A new report reveals that the world’s largest publisher may be selling readers’ intimate personal data to the highest bidder.

  • XiELEd
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    1411 months ago

    Wow so even when you pay, you still end up a product. Sigh.

  • @imapuppetlookaway
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    1111 months ago

    The title is a little confusing. It’s not the ebooks but the ebook readers - especially Kindle - that are able to gather and send data. Makes me wonder what the best hardware and software for private ebook reading is.

    I did a quick search for “best ebook reader for privacy” and got the usual review sites, but “privacy” isn’t mentioned in any of their reviews.

    So what are the options? There’s an add-on for Firefox called Epubreader … I’ll have to keep looking into it. Definitely getting off the kindle/amazon train though.

    • @[email protected]
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      11 months ago

      I like my kobo Libra 2, pretty sure you don’t need any account or anything.

      I use calibre exclusively.

      • mesamune
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        211 months ago

        Calibre with Libra is great. Never needs to be online and any format you want.

    • @jantin
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      311 months ago

      An old Pocketbook would be (and still is) my hardware of choice. They run some kind of Linux, support apps (which need to be sideloaded), .mobi, .epub, mangas and .pdf (this one is a bit choppy but it’s a decade old device). The only available connectivity is wifi which I keep off because browsing is shit on an ereader.

    • @[email protected]
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      311 months ago

      I have a first gen Kindle Paperwhite, and just never connect it to the Internet. Privacy problem solved.

  • FarraigePlaisteach
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    11 months ago

    “Correction: An earlier version of this op-ed claimed the publisher Elsevier was tracking and selling data to third parties, a claim Elsevier rejects. Such claims have since been removed from the article.”

    That’s a pretty big mistake for the article authors to make, unless it wasn’t.

  • KingJalopy
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    11 months ago

    Yeah, I read shitty litRPG and don’t even play games, fight me!

    • @Delphia
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      211 months ago

      Ive finished Dungeon Crawler Carl, He who fights with Monsters and Mayor of Noobtown. Any recommendations?

      • KingJalopy
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        11 months ago

        Oh Carl is the best but check out The Hero, and Videogame Plotline Tester both are free on audible Plus or Kindle for the first few books.

        By the way both are Russian books (I think) and have some translation issues occasionally but are good fun.

      • mesamune
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        111 months ago

        Lots of good ones on royalroad.com

        I like tunnel rat, The Butcher of Gadobhra (same author), The Heart Grows, among others.

      • KingJalopy
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        111 months ago

        I misspoke but I couldn’t login after the update. The hero is the second book, the first book is called Re-Start I believe.