Investigation

Kindle Collects More Information Than You Think

In this day and age, cybersecurity is super important. Protecting your information while online is crucial to keeping yourself safe from hackers and online predators. Recently, a lot of people have started reading on Kindles, both on the devices themselves and in the app. However, it has recently been discovered that Kindle collects a lot of information about users. While some of this data mining is standard stuff, such as updating book recommendations based on past purchases, keeping bookmarks, and other mundanities, some of it seems a little sketchy. 

Kindle basically tracks every move you make while reading. It collects data on  times pages were opened, when you turn the page, the first and last character on the page, and what is contained on the next page (text or image). At the end of your reading session, it will also record how many pages you read. While all of this data collection may seem a bit excessive, this sort of information is pretty harmless and does not seem to be used for much, if anything, outside of app functions. The weirdest bit of data Kindle collects is the personal information. The service attempts to collect things like your country of origin, device type (screen size, make and model, Apple or android, and the software version), Goodreads account details, and how you hold your device. A lot of this information is probably used to help Amazon understand how their product is being used and how it can be improved upon. 

However, the most concerning thing is that Kindle also collects network IP addresses. An IP address is the unique number assigned to whatever device you use to reach the internet, so it can identify you.  Kindle is by no means the most invasive app out there but it is always good to know what information is being recorded about you while doing things online and how it is being used.

Sources

MAYA OEVERMAN
Editor Emeritus at The City Voice | MIPA Honorable Mention Award Winner

I am a Senior at City and I normally write the weekly book reviews! If I'm not reading, you can usually find me at the barn riding and taking care of the horses.