The carrier on Friday said it launched a media platform to serve travelers personalized advertisements on seat-back screens and in its app, among other platforms, as it seeks to leverage customer data.
This article is short on details but what I really want to know is WHERE is that data coming from and how the fuck does United have access to it?! Also, a follow-up question would be how does one ensure they don’t get access to that data? Is that even possible anymore?
Probably when you book from browser cookies?
You could get around this but 99% of people won’t.
I think they can rerain customers’ past flight records and maybe list of media played in flights. That said it’s almost guaranteed some ad marketing corpo is behing, and EULA is always vague to enough to allow sharing external party…
My hope is that there wouldn’t be anything more personal about it than age, sex, and location… But I am sure there’s a lot more that even an airline (businesses that tend to be decades behind in systems they run) can get
You seriously can’t understand how they would have personal data on you that every other company already has?
The “media network” is https://kinectivemedia.com/ and they have a link for US customers to opt out that leads to here https://uniteddigital.iad1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_88OQmAbr20oeHn8 but of course you’re going to want to also read Qualtrics privacy policy before using their services https://www.qualtrics.com/privacy-statement/
Clicking https://kinectivemedia.com/ privacy policy links to https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/customer-data-privacy-policy.html
They collect the usual stuff you use for travel like name, address, payment details, biometrics, I.D etc and also
Information collected in your use of our mobile application(s) includes, but is not limited to:
- With your consent, your pinpointed physical location information from technologies like GPS, Wi-Fi, or cell tower proximity (geo-location tracking)
- With your consent, while at or near certain airports in the U.S., your pinpointed physical location will be tracked continuously to provide you location-based offers, services and other information. For more information, see the Location Services FAQ located on the side menu of the United App;
- Your domain name;
- Device ID or alternative ID where required by the platform provider;
- Electronic data concerning operating systems and computing devices/browser, including types;
- Features you use and links you click;
- Amount of time spent in the application;
- Installs and uninstalls;
- Transaction details and history.
We may combine this information with information that we already have collected about you.
We collect information about you from third parties. If you make a reservation through a travel agent, we will obtain your travel information from that agent. We may also obtain information about you from our marketing partners, advertisers and other third parties.
We primarily use your information, including personal information, to provide our services to you and to fulfill your requests. In certain circumstances, such as for advertising purposes, we combine your information with other information that we have about you, that is publicly available and/or that we have obtained from third parties (either individually or in the aggregate)
We also use your information for the following purposes:
For marketing and advertising. United uses your information, consistent with applicable law, individually, in the aggregate, and/or combined with demographic information that we maintain or collect from third parties, for marketing and advertising purposes (via email, direct mail, telephone, web or other electronic advertising) and to send you news and newsletters. Specifically, information that we collect about you may be used to send you email, direct mail, or telephone communications about offers from United, its partners or other third parties, that might be of interest to you (please see the section on Disclosing your information below and the section on Changing your marketing preferences below). We also use your information to determine appropriate advertising channels and venues and to place ads on such channels and venues, including placing advertising on social networking sites.
I’m sure the money they make from this will subsidies flight costs that will be passed on to the end user for cheaper flight!
no I heard that they will increase salaries!
Data brokers sell the info. Its hardly private
This is why you bring tape and a few pieces of paper in your carry-on
FUCK THAT
Ads themselves are an insult considering the cost of travel. But they’re insulting us all over the place on shit we pay for.
But personalized ads in view of strangers is full-on absurdly an insult to privacy. Get bent, I hope someone finds a way to display the guitar video and song for the whole plane.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://www.piped.video/watch?v=7bXJ_obaiYQ
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
I was just pumping gas the other day, and while I’m at it there’s this cellphone speaker music that starts really loudly, like the phone is at 400% audio.
Motherfucking screen started playing an ad I couldn’t skip. Soon theyre just going to loop audible ads everywhere we go, in public spaces.
Since then I’ve avoided this brand of gas station and affiliates, but I won’t be able to hide for long.
you can press one of the buttons, if it’s one of those with the eight buttons (4 on each side of the screen. for me it was the second button down from the top on the right side. i only had to press it once to mute, but i heard u might have to press up to 4 times
doesn’t always work unfortunately
Or worse, how about some horny singles in my area with moans for the whole plane to hear
As you traverse the continent, the same “single” appears looking for love in every town you fly over.
Edit: then you’re over Nevada and ads switch to “Welcome back! We missed you at Bobs Brothel and Budget Backrubs, swing on by for our returning members discount.”
Yeah that would suck. Also how much is that discount?
6.9%
Ni.ce
Hell world
A couple years ago I paid what I felt was quite a bit of money for good seats on a plane. Then they started playing ads on the screen in front of me during take off. There was no way to turn off the screen and it literally felt like this screen was being thrust my face that I had no co trol over. Airline is the worst way to travel and they are only going to get more predatory.
Post-it notes. One pack is enough for like a third of the plane.
Which airline?
Air Canada
I flew Icelandic air recently and they had A 4 minute long ad playing with no way to skip or mute that had to play before the entertainment system was available. It played a soon as you turned it on!
I had to unplug and look away for 4+ minutes
I highly doubt you actually couldn’t turn it off if it was during flight. Also you could just not look at the screen, same as with any other ads you see in your daily life constantly.
k
Phones play movies. If they make the seatback system annoying then people will just stop using it and download movies from Netflix or wherever
WTF man, I pay for the tickets and now I have to watch ads???
Afaik it’s a thin margin sector. I’ve even heard of pilots paying to fly during bad periods.
We paid for cable and streaming services too. They’ll milk us to dust, then run ads on the remaining pile.
Yeah. This. This is what will send me to live in a commune.
I’m going to bring tape and construction paper to cover it up. Double sided sticky tape
Skip the construction paper, just use a magazine
Super glue seems appropriate 🤔
I can ignore ads on a motherfucking plane just like I can everywhere else. It’s just another insult to paying customers added to the pile.
We noticed you may not be fully appreciating the information provided by our valued partners. We’re increasing the volume and raising your seat to help you experience them better – your friends at United
I’ll scratch the screen with my keys if so
It is on a Boeing 737 max 8…🤣 So, if you are crazy enough to enter a plane that falls out of the sky because of corrupt Boeing and FAA then you are also crazy enough to see personalized ads 🤣
Flying is still the safest mode of travel.
Generally speaking yes, but not with Boeing 737 max 8
I launch baseball cap pulled down on my eyes
“unfortunately your In-Flight Engagement Actions ™️ did not meet the requirements to qualify you for in flight perks such as entertainment and meals”
“Please ensure you are looking directly at the screen while ads are playing to accumulate In-Flight Engagement Actions ™️”
Coming soon to an airline near you.