Quote:
Originally Posted by readingaloud
Information Received. The Device Software will provide Amazon with data about your Device and its interaction with the Service (such as available memory, up-time, log files and signal strength) 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). Annotations, bookmarks, notes, highlights, or similar markings you make in your Device are backed up through the Service. Information we receive is subject to the Amazon.com Privacy Notice.
Now, if this doesn't worry you, I won't bother to tell you that it should. And if the device isn't actually doing what the document says it's doing, that's good. But I still find the idea that the device might do that, and that Amazon reserves the right to do it, breathtakingly intrusive.
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The fact that Amazon does it is documented in their terms of service, and rather necessary for their service to work as advertised. If Amazon
didn't document it, you would have a much stronger case.
Accusations of paranoia don't doesn't result from noting that they
do it. The question is why you feel anyone at Amazon might take a personal interest or use it against you?
I've encountered people unhappy with Google's GMail as an email service for reasons like that: "They could
read my mail!" Well, sure, they
could, but why
would they? At this point, Google likely has many terabytes of email on their servers belonging to Google subscribers. Far more mail, in fact, than any human being would have time to read. Why would Google bother to examine
anyone's mail?
The only reason I know would be a court order, but you'd have to do something really
special to merit that sort of attention.
I have a GMail account, use it as my primary email service, and don't care whether Google can read it. If it's
that private and sensitive, I don't say it in email in the first place.
I'm not a Kindle owner, but I have similar feelings about the data they keep. If I'm Amazon, I want to keep track of what my customers buy, so I have a better idea of what else I can suggest based on the preferences they've already shown that they might
also want to buy. I make my living selling things to my customers, and I want to sell more. The more I know about what they want to buy, the better I can do that. But I'm unlikely to ever note anyone as an individual, or even know their name. The record keeping and consequent recommendations will all be made by my computer systems, who don't
care who anybody is.
I saw a jaw dropping post along this line in a computer trade journal a while back, from a columnist who was afraid that Google could track him too well and present offers he couldn't refuse. I was boggled. I'm a systems guy, and I'm in the market for hardware and software that meet my needs and solve problems I encounter. I use advertising to help me keep up on what's out there that I might be able to use. The more closely the ads target me and my requirements, the happier I am. Google can come up with offers I can't refuse? Dude, that's what I
want!. I'm quite good at reading between the lines and saying No. Show me only the stuff that will make me want to say yes, because that's what I'm looking for.
The basic question is, given that Amazon tracks this data, what makes you assume they will use it in ways you won't be happy with?
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Dennis