Disable Activity tracking?

[uncleungie]

In previous Kobo firmware, one could disable "Activity" tracking by unchecking "Automatically share data about the features you use" in Settings.

In the latest firmware (4.19.14123), my Kobo is now tracking my reading habits and gamifying the experience with medals and achievements. I would like to disable this for a host of reasons.

Is there any way to have my Kobo stop tracking these stats and disable "Activity" tracking once again? There's a patch to remove "Activity" from the dropdown menu, but I don't believe this actually disables tracking.

Thanks!

[HolyAura]

I think the second page of the privacy settings allow you to disable kobo tracking. (Iirc the one that says allow kobo to see the features you use)

[uncleungie]

I have that setting disabled, and in previous firmware versions it successfully disabled tracking. In the newest firmware (4.19.14123), it no longer disables activity tracking.

I'm thinking that there's no way to disable it anymore.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by uncleungie

I have that setting disabled, and in previous firmware versions it successfully disabled tracking. In the newest firmware (4.19.14123), it no longer disables activity tracking.

I'm thinking that there's no way to disable it anymore.

Yes it does. Firstly, it does what it is labelled as and stops tracking how you use the device and reporting that to Kobo. I'm completely confident that nothing is being sent to Kobo about how you use the device. If you purchase books from Kobo, they will still be synced as will their reading status. If anyone can prove that any other type of activity is being sent, please tell us. And report it to Kobo so that they can fix it.

What has changed, is that the Activity page is now active when the tracking is turned off. In the past, it displayed a message that the tracking has to be turned on to see these stats. With a button to go to the appropriate settings page. Now, it shows the progress for the current book, which is the same as shown in the book list and the home page. It also shows the total books finished and the percentage of the books finished on the device. All of the stats that need the amount of time spent reading are zero. The only stats being shown are those also shown elsewhere in the UI.

For the awards, they are now shown when this setting is disabled. That is a changed. I don't know if the awards are still active. I went through them all years ago and would need to setup a new account to see them again. Are you saying that you actually have received a new award with firmware 4.19 and with the data sharing option turned off?

Overall, I don't think the device is tracking your reading habits in 4.19 in any way different than they were before. A display has been enabled, but everything on that page is available elsewhere. Honestly, if you don't visit the activity pages, I don't think you are going to see anything.

[Alastair_S]

uncleungie, I was going to post the same thing.

David, the issue is not one of whether-or-not it is sending data to Kobo, it is about the device now tracking (that is timing) what you read. Like uncleungie I don't want to know this sort of information, I read for pleasure and I don't want to turn reading into some sort of game or competition. You may say that you can avoid checking the "Activity" page but I have just finished a book only to be presented with a page of reading statistics, an unwanted intrusion I do not wish to see, which means that you cannot avoid this information.

I have found that checking then unchecking "Automatically share data about the features you use" resets the timer to zero, but I would much prefer the return of disabling tracking (timing) completely.

[PeterT]

I wonder if Kobo utilities could add a trigger to the table(s) in question to delete new rows?

[geek1011]

It should be possible for me to make a simple patch to do this, but it would also remove the kepub progress charts and possibly the fast page flip. Alternatively, I could just as easily remove the triggers which show the stats page. If you're interested, I'll see what I can do later this week.

[davidfor]

Originally Posted by Alastair_S

uncleungie, I was going to post the same thing.

David, the issue is not one of whether-or-not it is sending data to Kobo, it is about the device now tracking (that is timing) what you read. Like uncleungie I don't want to know this sort of information, I read for pleasure and I don't want to turn reading into some sort of game or competition. You may say that you can avoid checking the "Activity" page but I have just finished a book only to be presented with a page of reading statistics, an unwanted intrusion I do not wish to see, which means that you cannot avoid this information.

The end of book stats/rating page is only displayed for purchased kepubs. I would have been surprised if this was turned off when you had the tracking turned off. It isn't something I have ever tested as I like the stats.

I have found that checking then unchecking "Automatically share data about the features you use" resets the timer to zero, but I would much prefer the return of disabling tracking (timing) completely.

Just testing all this, and it appears to have changed. And I think I'll take credit for it. The last time this was discussed, which was someone complaining that the stats were not kept when the data sharing was turned off, I asked Kobo about it. At the time, I was told that they couldn't be separated easily. Apparently, they have worked out how to do it.

As @PeterT suggested, it would be possible to use a database trigger to delete the entries in the Event table. That is the primary source of the stats you don't want to see.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by Alastair_S

uncleungie, I was going to post the same thing.

David, the issue is not one of whether-or-not it is sending data to Kobo, it is about the device now tracking (that is timing) what you read. Like uncleungie I don't want to know this sort of information, I read for pleasure and I don't want to turn reading into some sort of game or competition. You may say that you can avoid checking the "Activity" page but I have just finished a book only to be presented with a page of reading statistics, an unwanted intrusion I do not wish to see, which means that you cannot avoid this information.

I have found that checking then unchecking "Automatically share data about the features you use" resets the timer to zero, but I would much prefer the return of disabling tracking (timing) completely.

this is odd because since I installed the 4.19x fw, and patch to get rid of activity on settings list, and disabled it on page two, I finished two books and nothing was presented to me about activity, stats, or competition.

if it had, I would have been jumping up and down mad and come here asking how to fix it. makes me wonder what the difference is.

[Alastair_S]

Originally Posted by geek1011

It should be possible for me to make a simple patch to do this, but it would also remove the kepub progress charts and possibly the fast page flip. Alternatively, I could just as easily remove the triggers which show the stats page. If you're interested, I'll see what I can do later this week.

I'm going to try the already existing patch as mentioned by pghaworth:

Originally Posted by pghaworth

this is odd because since I installed the 4.19x fw, and patch to get rid of activity on settings list, and disabled it on page two, I finished two books and nothing was presented to me about activity, stats, or competition.

as it seems to do the job, assuming that pghaworth was talking about purchased kepubs. So there may be no need for a new patch, but thank you for the offer.

[pghaworth]

Originally Posted by Alastair_S

I'm going to try the already existing patch as mentioned by pghaworth:

as it seems to do the job, assuming that pghaworth was talking about purchased kepubs. So there may be no need for a new patch, but thank you for the offer.

no. not kepubs and also sideloaded. epubs converted from azw3. I also don't ever take mine off of airplane mode so maybe that's one of the differences, along with affiliate being gobbledygook instead of kobo or one of the others.

[Alastair_S]

Unfortunately the patch to remove the menu entry for "Activity" does not prevent the stats screen appearing whenever you finish a purchased kepub. So it would appear that an additional patch is needed.

[Barbara1955]

hummm mine is also on Now way to turn it Off.... Wondered how it knew I had read 777 hours LOL

[geek1011]

Try this nickel patch:

Hide reading stats at end of purchased books:
  - Enabled: yes
  - FindZlib: "#relatedViewAll" # N3EndOfBookView.qss
  - ReplaceZlib:
      Find: "#bookStatsContainer[qApp_deviceIsTrilogy=true] {"
      Replace: "#separator2, #bookStatsContainer { qproperty-visible: false; } #dummy {"

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by Alastair_S

David, the issue is not one of whether-or-not it is sending data to Kobo, it is about the device now tracking (that is timing) what you read. Like uncleungie I don't want to know this sort of information,

Same here. I don't see the point of it personally. I figure when I'm done reading the book I'll be done with it — no matter how long it takes.