MoviePass is back, but not in the way you expect

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UPDATE 8/22/2022 1:30 PM ET: Come September 5th, you can join MoviePass’ revived beta launch.

MoviePass is back, and now it looks like a crypto-bros wet dream where you watch adverts to generate virtual currency, which can then be redeemed for theater tickets or concessions.

The dystopian nightmare attached to this? The app will use facial recognition to only credit you when you’re actively looking at it. Yikes.

If it sounds like a scam, looks like a scam, and walks like a scam… I mean, MoviePass was never going to work in the first place. $10 a month to be able to watch as many movies in the theater as you want? The math was never gonna work out.

Then you add former CEO Mitch Lowe making employees lock some of the heaviest users out of their accounts, dodgy ways to resubscribe prior users, a class-action suit brought by the shareholders, and eventual bankruptcy and you can see why it was never going to work.

Now, one of the original MoviePass co-founders, Stacy Spikes, has the rights to the name again. Spikes bought it on the cheap during the bankruptcy proceedings. The MoviePass reincarnation is filled with web3 buzzwords, from virtual currency to digital wallets.

Even the advert-watching-for-virtual-currency part looks like a scam. It’s powered by something called PreShow, which started life as a Kickstarter that never delivered on its promises.

The advertisements only play while your phone detects you’re looking right at them. Trust issues, much? Know who else doesn’t trust anyone? Scammers.

Yeah, we’re not saying that MoviePass is a scam but something is very off here. Why does a service that promises to give you virtual currency in exchange for watching ads have a tiered subscription model?

At this point, MoviePass and its co-founders have shown us who they are. Don’t sign up for this, it’s a privacy nightmare at best.

Have any thoughts on this? 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.