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Just a week after MoviePass CEO Mitch Low comments that “we watch how you drive home” were brought to light, the exec seems to now be walking back on his previous comments.
In an interview with Variety, Lowe said “I said something completely inaccurate as far as what we are doing…We only locate customers when they use the app.” What Lowe now says actually matches how things are described in the company’s privacy policy, and the way the company’s technology is explained in its patent that he referenced in his original statement.
While the service’s iOS has been updated to remove an “unused” permissions to access location all the time, the title of Lowe’s infamous presentation was “Data is the New Oil: How Will MoviePass Monetize It?” Lowe went back on his words, and even if the company isn’t tracking user locations over an extended period of time, it’s certainly a possibility for the future. Perhaps this was a test trial period for the company? It’s anyone’s guess at this time.
Lowe also posted a letter to MoviePass customer on the company’s website. In it, he apologized for the confusion and explained the situation, along with an updated privacy FAQ specifically addressing everything. Take a look at the segmented letter below:
The MoviePass app currently uses standard location services capabilities on an opt-in basis. There are only two events that would prompt MoviePass to identify a member’s location. These include when a member requests to search for theaters nearby and when a member requests to check into a theater. Both events require both the app to be open and for the member to request the action.
MoviePass does not track and has never tracked or collected data on the location of our members at any point when the app is not active. In our recent update with Apple, we removed the the background tracking capabilities. MoviePass does not use and has never used this feature.
