that makes that somewhat reasonable? If not, it sounds like grounds to be reported and removed from Google Play as malware. I thought that would be 100% against the developer rules. Maybe it is just a guideline to only ask permission for things you need, and to let the user use the app even if permission isn't granted. Maybe it's just that Google won't feature you or something. But it s…

> Is there a use case in the app that makes that somewhat reasonable. Maybe image recognition to see the kinds of things you're eating/considering buying before/after going to the movies? This seems pretty reasonable to me. I consider it a fair trade for the monetary discount they're offering on their services. I don't want to spend $10-$15 whenever I want to go to the movies. But I'm more than happy to provide acces…

That doesn't seem the least bit reasonable to me. Especially if it's doing it without informing me.

Re: MoviePass CEO says the app tracks your location before and after movies

#100

Post by baddox »

tetrahedr0n wrote: post #98

Overall, MoviePass is a step forward for privacy advocates and a benefit to "netizens". MoviePass just set the price for your data; an abstract possession that people are barely beginning to value as an actual possession of theirs. The going price for tracking your purchasing behaviors before and after attending a movie is the cost of however many movies you can see in a month minus $10. Facebook paid with a social n…

> The going price for tracking your purchasing behaviors before and after attending a movie is the cost of however many movies you can see in a month minus $10.

Well, it's the value to you of however many movies you can see in a month, minus $10. That's likely very different than the nominal cost of all those movies, since MoviePass is likely to cause you to see more movies than you otherwise would.

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