can content be tracked?

[dwig]

Originally Posted by yifanlu

...By connection, they have your credit card, address, and every book you read. ...

They don't necessarily know your credit card. There is not need to provide a credit card number to establish an Amazon ID and register a Kindle.

Also, there is no way that they actually know what side loaded books you've placed on your device. They can only know the filename and possibly a title and such in the metadata. If you're really paranoid about some book on your device simply give it a bogus file name and bogus metadata for title and author, etc.

[bZkindle]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

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.

I'm with you on that but I don't see anyone here 'crying foul'.
It's interesting how you chose to only quote part of my sentence.

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.

My concern isn't that Amazon would have this info (a library will keep records as well, obviously); it's if governments can access this info.
This really has nothing to do with amazons TOS.
It just really irks me when I hear this kind of attitude. For another example, look at the warrantless wiretapping of millions of citizens in the US: when confronted with this information, some people will dismiss it saying 'well, I have nothing to hide. They can listen all they want."
It's basically welcoming a police state and throwing freedom out the window.

[jocampo]

The easiest way to know what kind of data or traffic is being generated, is use the Kindle on your home network and setup a "sniffer". Buy a book or do something, and you will capture the data exchange. I doubt the traffic is encrypted.

[FF2]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

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.

I guess I should fully check out the terms of service and see if they spell out exactly what info they are gathering.

But since these agreements we have "agreed" to are somewhat (totally!) one-sided, there may be an opportunity to object after the fact. If they are unconscionable they do not have to be followed to the letter.

But that might take a challenge. And like DRM, if someone managed to bypass Amazon's collection of info, well, they (amazon) might terminate your ability to further download but they might not be willing to take it to court for fear their one-sided agreement might not withstand legal scrutiny.

I am still waiting to see if the failure to send them logs (or their inability to retrieve logs) will generate something?? But then, again, I'm still not sure that I have defeated the log-sending process. Obviously, no person is sitting there waiting for my logs but a computer somewhere knows my kindle, its serial number and might have a counter that finally triggers a responsive action. Or not.

[Giggleton]

I sent an email to kindle feedback, asking them to turn our logs into a kind of game, who reads the most etc.. Could really spur the next reading movement I thought. "We thank you for your feedback" or something similar.

[reech]

Basically, Amazon COULD look at the data, but probably use it to understand what people are reading for marketing purposes.

In real terms, you don't have anything to worry about, even if you are an evil so-and-so who is downloading books for free on the internet. That just shows that morally, you're a nasty person with a guilty conscience, worried about being caught...

[Yolina]

What really irriates me for some reason with Snoop-O-Matic is that the log shows what book you've opened on what day and at what time. Now, I obviously don't mind Amazon knowing what books I've bought from them, I can just about accept them knowing what else I've got on my Kindle, but giving them the ability to know exactly what I read and when is a little bit too much... there's a limit as to what info I want to give them, even if it's "only" for marketing purposes. So I just don't bother using the wi-fi and download all my books to the laptop and transfer via USB.

Edit: and the terms of service are actually extremely vague as to exactly *what* info is collected and *how* it's used.

[mr ploppy]

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.

Data mining is something that is getting more and more impossible to avoid online, and all that information is collated to generate a profile about you. Whether your reading habits being logged bothers you or not probably depends on what you read. If it isn't something you would mind future employers or prospective spouses knowing about, fair enough. But nobody is checking through that information looking for errors, and you would be foolish to think that it will never become public.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by bZkindle

It just really irks me when I hear this kind of attitude. For another example, look at the warrantless wiretapping of millions of citizens in the US: when confronted with this information, some people will dismiss it saying 'well, I have nothing to hide. They can listen all they want."
It's basically welcoming a police state and throwing freedom out the window.

When I hear people say that I ask them why they have curtains in their windows, and why they wear clothes when they go outside.

[Nyssa]

Although I agree about not wordlessly accepting "police state" tactics, I think the curtain and clothes question is a bit silly.

I mean personally, there are curtains in my windows to temper the sun, and I wear clothes in public becuase I'd be arrested otherwise...plus Florida seems to be the perv capitol of the world.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

Although I agree about not wordlessly accepting "police state" tactics, I think the curtain and clothes question is a bit silly.

If you've got nothing to hide ...



Another one I like is "people who live in glass houses should wear clothes".

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by Yolina

What really irriates me for some reason with Snoop-O-Matic is that the log shows what book you've opened on what day and at what time. Now, I obviously don't mind Amazon knowing what books I've bought from them, I can just about accept them knowing what else I've got on my Kindle, but giving them the ability to know exactly what I read and when is a little bit too much... there's a limit as to what info I want to give them, even if it's "only" for marketing purposes. So I just don't bother using the wi-fi and download all my books to the laptop and transfer via USB.

Edit: and the terms of service are actually extremely vague as to exactly *what* info is collected and *how* it's used.

If you are like me or more users, you should not have anything to worry about.

It is much worse when you browse the Internet. You will never use your computer again if you learn and know all the amount of personal information that website can and are collecting from you, including Mobileread ;-)

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

If you've got nothing to hide ...



Another one I like is "people who live in glass houses should wear clothes".

LOL! There is a matter of not wanting to see anything, much less everything!

I have a healthy respect for others' privacy, as well as my own; my point, really, was that the measures we take, and rules we choose to follow are not always about hiding.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

my point, really, was that the measures we take, and rules we choose to follow are not always about hiding.

That was the point I was trying to make too.

[Yolina]

Originally Posted by jocampo

If you are like me or more users, you should not have anything to worry about.

It is much worse when you browse the Internet. You will never use your computer again if you learn and know all the amount of personal information that website can and are collecting from you, including Mobileread ;-)

I know but as I've said, it just annoys me and since using wi-fi on the Kindle is not compulsory and only "for my convenience", I exercice my choice not to use it