can content be tracked?

scKindleBoy · 03-10-2011, 11:43 AM

Hi, all - recently found this forum and it looks to be a great resource.

We recently began using a Kindle. If I add non-Amazon ebooks to my Kindle, will Amazon be aware of them? Can / does Amazon track the eBooks that are loaded onto the Kindle?

DiapDealer · 03-10-2011, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scKindleBoy

If I add non-Amazon ebooks to my Kindle, will Amazon be aware of them?

Aware is a rather loaded word, but I'd have to say "yes"... If you're in the habit of turning your wireless on, that is. Temper that fact with the knowledge that so far, they appear to not give a flying fig. Sideloading personal docs is, in fact, one of their advertising points.

Quote:

Can / does Amazon track the eBooks that are loaded onto the Kindle?

Surely/Quite possibly -- but the same "Fig" as above seems to apply.

Welcome to the forum.

mr ploppy · 03-10-2011, 12:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scKindleBoy

Hi, all - recently found this forum and it looks to be a great resource.

We recently began using a Kindle. If I add non-Amazon ebooks to my Kindle, will Amazon be aware of them? Can / does Amazon track the eBooks that are loaded onto the Kindle?

If you look in the developer sub-forum there's a few threads that detail everything that the Kindle logs and sends to Amazon every time you switch the wifi on.

Don't read it if you suffer from paranoia

abookreader · 03-10-2011, 01:29 PM

there's also a hack up there that redirects that log file to a false internet address instead of to Amazon.

jbcohen · 03-10-2011, 01:37 PM

If my IT training is correct everything that is sent to Amazon's servers identifys you by the IP address. Defeat this by going to a DOS prompt and issuing the command ipconfig/renew you get a different IP address. Don't know if the Kindle has an DOS prompt.

mr ploppy · 03-10-2011, 01:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

If my IT training is correct everything that is sent to Amazon's servers identifys you by the IP address. Defeat this by going to a DOS prompt and issuing the command ipconfig/renew you get a different IP address. Don't know if the Kindle has an DOS prompt.

I don't think it would matter, Kindles are tied to an Amazon account with real world information anyway.

susan_cassidy · 03-10-2011, 01:57 PM

Kindle is Linux, anyway, not Windows. And, it is non-trivial to get a command-line prompt, since Kindles aren't designed to be run as regular computers.

scKindleBoy · 03-10-2011, 02:12 PM

Thank you for the info -

Histerius · 03-10-2011, 02:18 PM

I couldn't care less. If they haven't something smarter to do then to read what I'm reading, let them be.

yifanlu · 03-10-2011, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

If my IT training is correct everything that is sent to Amazon's servers identifys you by the IP address. Defeat this by going to a DOS prompt and issuing the command ipconfig/renew you get a different IP address. Don't know if the Kindle has an DOS prompt.

1) They do not identify you by your IP address, they identify you by your amazon id that you used to register the Kindle, and a unique certificate in the kindle that is different and services as your kindle identity. By connection, they have your credit card, address, and every book you read. I think that's a good reason to be paranoid.
2) ipconfig /renew does not give you a different PUBLIC ip address unless you work at the ISP, it is assigned to you. And that's for a Kindle Wifi. On the 3G, AT&T gives you your ip. Also ipconfig /renew is for windows, but others already noted that.

@OP: Amazon doesn't forbid reading books that are not bought from them. However, they know exactly what books you read, how long you read them, and when you read. However, I said this before, Amazon doesn't have a group of people who sit around reading logs. It's most likely for marketing purposes. Maybe they'll look at it if your Kindle ever breaks, but I don't know.

bZkindle · 03-10-2011, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Histerius

I couldn't care less. If they haven't something smarter to do then to read what I'm reading, let them be.

Perhaps if you were a political dissident, your government got interested in you and put pressure on amazon for information, you would care.

You do realize that in the US there is something called the Patriot Act? It has a provision that allows the government to find out what books you took out from your library.

This isn't to say that anyone should really expect amazon NOT to have this information; just that people shouldn't take privacy issues so cavalierly.

"first they came for the Jews, and I did nothing because I wasn't a Jew....then they came for me..."

DiapDealer · 03-10-2011, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bZkindle

just that people shouldn't take privacy issues so cavalierly.

If this is true, surely the opposite is true as well?

I'll say it again: you agreed to have your privacy invaded when you bought the device. When people choose to not read (or not track down) the small print (that they know is there somewhere), their right to "cry foul" after the fact is null and void.

Somebody that concerned with their privacy would surely know enough to thoroughly inspect the Terms of Service before whipping out their credit card to purchase a device with wireless capabilities, right?

I have no problem with people being concerned about privacy issues at all... but I do have a problem with people who only seem to get concerned after they've opened their wallet to an internet company and implicitly (or tacitly) agreed to their terms. Take responsibility... make that call before buying the high-tech wireless/3G gizmo.

jocampo · 03-10-2011, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jbcohen

If my IT training is correct everything that is sent to Amazon's servers identifys you by the IP address. Defeat this by going to a DOS prompt and issuing the command ipconfig/renew you get a different IP address. Don't know if the Kindle has an DOS prompt.

You need to get another IT training, lol ...

Kindles are not computers, but e-readers. So you will have to hack the device 1st in order to get console's access.

Also, ipconfig is a Windows command, not Linux. Kindle runs on top Linux. The command for IP info on Linux is ifconfig

And even on Windows, running ipconfig /renew does nothing but renew your DHCP lease, with chances of getting the same IP again. That has nothing to do with the information it can potentially send or not.

wyndslash · 03-10-2011, 06:51 PM

i think they'd use it more for marketing intentions, like another user already mentioned on this thread. i could somehow imagine that they'd apply what you read to the recommendations you get when you visit the site :P

besides, i bet the people who look at the logs from time to time are laughing at my selections and making fun

Nyssa · 03-10-2011, 06:52 PM

So...Amazon basically knows that I'm a sucker for free books, who'll pay for one occasionally, but no more than $9.99. They also know that someone I know is writing a book...hopefully they won't steal her idea/plot/story line.

03-10-2011, 11:43 AM	#1
scKindleBoy Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Wi-Fi	can content be tracked? Hi, all - recently found this forum and it looks to be a great resource. We recently began using a Kindle. If I add non-Amazon ebooks to my Kindle, will Amazon be aware of them? Can / does Amazon track the eBooks that are loaded onto the Kindle?

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03-10-2011, 01:29 PM	#4
abookreader Wizard Posts: 1,516 Karma: 2567610 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kindles - Keyboard, Fire, 2-US, iPhone, iPAD	there's also a hack up there that redirects that log file to a false internet address instead of to Amazon.

03-10-2011, 01:37 PM	#5
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	If my IT training is correct everything that is sent to Amazon's servers identifys you by the IP address. Defeat this by going to a DOS prompt and issuing the command ipconfig/renew you get a different IP address. Don't know if the Kindle has an DOS prompt.

03-10-2011, 01:57 PM	#7
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	Kindle is Linux, anyway, not Windows. And, it is non-trivial to get a command-line prompt, since Kindles aren't designed to be run as regular computers.

03-10-2011, 02:12 PM	#8
scKindleBoy Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2011 Device: Kindle Wi-Fi	Thank you for the info -

03-10-2011, 02:18 PM	#9
Histerius Zealot Posts: 126 Karma: 7922 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Zagreb, Croatia Device: Kindle 3 - Galaxy Tab 10.1	I couldn't care less. If they haven't something smarter to do then to read what I'm reading, let them be.

03-10-2011, 06:51 PM	#14
wyndslash Wizard Posts: 2,951 Karma: 3000001 Join Date: Feb 2011 Device: Kindle 3 wifi, Kindle Fire	i think they'd use it more for marketing intentions, like another user already mentioned on this thread. i could somehow imagine that they'd apply what you read to the recommendations you get when you visit the site :P besides, i bet the people who look at the logs from time to time are laughing at my selections and making fun

03-10-2011, 06:52 PM	#15
Nyssa Series Addict Posts: 6,180 Karma: 167189477 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Florida, USA Device: Kindle Paperwhite (2nd Gen)	So...Amazon basically knows that I'm a sucker for free books, who'll pay for one occasionally, but no more than $9.99. They also know that someone I know is writing a book...hopefully they won't steal her idea/plot/story line.

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