Kindle Fire: Silk Browser Does Not Violate User Privacy

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When Amazon announced the Kindle Fire, one of the highlights was the Silk browser, which accelerated access speeds by server-side processing. As this involve some privacy concerns, Amazon has provided a response to Congressional inquiries regarding privacy.

One of the Kindle Fire’s main features — aside from access to Amazon’s wide array of content — is its speedy Silk browser. Being a cloud-powered application, Silk speeds up delivery of webpages and web applications by processing these through Amazon’s cloud services before bringing the display page to the Kindle Fire.

But Congress is worried that Amazon might be invading user privacy by storing data and content on its servers. Amazon earlier made a response, saying the browser’s hybrid capability can actually be turned off (at the expense of speed), and that it only stores data for a certain duration. Rep. Ed Markey (D, MA) does not think these responses are adequate, though, and has expressed concern about how Amazon will be using the data it collects.

Amazon has responded that web addresses will only be logged for 30 days, and that these will not be associated with specific user accounts. The company also says it will cache web content, but encrypted data (which includes emails, passwords and other secure content) will be retrieved directly by Silk, and will not go through Amazon.

The company further says it will not sell nor rent information it collects through Silk, although this information will certainly be used internally. “Customer information is an important part of our business and an important driver of customer experience and future invention,” Amazon says.

Rep. Markey is not satisfied, though, and says Amazon has not provided enough details as to how it will use the information internally, adding that Amazon “has a responsibility to be transparent with its customers.”