Hacks Kindle paperwhite privacy concerns

[Andrew H.]

If you buy books from Amazon, Amazon is going to know what you bought.
If you use whispersync, Amazon is going to know various things about how far you've read in the book.
If you e-mail "personal documents" (i.e., other books) to your kindle, Amazon is going to know what it is called, how many "locations" it has, and other data it needs for whispersync.
If you use the lending library, it will know what books you lend.
If you lend a book to another Kindle owner, Amazon will know that, and how long they had it.
If you borrow library books on your Kindle, Amazon will know that.

And of course they know your CC information, address, and any reviews you may have written.

I'm probably forgetting some things, but all of that information is necessary for Amazon to provide various bits of useful functionality. I would be surprised if Amazon really knew much more beyond this - but it seems like they already know quite a bit as it is.

[sirmaru]

Actually, the eBooks your read can tell a lot about you. If you were a terrorist suspect, the FBI could obtain your Amazon records with a warrent and use your reading habits to gain more information about you.

For most of us our reading information is meaningless to anyone but ourselves and Amazon so they can provide good suggestions for future eBook sales to us.

[jharrison]

The Wall Street Journal wrote an article in July titled, "Your E-Book is Reading You" and it details the information collected.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...051438304.html

[sirmaru]

Originally Posted by jharrison

The Wall Street Journal wrote an article in July titled, "Your E-Book is Reading You" and it details the information collected.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...051438304.html

That was a fascinating article and promises that in the future eBooks will be much better suited to our particular tastes.

From that article: " It's no secret that Amazon and other digital book retailers track and store consumer information detailing what books are purchased and read. Kindle users sign an agreement granting the company permission to store information from the device—including the last page you've read, plus your bookmarks, highlights, notes and annotations—in its data servers."