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Originally Posted by TGS
Is it? Or are we simply accepting that, because this is the way it is designed to work, this is the way it has to work?
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a) Young whippersnappers these days have different standards for privacy. They're much more willing to share private info, so they are less likely to have concerns.
b) It's a trade-off in exchange for the ability to sync your ebook data to multiple devices.
c) Although I have no doubt that Amazon engages in extensive data mining, I can't imagine they would actually find any useful information in my bookmarks.
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Originally Posted by TGS
Maybe I want to keep business documents on there for the purposes of reading them away from a computer, maybe I've got legal documents on there, maybe I've got personal information about myself or colleagues on there.
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a) FYI, Amazon only syncs data about the books you purchase through them. Load your own PDF onto the device, and they will not track or care about it.
b) Keep in mind any work computer, or an email account offered to you by an employer, can be monitored and accessed at any time and for any reason by your employer.
c) Also, lots of data is moving "into the cloud." E.g. Dropbox stores and syncs data to Amazon S3 servers; Google Docs resides on their servers, etc.
d) Oh, and every bit of email you have is sitting on a server somewhere -- and in general an email is about as secure and private as a postcard. So every day, you are likely releasing a ton of private and financial data into the Wild West of the Internets.
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Originally Posted by TGS
There seem to be all sorts of legitimate reasons for not wanting Amazon to be able to access that data. However, there seems to be no way of preventing it - indeed, I am required to agree to allowing it if if I buy the device - if I also use the device for the purpose of downloading and reading books.
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This is true, there are legit reasons to be wary and generally speaking you can't prevent it. But there is a trade-off, in that any retailer that allows you to sync notes, last read location etc across multiple devices will essentially demand that same info.
For my part, I see no particular cause for concern. YMMV. But if you're worried about this, I will say you are going to find it harder and harder to deal with an increasingly interconnected world, let alone fill out your census form.
