Australian firm Unlockd offer cheaper contracts by shoving adverts on your lock screen.
Pretty simple, allow adverts to pop up on your smartphone to save a few quid every month from your monthly contract. Every time you unlock your smartphone an advert will show up, which is of course dismissible (or you can save it). There is also the option to be rewarded with data instead.
Currently the scheme is in operation in Australia and earlier this year, the US. Currently US network provider Sprint are the only US network that work with Unlockd (Lebara in US), offering $5 off monthly plans and data rewards. Guess what? It’s coming to the UK, Unlockd has only confirmed it will be available to UK customers in “summer” with no mention of which UK network, they’ll be partnering with.
Currently the service is only for Android. You’re probably questioning whether your sanity can remain intact if you use this service. Well to ease some pressure on your mental health, there will be a limited number of adverts appearing on your screen. At the moment US customers face between 40-50 adverts a day when unlocking their Android devices, we can expect a similar model here in the UK.
According to tech analyst Ben Bajarin people tend to unlock their smartphones up to 130 times a day (80 times iOS users). While 40-50 may not be half that number it’s still a massive amount. Users can only opt in on the benefits after having the Unlockd app installed for 30 days on their devices.
The question is would you use Unlockd to save a few quid? Ad blocking software is used widely with 77 million Europeans adopting some sort of ad blocking software in 2015, a 35% increase from 2014. Adverts are maddening, our cousins across the pond are used to adverts interrupting TV shows every 10 minutes, whether the British public will embrace Unlockd remains to be seen. Look forward to an update in the run up to summer (if it ever shows up, Winter is coming, tonight). Sorry I couldn’t help but throw Game of Thrones in somehow.
For more news, visit What Mobile’s dedicated new page.
