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Unlock Rewards is a new Android app that promises you a monthly trove of Flybuys points for very little effort on your part. All you need to do is... look at a full-screen ad whenever you unlock your phone?
The concept of Unlock Rewards is very simple. Install the app, select your preferences for the ads you'd prefer to see, and voila — every time you unlock your phone, you're presented with something like this:
And, big surprise, it's actually pretty damn intrusive and annoying.
After a couple of days of using Unlock Rewards, I gave up. Even when all it needs is a double-tap of that unlock button to unlock your phone and drop through to the home screen rather than finding and clicking a little 'X' in the corner, the idea of Unlock Rewards just doesn't gel with me. When I'm unlocking my phone, it's because I've got something to do, and I want to do it straight away.
It might be worth it if the haul of Flybuys points was more significant. Depending on how often you unlock your phone, you'll be in line for 350, 650 or 1000 Flybuys points every month, although there's a double points offer for your first month. My main interest in Flybuys is in converting them into my massive stash of Velocity frequent flyer points, but it's broadly accepted that 1000 Flybuys translates into $5.
$5 for a month of ads on my phone? I'm fine, thanks.
Most of the ads have been pretty trashy so far, actually, too — the kind of spam you'd see trying to convince you to download some app of ill repute that promises to fix all your phone's bugs and slow-downs, or promos for clickbaity But there was one for KFC, so... swings and roundabouts, I guess? It all depends on how willing you are to have an ad pop up when you unlock your phone every single time, in the pursuit of Flybuys. Would you do it?Â
