Stop amazon from sniffing my files - Page 2

knc1 · 03-23-2018, 03:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm not sure what you're referring to. They don't. I can't borrow library books on my Kindle.

For Kindle formats (plus other things) they most certainly do partner with Amazon.

HarryT · 03-23-2018, 03:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

For Kindle formats (plus other things) they most certainly do partner with Amazon.

Perhaps they do in some places, but not in the UK, and hence not for me personally.

kacir · 03-23-2018, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Do you buy Kindle books? If not then HarryT's suggestion of airplane mode/disabling wifi on the Kindle works without affecting any of your other devices. Heck, even if you buy Kindle books, you can always use the Download & transfer via USB method instead of connecting the Kindle to wifi.

This is exactly what I did when I owned Kindle Paperwhite.
Plus, it saves power and after a while my Paperwhite stopped showing me adds on the homepage (if I remember correctly - it was a long time ago).

dhdurgee · 03-23-2018, 09:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

I'm not sure what you're referring to. They don't. I can't borrow library books on my Kindle.

Must be US only. My county public library, and as best I can tell all county public libraries in the state of Maryland, makes ebooks available via the overdrive website. I need to logon with my county library account number and chose from available books. As was noted, if the book I borrow is available in kindle format then overdrive sends me to the amazon website to download a copy.

Dave

Alpha o · 03-23-2018, 09:13 AM

My old Kindle was made well before the ad nonsense. Now there is a box on the splash screen
asking me to turn on wifi to get ads. It's registered and has been registered under 3 different names.
The other half used it for a while. The names, of course, are not complimentary to Amazon.

datanoise · 03-23-2018, 07:51 PM

I'd recommend to keep your kindle offline and to sideload your books, even those bought from amazon: that's simple and effective.

But if you don't want to permanently disable your internet connection you can use iptables (or use the plugin mentioned earlier) to block amazon servers. It will work but for how long? if they use servers in other ip ranges you're screwed.

Another way would be to block connections to most IP subnets and only allow a few services you'd like to use (wikipedia for example). That would be safer but only work if the internet use you intend to do with your ereader is limited to a few servers/services.

JSWolf · 03-24-2018, 06:40 PM

If you are that paranoid, I suggest dumping your Kindle.

haertig · 03-24-2018, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you are that paranoid, I suggest dumping your Kindle.

That was a bit snarky and not very nice. It is reasonable to be concerned about your privacy. Just because you aren't personally, doesn't mean that others aren't.

As we have found out for the Kindle (and other things), assuring your privacy is not a simple thing. But because this thread has evolved and we find things are not so simple, and in turn some more complex solutions have been mentioned, that does not warrant being called paranoid - just for asking the question in the first place.

crich70 · 03-25-2018, 12:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haertig

You are monitored by everybody. Amazon, Google, Facebook, ... I'm sure if you were flexible enough to look up your own backside, you'd find a good dozen or so probes up there phoning home on your activities.

There's a big roar around here recently about people's data being harvested from Facebook. Helllloooo! Are you Facebook users so naive to think that hasn't being done from day one? The whole purpose of Facebook (and others) is to harvest every tidbit of information they can glean about you for their own profit. Do you think they wanted to give you this wonderful application to waste all your time for free, just for grins?

Amazon is the same. So is Google. So is Microsoft. Every time you find a way to block them, they wiggle in somewhere else. And there are probably a few dozens other ways they're already wiggled in that you don't even know about, let alone attempted to block.

Cutting off your internet connection is about the only way. But to sway you from doing that, companies make a lot of features dependent on an internet connection. So you're screwed if you want those features AND you want no snooping. And for things like cellphones, just turning off your internet is insufficient. Even powering down is not enough for some things. You have to physically remove the battery.

And it doesn't stop there. Every time you buy a can of corn using your debit card information on your purchase is added to the database. With the right resources anyone can find out anything about anyone else.

crich70 · 03-25-2018, 12:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by knc1

For Kindle formats (plus other things) they most certainly do partner with Amazon.

I know they do in south central wisconsin. Very useful.

JSWolf · 03-25-2018, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by haertig

That was a bit snarky and not very nice. It is reasonable to be concerned about your privacy. Just because you aren't personally, doesn't mean that others aren't.

As we have found out for the Kindle (and other things), assuring your privacy is not a simple thing. But because this thread has evolved and we find things are not so simple, and in turn some more complex solutions have been mentioned, that does not warrant being called paranoid - just for asking the question in the first place.

The real thing to do is to register your Kindle to your Amazon account and then turn off WiFi and leave it off. Amazon cannot see what's on your Kindle. But if you use other Kindle's/apps, then you cannot Whispersync eBooks/audiobooks. But, Amazon won't be able to see what's on your Kindle.

encol · 03-25-2018, 04:14 PM

Some time ago, i made an "HideBook" extension (see here and here)

You can hide your "secret" stuff before you go online and unhide when you need it

JSWolf · 03-25-2018, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by encol

Some time ago, i made an "HideBook" extension (see here and here)

You can hide your "secret" stuff before you go online and unhide when you need it

But, can you do such without jailbreaking? Not everyone jailbreaks or can jailbreak. So it kinda should be able to be done with stock firmware.

Tarana · 03-25-2018, 04:41 PM

Nearly all my books are sideloaded, but the only ads I get from Amazon reflect what I purchased or looked for on Amazon.

Tarana · 03-25-2018, 05:05 PM

If you have concerns, your best bet is to register your device so all the functions function and then turn off wifi. Then sideload all your books. Amazon won't have a clue what you have on your device. You can even sideload updates to the software. I did that for an ereader with a broken wifi.

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03-23-2018, 09:13 AM	#20
Alpha o Addict Posts: 282 Karma: 2603524 Join Date: Jan 2015 Device: Onyx Boox Darwin, inkBOOK Obsidian	My old Kindle was made well before the ad nonsense. Now there is a box on the splash screen asking me to turn on wifi to get ads. It's registered and has been registered under 3 different names. The other half used it for a while. The names, of course, are not complimentary to Amazon.

03-23-2018, 07:51 PM	#21
datanoise Groupie Posts: 175 Karma: 14110 Join Date: Aug 2016 Device: SuperNote A5X	I'd recommend to keep your kindle offline and to sideload your books, even those bought from amazon: that's simple and effective. But if you don't want to permanently disable your internet connection you can use iptables (or use the plugin mentioned earlier) to block amazon servers. It will work but for how long? if they use servers in other ip ranges you're screwed. Another way would be to block connections to most IP subnets and only allow a few services you'd like to use (wikipedia for example). That would be safer but only work if the internet use you intend to do with your ereader is limited to a few servers/services.

03-24-2018, 06:40 PM	#22
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,970 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If you are that paranoid, I suggest dumping your Kindle.

03-25-2018, 04:14 PM	#27
encol Evangelist Posts: 415 Karma: 750442 Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: Italy Device: Kindle PW3 5.8.5.0.1	Some time ago, i made an "HideBook" extension (see here and here) You can hide your "secret" stuff before you go online and unhide when you need it

03-25-2018, 04:41 PM	#29
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,978 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Nearly all my books are sideloaded, but the only ads I get from Amazon reflect what I purchased or looked for on Amazon.

03-25-2018, 05:05 PM	#30
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,978 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	If you have concerns, your best bet is to register your device so all the functions function and then turn off wifi. Then sideload all your books. Amazon won't have a clue what you have on your device. You can even sideload updates to the software. I did that for an ereader with a broken wifi.