Kindle Fire Silk Browser : A Privacy Concern?

Amazon Silk Browser Jeff Bezos

Amazon’s Kindle Fire is taught to be the real cloud connected device due to its Silk Browser capability to use AWS (Amazon Web Service) cloud technology. But privacy advocates have expressed concerns over whether or not the pre-fetching technology utilized by Amazon’s Silk Browser could be a gaping hole into a user’s browsing habits. The specially designed mobile browser is designed to serve pages to users more quickly than having the device render the pages itself, which means Amazon’s Elastic Computer Cloud, or EC2 will be the processing power behind the new technology.

One of the biggest issues privacy advocates have expressed issues over is the fact that Silk is able to analyze traffic patterns for every webpage based on both crowd and individual usage and then fetch pages directly before the user even requests it by clicking the appropriate link. This pre-fetching combined with the utilization of the EC2 network for data fetching is set to speed up web browsing significantly.

Speedy web browsing is something most users would die for, but others are not so sure this method of pre-fetching will be good for consumers in the long run. One of the bottom lines that most users aren’t seeing is that cached pages are analyzed to improve performance and at any time Amazon may dig through a user’s browsing history to see where the service can be improved.

While these intentions may sound noble, what happens when the government demands Amazon hand over the browsing history of someone under the Patriot Act? Is Amazon required to comply? Just how much data will Amazon be collecting based on these caches to improve performance?

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Of course, the advantage of having a speedier browser serving up pages nearly instantly also means you’re at risk of exposing your browsing habits, but what exactly is Amazon collecting? According to a support question recently answered on Amazon.com, Amazon may log web addresses of the pages it serves, as well as additional information such as IP or even more specific MAC addresses. Amazon also stresses that this data is collected anonymously, but IP and MAC addresses can relate to a physical location almost as accurately as GPS navigation.

Another concern was how long Amazon plans on keeping the data. If it is saved for the purposes of evaluating performance, it shouldn’t need to be on the servers long, right? Well, according to another question answered, the data should be stored for no longer than 30 days. In fact, if users feel at all threatened or uncomfortable with pre-fetching, they will be able to switch off the cloud mode which means Amazon’s servers will not be used to pre-fetch pages.

This is great for tech-savvy users who understand what pre-fetching and cloud storage mean, but what about for those who just want a device without the hassle of privacy concerns? The fact that Amazon could very easily build a profile of their browsing habits and potentially sell it to the highest bidder for targeted advertising or other means has serious implications for the company if the data collection methods are not handled properly.

While Amazon has stated that the data collection technology built into Silk will not be used to serve targeted ads from data gathered, who knows if the company may change its mind down the road. After all, the Kindle was reduced in price last generation to a mere $114 if you were willing to watch a few ads on the device every now and then. Marketed as Kindle With Offers it was a device that drove targeted advertising to consumers based on partners who footed the bill for the cheaper device. Who’s to say Amazon wouldn’t be comfortable offering the Kindle Fire With Offers for $150 in order to get the device into more hands?

While Kindle Fire still is fighting with Apple iPad 2 to reach critical mass, how Silk will impact the browser world and whether or not we have anything to be concerned about when it comes to privacy remains to be seen. After all, Google is already able to form competent advertising campaigns based on search terms. It would seem almost silly of Amazon not to try to utilize data gathered in the same manner.