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Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

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Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#191

Post by ihm »

jjcon wrote: post #111
hohohn wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's how every company rationalizes the mass collection of user data. "Oh lets collect many terabytes of every user-action in case we need to one day discontinue a feature". It's a book. You don't need to collect and track every fucking action I do to find out if your stupid highlighter is being used in Poland.

Whether you like it or not this collection does lead to better products - that is why you think every company does it because those that don’t usually die out. Understanding your users is vitally important. Privacy LARPers are a tiny segment of the market, the average person doesn’t really care if their ‘usage of the highlighter function is tracked’

This comment is such cowed boot-licking of a giant corporation. Completely antithetical to the hacker ethos.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#192

Post by neiman »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #174
neiman wrote: post #157

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course I'm not surprised, but I refuse to accept this as normal.

But your refusal doesn’t change the reality. Kinda like refusing to believe that climate change is real does not change the reality.

What? I didn't say I don't recognize the reality. I said I don't accept it as normal, meaning I work trying to change it.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#194

Post by me_me_me »

alongreyber wrote: post #49
cpach wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What formats does it handle? Can it handle EPUB for example?

For this I recommend Calibre: https://calibre-ebook.com/ It will convert any format of E-Book to a compatible format for the Kindle (usually MOBI) and allows you to upload it directly. I use it often and it's an amazing piece of software!

I second that, I have older Paper Kindle with only wifi. And I never connect to wifi, Calibre is excellent for managing kindle archive without amazon's breathing down my neck.

Highly recommend.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#195

Post by radicaldreamer »

neiman wrote: post #86
dimitrios1 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't. You have 100% freedom to not work for Amazon. Don't buy a kindle. Don't use a kindle.

If I would have known that by buying Kindle I end up working for Amazon, I indeed wouldn't have bought one. It's deception. Please put on the box a big warning, "THIS DEVICE COLLECTS YOUR DATA", similar to those on cigarette boxes.

There’s a plastic bag over the product saying don’t open it if you don’t agree with the terms of service and that it’s required to use the device.

Also, plenty of people just leave the kindle in airplane mode and use third party software like Calibre to manage their libraries.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#196

Post by hibbelig »

whynotminot wrote: post #159
kofejnik wrote: post #149

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Only until you come into range of any open WiFi which is every public place everywhere

Is that Kindle that promiscuous that it will literally connect to any open AP without prompting?

Here on hn, I read several stories where smart TVs did exactly that: they tried all available wifi networks to see if one of them worked.

It doesn't seem so far-fetched that the Kindle might, too.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#197

Post by paulcole »

breakfastduck wrote: post #76
Despoisj wrote: post #38

As a former Kindle developer, I can say that most of what's mentioned in this article are metrics used to understand how the features are used (bookmarks, highlights, dictionnary, etc.), how much they are used, and in which country. This allows the teams to focus on features that are actively used, and sometimes lead to discontinuing features that see little to no use. Hope that helps.

As many people here have echoed - this boils down to the fact the data is being captured without an opt out. I don't doubt the developers are using it for 'morally acceptable' purposes, but I don't trust Amazon not to abuse that data later down the line! I really don't feel that anyone needs to know precisely what pages I have viewed in a specific book.

The opt out is don't buy a Kindle.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#199

Post by charles_f »

shmel wrote: post #132
neiman wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If I would have known that by buying Kindle I end up working for Amazon, I indeed wouldn't have bought one. It's deception. Please put on the box a big warning, "THIS DEVICE COLLECTS YOUR DATA", similar to those on cigarette boxes.

Are you genuinely surprised at this point? Pretty much all big tech companies were caught outright lying about user data collection. Why would you assume by default they don't try to get as much as possible? They are all based on ML, of course they do. A year or two ago Amazon was swearing that humans don't listen to Alexa conversations until we learned they actually do. IIRC Amazon tried to backpedal: "of course the…

> Pretty much all big tech companies were caught outright lying about user data collection.

You can strip the big here.

Re: Kindle collects a surprisingly large amount of data

#200

Post by vharuck »

jjcon wrote: post #118
gvjddbnvdrbv wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are some features in software I rarely use. But those times I do use them they are utterly essential. If I find such feature has been removed I am incensed. Usefulness is NOT the same as usage.

> Usefulness is NOT the same as usage. Metrics can tell that story though so you’re arguing a straw man. Example: If you see that 99% of users have never used a function ever - you have a pretty good idea that it needs to be reworked or removed. You may also see a function that is used by 80% of users once a month, that you may opt to keep.

It's not so much that ubiquitous telemetry can't identify this, it's whether it's better for this than a focus group. You can have background telemetry with the focus group so you're not just giving customers what they say they want instead of what they need.
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