Amazon Is Collecting Your Kindle Highlights & Notes

TechDirt catches Amazon playing fast and loose with data that consumers may think is private — namely, their highlights and notes entered into Kindle books. "Amazon will now remotely upload and store the user notes and highlights you take on your Kindle, which it then compiles into 'popular highlights.' I have no doubt that the feature provides some interesting data, but it's not clear that users realize their highlighting and notes are being stored and used that way. Amazon basically says there's no big privacy deal here, because the data is always aggregated. But it sounds like many users don't realize this is happening at all. Amazon says people can find out they added this feature by reading 'forum posts and help pages.' ... [This situation] once again highlights a key concern in that the 'features' of your 'book' can change over time. Your highlighting may have been yours in the past, but suddenly it becomes Amazon's with little notice."

In Soviet Russia,

[Anonymous Coward]

highlights kindle you.

Simple solution...

[__aaclcg7560]

Just use a regular highlighter pen. Of course, you might want to cover the display with clear plastic first. :P

Re:This is why

[BadAnalogyGuy]

Ownership is the same as renting. It just has an indefinite termination date.

Re:Title is a goddamn sonofabitch phony

[nacturation]

I suggest hacking this. Get a whole bunch of people to download some really obscure free book and then highlight words which suggest some deeply disturbing pathological behavior. Get enough people to do it and you'll have Amazon highlighting some sicko fantasy.

Re:I don't know. What would happen?

[yotto]

Good thing none of those would happen. They also won't happen if you reply to this with your home address so long as you post as an AC.

We promise we'll only use the information in aggregate.

I'm tired of companies sucking

[Anonymous Coward]

Fucking shitheads. That's it. I'm getting an iPad.

Re:Simple solution...

[blackraven14250]

"Ah shit, where did I put the saran wrap roll with the notes for 1984...."

Re:RTFM

[discord5]

If Amazon is collecting notes, expect a few "Impress her with your stamina. Buy viagra at http://penisexperts.com/ [penisexperts.com]." notes in the near future.

Re:Repeat after me (Repetition Indeed)

[Zordak]

I believe what you're looking for is the new "paperback" book reader. Text shows up on an organic, fibrous display via the PII (physical ink imprint) protocol. There's no backlight, so you may need a lamp next to your bed, but daylight visibility is unmatched, and I have yet to exhaust the battery on one. There's even a special exception that lets you use them on airplanes during takeoff and landing. And the text delivery is strictly one-way---there's no backhaul connection to the publisher. They're basically impossible to hack without physical access to the terminal, and they tend to be very error tolerant (I've seen some that have still been usable after being left in rain and mud). You may even have a local repository near you where they will loan you a reader for free. And they're so pervasive, even Amazon has started selling some now. You should check it out!