Is Your Kindle Spying On You? (Yes.)

[onehandle]

If you don't want other people to know what you read, you probably shouldn't own an ereader. And you really shouldn't get a constantly connected Kindle or Nook, at least according to the EFF's eye-opening guide to ebook privacy.

The Kindle and Nook are tied to Amazon and Barnes & Noble's respective bookstores, meaning every purchase and every book search is recorded. Amazon's license agreement for the Kindle, for instance, notes that the Kindle's software "will provide Amazon with data about your Device and its interaction with the Service...and information related to the content on your Device and your use of it (such as automatic bookmarking of the last page read and content deletions from the Device)."

The Nook is obviously capable of phoning home in a similar manner, but it's unknown whether or not it does, at least for now. With Google Books, it's clear that what you're actually reading is logged, down to the specific page.

http://gizmodo.com/5434773/is-your-kindle-spying-on-you-yes

[msongs]

1. google is the new overlord - strip mining your data and selling it to anyone with a penny nt

[Taitertots]

2. I'm not sure if I should be frightened but....

This OP is surrounded by Kindle Ads.

[HipChick]

3. It isn't exactly Big Brother....

Amazon they keep a history of what you have browsed for to make recommendations to you anyway-marketing pure and simple - other actions are trackable anyway by data mining technologies..and
I'll just leave it at that..

[Gidney N Cloyd]

4. Ironic when you consider librarians have been such huge post-Homeland Security privacy advocates.

[snagglepuss]

6. I don't know if its irony but the Kindle makes librarians redundent.

[RainDog]

25. you don't know what librarians do n/t

just saying...

[Book Lover]

26. Oh? You can find everything you need for research on Amazon?

Also, spellcheck whydontcha?

[phantom power]

5. I imagine so, but they've been mining our purchase data for years...

If you're worried that they're tracking you via Whispernet, leave it off?

:shrug:

I just got one for Christmas. So far, I think it is surprisingly awesome, except that I've been plagued with an urge to repeatedly purchase Catcher In the Rye.

[leeroysphitz]

39. Nice.

[HopeHoops]

7. I laugh when I read a post about how great Google Chrome is.

The only reason Chrome exists is to track users so Google can make money from the data. It is spelled out clearly in the license agreement. Idiots who use chrome probably think they're saving money with grocery store "loyalty" cards also. The only people dumber than marketeers are the people who fall for the bullshit the marketeers come up with.

[jmowreader]

12. Bad simile

Although grocery store marketers monitor loyalty card users' shopping habits, the people who use those cards do save money. I use the cards, and I'm pretty sure the marketers are just SO excited by what they learn: he has two cats, he eats a lot of lettuce, he doesn't use any soap at all. (It's better to buy that at Family Dollar or Big Lots--cheaper and just as good.)

Someone who uses Google Chrome, OTOH, has stopped using whatever no-cost browser he or she had been running before and has changed to a product where a "spyware filter" is kinda redundant since the app itself is spyware. Big difference.

[HopeHoops]

16. Well, you're wrong on the grocery card thing, but quite correct on the "app is spyware" thing.

First the app. That's a GREAT way to phrase it - Chrome IS spyware by design! Curiously, I never thought of calling it that. It is a perfect description.

Now for the grocery card thing. I am fortunate to live in an area that has independent family-run grocery stores. Yes, they still exist. I used to shop at Giant long ago. They had pretty good prices and good selection (past tense in both cases). Over the course of a couple of months, I noticed the prices going up steadily. That was right before they introduced their "bonus card". Then the "bonus price" was plastered all over the store and it was STILL higher than what I used to pay.

I still look at the Sunday circulars for the stores with the cards just for amusement. Their advertised prices are regularly higher than what I pay at my family-run store. Those cards cost a shitload to administer. They make up the cost by over-charging with the illusion of "discounts" and by selling the data. But wait, you say, what about the privacy policy? Read it carefully. They won't "sell the data to any other company", but they reserve the right to "market on behalf of business associates" (your wording will vary, but it is all there). They use your data through third-party marketing firms on behalf of vendors. You sold yourself when you signed up. Do you buy a non-P&G brand? Well, that would explain the P&G junk mail you get.

But all of that aside, you can't even figure out what the regular price of things are because they've got all of their stupid "bonus savings" flags sticking out of the shelves. It takes forever to get through one of those stores. Even if there WAS a savings, it isn't worth the value of my time to sort through the crap.

And for the record, I have a wife and three teen daughters who eat like horses (but are all lean and muscular - we're vegetarian), so this isn't coming from a single guy who lives on mac & cheese. I've got to be conscious of what I spend at the grocery store and the reality is simple - the loyalty cards don't save you money.

[TheBigotBasher]

38. Chrome is a good browser.

If you are "scared" of the tracking features, click on the spanner, click on under the hood and untick the features you are scared of.

I you are paranoid about the Google branding download chromium, the main app behind chrome and lo and behold paranoid free browsing, until of course you are reminded about tracking cookies and the fact that your ISP will know about everything that you look at.

[JoeyT]

40. Or you could just use Firefox

And not have to worry about unticking all those features.

Give legally disabling the Google Update process a shot. ;)

[Gormy Cuss]

50. +1

Market basket comparisons have shown repeatedly that there are no real savings using loyalty cards. I've noticed that several smaller, regional grocery chains have dropped loyalty cards or chosen not to implement them and one of the reasons stated is that they are too expensive to administer.

About the only time someone "saves" with those cards is if there isn't a local store without a loyalty card.

[WeDidIt]

8. Just as I don't give a shit if OnStar knows where I'm going

I don't give a shit if Amazon knows what I'm reading.

In fact, I am willing to pay extra for both because OnStar can stop a thief from stealing my car and Amazon can recommend other books I might like and would never know about otherwise.

[vssmith]

11. I own a Kindle and I dont give a shit either

[truebrit71]

41. +1

I absolutely love mine...

[Pithlet]

51. Yep. Still love my Kindle. n/t

[morningglory]

29. Yet, breaking news this week that tens of thousands of laptops and cell phones

are lost or left in airports and airplanes each year. I have a paranoid bush* idea that they use the GPS to track Democrats or enemies, but don't give a hang about crime. Else they could get the police to track your cell phone via gps.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

47. BIG mistake.

First, do you carry a cell phone? OK, so you have GPS, and communications that you control.

with OnSpy, they can listen in on your conversations without a warrant, without your knowing it, and without any recourse by you. (read that nasty small print).

By signing with OnSpy, you give you privacy rights away.

Just because of OnSpy, I refuse to buy GM.

[Libertas1776]

9. Funny,

I don't remember the last time my "obsolete" paper bound book spied on me or suddenly made every page blank at the whim of Random House.

[WeDidIt]

10. Dead tree books are definitely obsolete

but it'll be a decade or more before dead tree books are the minority medium for delivery of books.

[Book Lover]

27. Until a Kindle can handle being slept on, or dropped onto the beach,

paper books will be around.

[MineralMan]

28. The sleeping thing shouldn't be a problem. I'm not sure about the

beach, but I'm betting that you'd just brush it off and get on with your reading. I haven't heard about any problems like those with the Kindle.

[Book Lover]

30. Both things I mentioned *are* a problem

I am part of the book arts listserv; honestly, you couldn't find a group more interested in applying tech to books. We are not opposed to the Kindle in theory, but the Amazon marketing claims have to be tested. These folks have done what they can to break the Kindle, and it's just not that hard.

[Zywiec]

34. Simply place your Kindle in a ziplock bag

to protect it from sand and water at the beach while still being visible for reading. Works like a champ.

[Book Lover]

46. While I can't argue re: the utility of your suggestion, it's a ridiculous one (nm)

[Zywiec]

48. Why is it ridiculous

because the impressive sounding book arts listserv couldn't figure it out for themselves?

:rofl:

Sometimes the simplest solution is the best.

[Book Lover]

52. No, because you will look like an idiot reading your kindle through a plastic bag

Sorry to know you're intimidated by the mere name of the listserv. It's peopled by a bunch of humble folks whose only goals are to spread knowledge.

http://www.philobiblon.com

[CoffeeCat]

13. So, if I buy a Kindle...

...and read the following books:

"George Bush: The Legacy of the Greatest President Ever!"

"Embrace the Corporatocracy With a Swing in Your Step."

"How to Win Wars and Influence the Voting Machines."

"Everything I Need to Know I Learned From the Neocons."

...will I be less likely to be rounded up in the coming years?

just askin. ;)

[Froward69]

14. Kindle's add is good

that model is HOTTT!

I like books with actual pages, that do not rely on me keeping the battery charged.

[WeDidIt]

15. One charge on the Kindle can last as long as two weeks.

Just sayin'

[truebrit71]

42. I haven't charged mine in 3 weeks and it is at 50% battery power..

..I only turn on the wireless to get my newspaper, and then turn it off again..

[Matariki]

17. Amazon has always saved user searches and purchases

and used it for marketing purposes.

So do most online retailers.

[jberryhill]

18. A Bookstore... Knowing What Books You Buy? The Horror! /nt

[MineralMan]

20. Yup. I just hate it when I get a phone call from my favorite used

bookstore and the owner tells me that he thinks I'd be interested in a particular new arrival. He knows what I like to read, and keeps a journal on his customers and their preferences and previous purchases. That way, when books come it, he can tell his customers about books he thinks they'll like.

It's horrible, and I wish he'd stop doing that and go out of business. Wait...that's not right. That's why I use his bookstore.

Never mind.

[cherokeeprogressive]

19. Laugh at terrorism possibility, freak out over Kindle and Nook. Strange.

n/t

[MineralMan]

23. Exceeding strange. Especially when you consider that

the ones stressing about both probably never fly and don't own a Kindle. :shrug:

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

21. This is idiotic.

Amazon, as with every other online retailer keeps records of your purchases and searches performed through their website. There is no difference between doing it on the Kindle and doing it on Amazon's website.

[MineralMan]

24. But, you don't understand. It's the KINDLE! They don't own one,

but they're scared anyhow. They don't fly, but they hate the TSA. What else don't they do, but are terribly concerned about?

[Call Me Wesley]

32. LOL!

Sums it about up! :thumbsup:

OH MY, YOUR COMPUTER IS ONLINE! SHUT IT OFF! SHUT IT OFF!

[trotsky]

35. Well, the OP is an Apple fanboi and thus has a dog in this fight.

He's doing his duty for Jobs by spreading a little FUD - never mind that Apple, if/when they come out with their tablet device, will be doing the exact same thing.

[ibegurpard]

22. If you ever purchase ANYTHING on line

or for that matter DO anything online then you have the potential of being tracked.
If that bothers you then disconnect.

[Call Me Wesley]

31. As said upthreads,

so goes with every purchase you make at amazon.com. I don't care if amazon watches over my Kindle, they already have some private data from me (address, numerous delivery addresses, credit card numbers, etc.) If you want to keep your life secluded and private from any electronic data-mining sources, unplug your computer now and throw it out the window.

If the data they get from my Kindle pops up suggestions for reading Vonnegut, Burroughs, Bukowksi, et cetera, the better.

Besides, if you own a Kindle, you should kill the wifi connection if not in use, anyway. It just drains the batteries.

[liberal_at_heart]

33. We get monitored everywhere anyway

I get monitored at the grocery store when I use my savings card.

[MyNameGoesHere]

36. I am pretty sure I can go to a library

and find out what you have been reading. Those pesky library cards and such. Should we avoid libraries as well?

[Shagbark Hickory]

37. The big question is: Can you remain anonymous or do you have to tell them exactly who you are?

For instance, I rent movies from redbox. I gave them my name, address, email addr and credit card #.
I could have just as easily given a bogus name and address, disposable email address and pre-paid cash card.

If you look at it that way, Kindles could be even more private than buying books from the store where they have your real identity if you use a customer loyalty program or buying books online where you give them your address and all of that.

[PeaceNikki]

43. I will never ever understand the massive paranoia of data collection like this.

Who cares if Amazon keeps track of your purchases? Who cares if Google collects data on your browsing habits? They use it for target-driven advertisements and specials... there's nothing nefarious about it.

Paranoia will destroy ya.

[Greyhound]

49. I think people are rightly concerned with the lack of control over their data.

You would be surprised, perhaps shocked, by how much can be accurately surmised about a person and those around them by knowing what/when/how everyday purchases are made.

As these data sources coalesce we will have to decide whether the very concept of privacy will exist.

The founders of this nation seemed to think it was pretty important.

[PeaceNikki]

44. hiccup

[BigBluenoser]

45. I bought a sony ebook (gen 1) for the same reason...

I bought a cheapo Philips DVD player that can handle DivX. Just sayin.

Kindles look great. I just don't like the way things get put on them.