MoviePass PreShow eye tracking

Vice reports that MoviePass is returning as an app that will track users’ eyes when they watch adverts, leading commentators to question whether people would be willing to surrender their privacy to watch movies on a small screen.

The new service is envisaged to use facial recognition and eye-tracking technology to ensure that viewers are looking directly at adverts in exchange for access to films.

To earn movie tickets, users must keep their gaze in frame, and look at their screens for the whole ad. A red border appears if they look away, pausing the ads.

MoviePass shuttered in 2019 and declared bankruptcy in 2020. In addition to its stuttering financial performance, it was plagued with numerous allegations of playing fast and loose with customer data.