[hollowpoint]

Haven't had time to read the whole thread and haven't been able to be on the forum much lately. But...seeing the OP's question in 2021...

Privacy is no small matter. Sometimes I wonder if folks who don't care or don't worry about an online bookstore or organization like a library having your purchase/reading/rental history (along with in some cases, your annotations and similar metadata, in the case of platforms like Kindle), have really thought this through. I used to be one of those folks (with regard to our reading data), but recent history has changed my mind. Now, I think we have to consider privacy even about our reading habits.

In the age of cancel culture, 'doxing' people, and 'outing' people, we all have a lot to lose. Say that you are a devout leftist, progressive, whatever, and you read lots of books consistent with that type of world view. Maybe you even read books by some radical revolutionaries about the need to 'reset the system,' and even HOW to go about that, what YOU can do to participate and help accelerate that. Today, you're not worried because some of the dominant cultural institutions like the media, the Federal government, etc., don't seem to care about people having those interests as they did at some points in the past, and you think you'll be fine.

But project down the road a few years. There have been plenty of pendulum swings in cultural history, you know. Maybe somebody who's hostile to your point of view comes into power, and now views people with your viewpoint as 'dangerous', as potential 'domestic terrorists', and people who need to be surveilled.

As they quickly bypass privacy laws in your country, begin to ramp up universal surveillance and tear apart your digital life, why would they NOT want to consider things like your online habits, the news you consume, the video you watch, the comments you post, and the books you read? Does the reading data not give useful data into someone's intellectual habits and potential beliefs?

I think we ALL have a LOT to lose when we casually give up our privacy. In 2021, I don't think it's paranoid AT ALL to give some consideration to whether you want your reading data to be kept private. Anything that you do online, including reading, can and will be surveilled, and can and WILL be used against you in the future if you say something, read something, or do something, that whoever's in power doesn't like.

I'm not suggesting going all tinfoil hat and living in a cave, or not utilizing the modern cloud. But taking some reasonable steps to research and possibly anonymize one's purchases and online habits to a degree, seems worthwhile to me. And if you're really concerned about it, I have a few friends who've gone 'analog' in some aspects of life, for instance getting off of social media and going back to print books. For me, I probably wouldn't go that far but am looking at ways to anonymize transactions and other things.