6 ms·

> privacy-respecting ebook reader Suggestions?

by ARandomerDude 3y ago

itscrush 3y ago
Kobo seems to work readily offline simply out of box. Plug in usb-c to upload books?
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  A kindle will do the same thing. Everything is privacy-respecting if there's no internet connection.
  - bippihippi1 3y ago
    kindles have cellular modems
    - dugite-code 3y ago
      Not all of them and they are surprisingly easy to remove. At least the old ones are: https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a-kindle-paperwhite-2/ https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a...
    - cricalix 3y ago
      They've stopped making Kindles with modems. Latest gen ones are WiFi only. Of course, the hardware might still be in there, just not available for book purchasing.
- TheFreim 3y ago
  I really enjoy my Kobo Libra H2O with KOReader installed.
- maurits 3y ago
  My new Kobo refused to start out of the box, without making an account. Very disappointing.
  - BHSPitMonkey 3y ago
    I created an account, but then installed KOreader on my Libra 2 and just read books through that. It's FOSS, more customizable, and supports OPDS feeds which can do pretty neat things like finding articles from HN[0]. [0] https://github.com/BHSPitMonkey/news2reader https://github.com/BHSPitMonkey/news2reader
    - sotix 3y ago
      I read that KOreader is unstable on the Libra 2[0], so I haven’t installed it yet even though I would like to. What has been your experience running it? [0] https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8414 https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8414
      - BHSPitMonkey 3y ago
        It's been perfectly stable for me since I got the device a few months ago, but I also don't read for hours at a time like the other commenter. It's possible that it leaks memory after viewing several hundred pages or something like that.
      - beej71 3y ago
        I had it installed for a while, and there were fairly frequent crashes (i.e. about once every 8 hours of reading) requiring a reboot. But it was _almost_ worth it. It's a really great reader, especially for reading PDFs. After some software update about 6 months ago it got halfway uninstalled somehow and I did a factory reset and haven't reinstalled it yet. I recall reading that it's not on KOreader's side, and they can'tfix. :(
- beej71 3y ago
  Can confirm you need to log into your Kobo account to get it going.
thih9 3y ago
I keep my kindle in airplane mode.
- qwertox 3y ago
  Do you need to keep it 100% of the time in airplane mode? Couldn't it be queuing stats to upload them once it leaves AP mode?
  - dugite-code 3y ago
    With a jailbroken kindle you can install the BBB (Block Big Brother) filter on the firewall (it's running linux under the hood after all): https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2425330 https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2425330 Alternatively like me you can just remove the 3g modem in it's entirety: https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a-kindle-paperwhite-2/ https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a...
    - bryanrasmussen 3y ago
      what happens when you buy Kindle in EU, I would think when you first turn it on they would have to ask if you want to be tracked and if not would have to fuck off.
      - dugite-code 3y ago
        That's a good question I couldn't find anything in my cursory searches. Knowing Amazon because all the focus has been on Web browsers and cookies there might not be much available on the ebook front atm.
  - lrem 3y ago
    Kindle with ads has been observed to, after a couple alerts that it’s been offline for too long, just ignore airplane mode at some point.
    - 3y ago
NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
I like the Marvin3 reader on iPhone. Haven't found something I like on the desktop though.
- bluish29 3y ago
  Is it still on app store or just not available in the US?
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
    Oh shit. My bad. I don't know honestly... I got it a couple years ago, and it was everything that Books wasn't. Apple Books thinks I want to put tiny 1mb epub files in my iCloud, which is full (no idea why) and then it won't save them. So when I reopen, now the book's gone even though I have like 40 gigs free on my phone. Simple interface, simple list of books to choose from, etc. And now the damned thing's gone and I have no idea why.
II2II 3y ago
The underlying problem is obtaining the books. Even if you never register your ereader and never let it go online, you are just shifting the problem to a computer. They loose fine-grained details about what you are reading, but that's about it. If you understand that and take proper precautions, I would imagine that any ereader that doesn't require registration would be fine. If you never put it online, it cannot accidentally go online. Plus it isn't tied to your name. Personally, I use Kobo. You have to jump through a hoop to bypass registration by modifying an SQLite database. Other than that there are no protections, so you aren't using sketchy software to realize that degree of privacy.
- Hoodedcrow 3y ago
  > you are just shifting the problem to a computer. Libgen works with anonymizers.
  - onetokeoverthe 3y ago
    [dead]
sebtron 3y ago
Pocketbook https://pocketbook.ch https://pocketbook.ch You can download your books as you want and copy them to the device in many ways, including connecting the thing via USB to your pc and using it as an external storage unit. Sounds trivial but try to do that with a smartphone. You can buy books from their shop if you make an account, but it is completely optional.
- pneff 3y ago
  I wasn't aware of Pocketbook, interesting to see a smaller competitor in this market. Unfortunately they might run into the same issues discussed in this article. They have two privacy policies. The one which seems to cover their web site [1] and one which I assume is for their devices [2]. The latter says the following: > We collect such non identified information concerning the Application: > […] > Usage Data includes information about how you use our Application. By Usage Data we mean: how you use your book library, information concerning which buttons on the Application you click, which you do not, how often do you use buttons, turning on/ off the device, setting font options, changing the interface language, sending archive, changing the library settings, setting the read mode. We collect these information to make our Services better for the end-customers. Understanding of your usage preference give us the opportunity to develop better Application, which will have higher reliability, usability, compressed functionality and extremely easy startup. The first privacy policy [1] though says they do not collect any "Special Categories of Personal Data about you". [1] https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/privacy-policy https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/privacy-policy [2] https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/reader-mobile-privacy-notice https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/reader-mobile-privacy-notice
  - Hoodedcrow 3y ago
    Can't you just never connect your device to the internet though?
- Novosell 3y ago
  Are you saying it's hard to get phones recognized as external storage devices? I've not had this issue with any of my android phones or my Boox e-reader which runs android.

> privacy-respecting ebook reader Suggestions?

itscrush 3y ago

Kobo seems to work readily offline simply out of box. Plug in usb-c to upload books?

thaumasiotes 3y ago
A kindle will do the same thing. Everything is privacy-respecting if there's no internet connection.
- bippihippi1 3y ago
  kindles have cellular modems
  - dugite-code 3y ago
    Not all of them and they are surprisingly easy to remove. At least the old ones are: https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a-kindle-paperwhite-2/ https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a...
  - cricalix 3y ago
    They've stopped making Kindles with modems. Latest gen ones are WiFi only. Of course, the hardware might still be in there, just not available for book purchasing.
TheFreim 3y ago
I really enjoy my Kobo Libra H2O with KOReader installed.
maurits 3y ago
My new Kobo refused to start out of the box, without making an account. Very disappointing.
- BHSPitMonkey 3y ago
  I created an account, but then installed KOreader on my Libra 2 and just read books through that. It's FOSS, more customizable, and supports OPDS feeds which can do pretty neat things like finding articles from HN[0]. [0] https://github.com/BHSPitMonkey/news2reader https://github.com/BHSPitMonkey/news2reader
  - sotix 3y ago
    I read that KOreader is unstable on the Libra 2[0], so I haven’t installed it yet even though I would like to. What has been your experience running it? [0] https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8414 https://github.com/koreader/koreader/issues/8414
    - BHSPitMonkey 3y ago
      It's been perfectly stable for me since I got the device a few months ago, but I also don't read for hours at a time like the other commenter. It's possible that it leaks memory after viewing several hundred pages or something like that.
    - beej71 3y ago
      I had it installed for a while, and there were fairly frequent crashes (i.e. about once every 8 hours of reading) requiring a reboot. But it was _almost_ worth it. It's a really great reader, especially for reading PDFs. After some software update about 6 months ago it got halfway uninstalled somehow and I did a factory reset and haven't reinstalled it yet. I recall reading that it's not on KOreader's side, and they can'tfix. :(
beej71 3y ago
Can confirm you need to log into your Kobo account to get it going.

thih9 3y ago

I keep my kindle in airplane mode.

qwertox 3y ago
Do you need to keep it 100% of the time in airplane mode? Couldn't it be queuing stats to upload them once it leaves AP mode?
- dugite-code 3y ago
  With a jailbroken kindle you can install the BBB (Block Big Brother) filter on the firewall (it's running linux under the hood after all): https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2425330 https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2425330 Alternatively like me you can just remove the 3g modem in it's entirety: https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a-kindle-paperwhite-2/ https://peekread.info/tech/20210120-removing-3g-modem-from-a...
  - bryanrasmussen 3y ago
    what happens when you buy Kindle in EU, I would think when you first turn it on they would have to ask if you want to be tracked and if not would have to fuck off.
    - dugite-code 3y ago
      That's a good question I couldn't find anything in my cursory searches. Knowing Amazon because all the focus has been on Web browsers and cookies there might not be much available on the ebook front atm.
- lrem 3y ago
  Kindle with ads has been observed to, after a couple alerts that it’s been offline for too long, just ignore airplane mode at some point.
  - 3y ago

NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago

I like the Marvin3 reader on iPhone. Haven't found something I like on the desktop though.

bluish29 3y ago
Is it still on app store or just not available in the US?
- NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
  Oh shit. My bad. I don't know honestly... I got it a couple years ago, and it was everything that Books wasn't. Apple Books thinks I want to put tiny 1mb epub files in my iCloud, which is full (no idea why) and then it won't save them. So when I reopen, now the book's gone even though I have like 40 gigs free on my phone. Simple interface, simple list of books to choose from, etc. And now the damned thing's gone and I have no idea why.

II2II 3y ago

The underlying problem is obtaining the books. Even if you never register your ereader and never let it go online, you are just shifting the problem to a computer. They loose fine-grained details about what you are reading, but that's about it. If you understand that and take proper precautions, I would imagine that any ereader that doesn't require registration would be fine. If you never put it online, it cannot accidentally go online. Plus it isn't tied to your name. Personally, I use Kobo. You have to jump through a hoop to bypass registration by modifying an SQLite database. Other than that there are no protections, so you aren't using sketchy software to realize that degree of privacy.

Hoodedcrow 3y ago
> you are just shifting the problem to a computer. Libgen works with anonymizers.
- onetokeoverthe 3y ago
  [dead]

sebtron 3y ago

Pocketbook https://pocketbook.ch https://pocketbook.ch You can download your books as you want and copy them to the device in many ways, including connecting the thing via USB to your pc and using it as an external storage unit. Sounds trivial but try to do that with a smartphone. You can buy books from their shop if you make an account, but it is completely optional.

pneff 3y ago
I wasn't aware of Pocketbook, interesting to see a smaller competitor in this market. Unfortunately they might run into the same issues discussed in this article. They have two privacy policies. The one which seems to cover their web site [1] and one which I assume is for their devices [2]. The latter says the following: > We collect such non identified information concerning the Application: > […] > Usage Data includes information about how you use our Application. By Usage Data we mean: how you use your book library, information concerning which buttons on the Application you click, which you do not, how often do you use buttons, turning on/ off the device, setting font options, changing the interface language, sending archive, changing the library settings, setting the read mode. We collect these information to make our Services better for the end-customers. Understanding of your usage preference give us the opportunity to develop better Application, which will have higher reliability, usability, compressed functionality and extremely easy startup. The first privacy policy [1] though says they do not collect any "Special Categories of Personal Data about you". [1] https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/privacy-policy https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/privacy-policy [2] https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/reader-mobile-privacy-notice https://pocketbook.ch/en-ch/reader-mobile-privacy-notice
- Hoodedcrow 3y ago
  Can't you just never connect your device to the internet though?
Novosell 3y ago
Are you saying it's hard to get phones recognized as external storage devices? I've not had this issue with any of my android phones or my Boox e-reader which runs android.