Does Amazon know what's on my Kindle?

redrock · 12-13-2011, 05:14 PM

Hello Forum,

I just got a Kindle touch and I'm basically very happy with it.

However, I'm wondering whether Amazon knows about everything that's on my Kindle or whether that content is private. Most of the books on my Kindle are not from Amazon but put onto the Kindle through calibre. Does Amazon know about these books and, if yes, does this have any implications?

Greetings - redrock

DiapDealer · 12-13-2011, 05:21 PM

Leave the wireless turned off and it's as private as can be.

susan_cassidy · 12-13-2011, 05:29 PM

It is certainly possible that they could know, if the Kindle is able to communicate to the Amazon servers (wi-fi or 3G).

However, I doubt that they care. No one has ever reported an issue where Amazon accused someone of piracy, etc., if that's what you are thinking of.

SteveEisenberg · 12-13-2011, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redrock

However, I'm wondering whether Amazon knows about everything that's on my Kindle or whether that content is private.

Go to amazon.com, to the Kindle area, to Manage My Kindle, and then to Your Kindle Library. That's what Amazon has. If you put it on your Kindle through Amazon, such as by buying it from them, or sent it to your Kindle through @kindle.com, the content is in an Amazon computer. I doubt that Amazon employees waste their lunch hours looking at such. It might be encrypted. It might even be a firing offense. But I wouldn't rule out someone with too much time on their hands seeing what's there.

If you loaded it through the usb cable, however, I think it is close to inconceivable that they are harvesting that. It would be a damaging scandal if that ever came out. And the infrastructure to harvest that data would cost money. Could a US court get such information, from Amazon, with a search warrant? I don't know. Could they get it, with a court order, by seizing your physical Kindle? Certainly.

Quote:

Most of the books on my Kindle are not from Amazon but put onto the Kindle through calibre. Does Amazon know about these books . . .

I believe no.

I use the Calibre news Fetch News feature, which does use @kindle.com. That stuff is in Amazon's computers. But books sent via Calibre are not.

sandy336 · 12-13-2011, 08:10 PM

I think amazon doesn't know the contents in your kindle,but if he want to know,that will be very easy for him

booklover6 · 12-13-2011, 09:03 PM

I go to amazon every day and delete the news Calibre sends to my computer from the archive. One could do that with any document sent to Kindle. Doing so does not remove it from your Kindle, only from the archive.

pidgeon92 · 12-13-2011, 09:08 PM

They may know.

They don't care.

Todd Young · 12-13-2011, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

They may know.

They don't care.

I tend to agree.

DiapDealer · 12-14-2011, 06:28 AM

The Kindle device definitely logs the titles of any books that it opens (in a file on the Kindle itself) as well as many other details (date/time, encryption status, etc...). The device also has the ability to send that log to Amazon. —However— No one, to date, has ever actually caught the Kindle transferring it's log file to Amazon servers (and many have tried). After days of monitoring, the packets that the Kindle sends upstream are simply not large enough to contain log data. The packet sizes are in keeping with standard keep-alive pings and such.

So in the the spirit of full disclosure: yes, the Kindle logs what you are reading; yes, it could send that log to Amazon (or tech support could access it remotely); no, nobody has "caught" a Kindle automatically transferring that log file to Amazon.

Like others... I don't believe Amazon much cares what books you are reading. If you want total and complete privacy insurance... don't use a device that has a wireless receiver/transmitter built into it (or leave the radio off).

librarianchat · 12-14-2011, 09:28 AM

I would tend to think that they do know. With everything that has been coming out in the last few years of certain sites and companies and their deception about things like this, then I would venture to guess that they definitely know and could plan to use that information for some marketing purposes.

SteveEisenberg · 12-14-2011, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by librarianchat

With everything that has been coming out in the last few years of certain sites and companies and their deception about things like this, then I would venture to guess that they definitely know and could plan to use that information for some marketing purposes.

What DiapDealer said.

Amazon is fast replacing WalMart as the most hated company in America, and may already be there. I'm not going to say whether or not it is deserved; that would be a political opinion. I'm just saying, as a factual statement, that a boatload of people would love to find dirt about this company. Given that situation, I think Amazon's ability to deceive concerning a big privacy issue is less than it would be with another firm.

Could I be wrong? Sure. But not just about Amazon. For all I know, a computer guy at my public library, obsessed with keeping backups, has a record of every book I ever took out in his basement. Likely? No. Possible? Yep.

HarryT · 12-15-2011, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by librarianchat

I would tend to think that they do know. With everything that has been coming out in the last few years of certain sites and companies and their deception about things like this, then I would venture to guess that they definitely know and could plan to use that information for some marketing purposes.

Please can you provide evidence to support your claim? As DD said previously, many people have extensively analysed the communications traffic between the Kindle and Amazon and found no trace of any such data transfer, and yet you claim to know otherwise??? On what basis?

jbcohen · 12-15-2011, 07:30 AM

Do you have any idea how many kindles are out there? I would think that it would be a rather stagering number and those of us who have multiple kindles and those that have a kindle and a fire would need to be counted once for each they have. Just to keep track of all of that data would be a rather stagering task to the point that it would probably take all of amazon's resources just to keep up with the numbers and keep re-counting each time a kindle was sold. They wouldn't have any computing hoursepower left over for things like selling kindles or books. If I were Jeff Bezos, I would have the company track some less resource intensive statistics such as: where you live (so that they can target the special offers) and the last book you bought (although this is probably only done for those that don't buy a lot of books, they will use this data to improve the werb site's recommendations for you). Or sometimes when you buy a book by a new author that the company has recently signed up (so they can tell if its worth their while to keep the author under contract).

By and large I don't think the company really cares and to find out is just not practical.

However if you are really worried about this what you will need to do is to turn off wifi and use the usb cord exclusively to upload books and third look at your firewall on your PC and see what outbound traffic is allowed. The only ones that have any business sending out data is: the web browser (if you don't allow this your PC can't web surf), the email client (if you don't allow this the software can't tell the email server to send your email to you) and lastly the security software (it needs to do this in order to tell the software maker's server to send new anti-virus signatures and other updates to you.) Amazon has no business being allowed to take data through your firewall they need to be able to send you data so that you can buy books from them. If amazon is not allowed to send data from you to their servers they have no way to know.

patrickt · 12-15-2011, 08:23 AM

I'd be relieved if they did know. Lord knows, I've got so many books waiting to be read I don't know what's on my Kindle. If the FBI--or worse, Homeland Security--showed up demanding to know if a certain book was on my Kindle I probably wouldn't have a clue.

ProfCrash · 12-15-2011, 09:37 AM

Lets be clear, it is not just Amazon but all of the e-readers with WiFi are in the same position. This question and the responses are applicable to the Sony, Nook, Kobo and every other device with WiFi communication.

12-13-2011, 05:14 PM	#1
redrock Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Kindle touch	Does Amazon know what's on my Kindle? Hello Forum, I just got a Kindle touch and I'm basically very happy with it. However, I'm wondering whether Amazon knows about everything that's on my Kindle or whether that content is private. Most of the books on my Kindle are not from Amazon but put onto the Kindle through calibre. Does Amazon know about these books and, if yes, does this have any implications? Greetings - redrock

12-13-2011, 08:10 PM	#5
sandy336 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 34788 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: ipad2	Kindle contents I think amazon doesn't know the contents in your kindle,but if he want to know,that will be very easy for him

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12-13-2011, 05:21 PM	#2
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,569 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	Leave the wireless turned off and it's as private as can be.

12-13-2011, 05:29 PM	#3
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	It is certainly possible that they could know, if the Kindle is able to communicate to the Amazon servers (wi-fi or 3G). However, I doubt that they care. No one has ever reported an issue where Amazon accused someone of piracy, etc., if that's what you are thinking of.

12-13-2011, 09:03 PM	#6
booklover6 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,545 Karma: 14008730 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA (USA) Device: Kobo Clara, 2E, Libre 1, PW4, PW5, 2022 Kindle, Kobo Libre Colour	I go to amazon every day and delete the news Calibre sends to my computer from the archive. One could do that with any document sent to Kindle. Doing so does not remove it from your Kindle, only from the archive.

12-13-2011, 09:08 PM	#7
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	They may know. They don't care.

12-14-2011, 06:28 AM	#9
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,569 Karma: 204127028 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	The Kindle device definitely logs the titles of any books that it opens (in a file on the Kindle itself) as well as many other details (date/time, encryption status, etc...). The device also has the ability to send that log to Amazon. —However— No one, to date, has ever actually caught the Kindle transferring it's log file to Amazon servers (and many have tried). After days of monitoring, the packets that the Kindle sends upstream are simply not large enough to contain log data. The packet sizes are in keeping with standard keep-alive pings and such. So in the the spirit of full disclosure: yes, the Kindle logs what you are reading; yes, it could send that log to Amazon (or tech support could access it remotely); no, nobody has "caught" a Kindle automatically transferring that log file to Amazon. Like others... I don't believe Amazon much cares what books you are reading. If you want total and complete privacy insurance... don't use a device that has a wireless receiver/transmitter built into it (or leave the radio off).

12-14-2011, 09:28 AM	#10
librarianchat Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Houston Device: Nook	I would tend to think that they do know. With everything that has been coming out in the last few years of certain sites and companies and their deception about things like this, then I would venture to guess that they definitely know and could plan to use that information for some marketing purposes.

12-15-2011, 07:30 AM	#13
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	Do you have any idea how many kindles are out there? I would think that it would be a rather stagering number and those of us who have multiple kindles and those that have a kindle and a fire would need to be counted once for each they have. Just to keep track of all of that data would be a rather stagering task to the point that it would probably take all of amazon's resources just to keep up with the numbers and keep re-counting each time a kindle was sold. They wouldn't have any computing hoursepower left over for things like selling kindles or books. If I were Jeff Bezos, I would have the company track some less resource intensive statistics such as: where you live (so that they can target the special offers) and the last book you bought (although this is probably only done for those that don't buy a lot of books, they will use this data to improve the werb site's recommendations for you). Or sometimes when you buy a book by a new author that the company has recently signed up (so they can tell if its worth their while to keep the author under contract). By and large I don't think the company really cares and to find out is just not practical. However if you are really worried about this what you will need to do is to turn off wifi and use the usb cord exclusively to upload books and third look at your firewall on your PC and see what outbound traffic is allowed. The only ones that have any business sending out data is: the web browser (if you don't allow this your PC can't web surf), the email client (if you don't allow this the software can't tell the email server to send your email to you) and lastly the security software (it needs to do this in order to tell the software maker's server to send new anti-virus signatures and other updates to you.) Amazon has no business being allowed to take data through your firewall they need to be able to send you data so that you can buy books from them. If amazon is not allowed to send data from you to their servers they have no way to know.

12-15-2011, 08:23 AM	#14
patrickt Wizard Posts: 1,221 Karma: 8381518 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Oaxaca, Mexico Device: Paperwhite 4 X 2	I'd be relieved if they did know. Lord knows, I've got so many books waiting to be read I don't know what's on my Kindle. If the FBI--or worse, Homeland Security--showed up demanding to know if a certain book was on my Kindle I probably wouldn't have a clue.

12-15-2011, 09:37 AM	#15
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Lets be clear, it is not just Amazon but all of the e-readers with WiFi are in the same position. This question and the responses are applicable to the Sony, Nook, Kobo and every other device with WiFi communication.

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