Amazon Removes Encryption From Its Devices, While Apple Fights To Keep It

[Lucian Armasu]

Amazon removed encryption from all of its new devices, which launched last fall, as well as all devices that upgraded to Fire OS 5.

Amazon Removes Encryption From Its Devices, While Apple Fights To Keep It : Read more

 

[jkhoward]

Well, I am no longer purchasing devices from Amazon anymore. Rest in peace my Fire Tablet.

 

[nukemaster]

Apple just gained more customers.

Not sure what is happening behind closed doors, but in the public light they just won big time.

 

[bwohl]

Well, I am no longer purchasing devices from Amazon anymore. Rest in peace my Fire Tablet.

What, pray tell, are you doing on a Fire tablet that you have fears of the FBI getting a hold of? Set a pin lock it - and you have kept out 99.9% of people.
If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.
or is it just principle?

 

[MrMojoRisin]

Maybe we should demonstrate by getting together and setting fire to our fire tablets and phones. Well, just the tablets anyway. I don't think anyone who visits this site actually bought a fire phone.

 

[hellwig]

Sounds like Amazon just doesn't want to stir the pot. I'm sure they already have enough interaction with federal and local governments regarding their anti-competitive practices (using their position in the industry to force publishers and developers to charge a specific price), sales taxes, etc... They'll probably just wait for Apple, Microsoft, and Google to battle it out, and in the mean time, remove any features that would make them any more of a target.

That said, when this whole Apple/FBI debacle started, it made me realize I never bothered to encrypt my phone. How many people know how to encrypt their phones and actually do so? Maybe Amazon is removing a feature none of their customers ever used (what would you even encrypt on a Fire TV?). No one ever accused Amazon of respecting consumer choice.

 

[campbelln]

And the prize for worst and most tired argument against encryption goes to, "If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear."

 

[jimmysmitty]

Apple just gained more customers.

Not sure what is happening behind closed doors, but in the public light they just won big time.

And Microsoft. Windows still has bitlocker in it.

 

[utroz]

Amazon is going back to the stone age.. Encryption is a key tech that anyone who does serious work or just doesn't want their data unprotected uses. Amazon clearly removed it to be a SHILL for the government. I hope Amazon looses lots of market share and ends up putting the option for encryption back..

 

[DeadlyDays]

Pretty much turns me off their devices. It isn't just about keeping the government out of our private business/lives without warrant, it is also about keeping anyone who breaks into our network from essentially spying on us, or if they steal our device/find it from accessing any sensitive information we have on the device. These devices could have private tax/medical/etc records on them that we keep for easy access, even letting someone know your personal inclinations/habits is potentially dangerous for many reasons, ex social engineering. We have a right to safeguard our personal lives from others, including but not limited to the government, encryption is primarily aimed at the non-government attempts to get our information

 

[LordConrad]

Well, I am no longer purchasing devices from Amazon anymore. Rest in peace my Fire Tablet.

What, pray tell, are you doing on a Fire tablet that you have fears of the FBI getting a hold of? Set a pin lock it - and you have kept out 99.9% of people.
If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.
or is it just principle?

It doesn't matter what the device is used for. You should never allow the government to take away your rights, whether you're using all of them or not.

 

[stevew2004]

Well, I am no longer purchasing devices from Amazon anymore. Rest in peace my Fire Tablet.

What, pray tell, are you doing on a Fire tablet that you have fears of the FBI getting a hold of? Set a pin lock it - and you have kept out 99.9% of people.
If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.
or is it just principle?

If device data is not encrypted, anyone with physical access to the device (e.g. the thief) and sufficient know how can access anything stored locally on the device. Simply open the device, extract the storage media, and insert it into another device. If you lose physical control of the device, the PIN is a minor obstacle to overcome. Encrypting data on my devices has nothing to do with the FBI, but it is done as protection from commonplace identity theft.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Well, I am no longer purchasing devices from Amazon anymore. Rest in peace my Fire Tablet.

What, pray tell, are you doing on a Fire tablet that you have fears of the FBI getting a hold of? Set a pin lock it - and you have kept out 99.9% of people.
If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear.
or is it just principle?

It doesn't matter what the device is used for. You should never allow the government to take away your rights, whether you're using all of them or not.

Depends on whether you're talking about our moral rights or our legal rights. If they take away our legal rights to encryption, they are no longer our rights in the legal sense.

 

[Atomic Frog]

This is obviously in deference to demands from the Chinese government if Amazon want to continuing selling there.
They would support ISIS it meant more sales.

 

[alextheblue]

I'll continue to buy and use their Kindle e-readers, but that's about it. Nothing but books stored on those anyway.

Now, if things pan out for Apple, Amazon will probably add encryption back in, at least for customers in countries where it is allowed. At that point I'll start considering their devices again.

 

[mrmez]

I can see a (pathetic) reason for not having encryption on a low end e-reader.
Who cares if someone can see I've been reading My Little Pony book.
Any other device, totally unacceptable.

What makes this totally disgusting, is not the fact that they couldn't be bothered implementing encryption, but the fact that they had it, then removed it.

Customers are right to vote with their $'s and take their business elsewhere.

 

[jkhoward]

Update: I sent a message to Amazon for a device return and refund. They'll allow me to return the device and receive a full refund.

 

[turkey3_scratch]

Free enterprise. You don't like it, don't buy or use it.

 

[nukemaster]

Update: I sent a message to Amazon for a device return and refund. They'll allow me to return the device and receive a full refund.

And this is why Amazon is still very good to deal with.

Synology will not allow encryption on NAS units in areas that make it illegal.

I fully understand the want to keep files secure(even more so on portable devices since they are so easy to steal).

 

[ozeone]

What serious company would want to buy their services after this? A company with this policy wont ever be trusted.

I think they just started digging their own grave, or atleast putting the showel down.

This will change ALOT i think, most likely gain all other cloud service providers a bigger market share.

Worst possible business strategy they could have chosen, the whole world is talking privacy/security, so they remove it. HAHA Plain stupid

 

[SteelCity1981]

wonder what back door deal the gov made with amazon....

 

[Josh Ledger]

And in reality, the only two people affected are the only two people still using Amazon's Fire OS, instead of rooting and flashing out of the box...

 

[Lord Carmine]

And the prize for worst and most tired argument against encryption goes to, "If you're doing nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear."

and the best argument was by Benjamin Franklin two centuries ago
"Those who would sacrifice liberty for a little safety deserve neither"
if you sacrifice privacy for safety today.. you wont have both before long

 

[heliomphalodon]

To Hell with Amazon. Last Christmas I discovered that they're trying to turn the site into a members-only store, akin to Costco. There was some item I wanted to buy, and Amazon had a nice price, but they refused to sell it to me because I'm not a "Prime" member. Perhaps they think that this will encourage me to flush $100 down the toilet for "free" two-day shipping that I don't need, and "free" access to streaming crap that I don't care to watch. If that's what they think, they have another think coming. Such a policy says to me, "We don't want your business." OK, fine. I emptied my cart and deleted all my saved items and my wishlist. Now I use Amazon only for shopping and price research, before making my purchases elsewhere.

 

[Xenophage2112]

I'll never purchase an Amazon device now.