MoviePass changed users’ passwords so they couldn’t use the site

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MoviePass was the hot commodity last year, with the promise of unlimited moviegoing for one low monthly fee.

The thing is, the service was run by incompetent leadership with questionable morals, at least if this deep dive by Business Insider is accurate.

Some MoviePass users had their passwords changed by the service so they couldn’t log in

MoviePass has had a storied history, but seeing it all laid out in a timeline by Business Insider shows just how seedy the service was with the curtains pulled back. It’d make for a good movie, maybe in the same vein as The Social Network.

The standout moment of scumminess for me was CEO Mitch Lowe ordering his employees to change the login passwords of some of the heaviest Moviepass users so they couldn’t use the service they paid for.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg though, so here’s some more of MoviePass’ greatest hits:

• The class-action suit in August 2018 brought by shareholders
• The misleading pop-up that resubscribed people who unsubscribed
• The $5 million loan in July 2018 to stay in business.
  • This lead to the CEO deciding to make Mission: Impossible – Fallout unavailable on the app, and half of the subscribers were ordered to be frozen out of their accounts on the opening weekend
• Again at the CEO’s orders, all blockbusters were removed from the service.
• Oh, and the movie version of a bandwidth cap was implemented. Once MoviePass went past a certain account balance, the service was switched off for everyone, with users shown a “sorry, there are no more screenings at this theater today” message if they tried to book

You know when they say something looks too good to be true, it probably isn’t? Yeah, just like MoviePass’ unlimited cinema tickets for $9.99 a month.

What do you think? Surprised by this news surrounding MoviePass? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.