Amazon Fire HD Tablets
Review date: 11/02/2020
Today it seems most of us have the attention span of a gnat. Could it be because it's so easy to buy a device that lets you read books, watch videos, play games, listen to music, surf the web, shop for paper towels, and ask Alexa what Santa's middle name is all at the same time? Good on Amazon for building in a way for parents to limit the amount of time a kid can spend on this tablet. Now if kids could only set up something similar for parents.
What could happen if something goes wrong
It's Amazon, so you know they are probably tracking your every move and Alexa request to try and sell you more stuff. So, say you forget to change the default setting of no passcode for this device and leave it laying around. Your 6-year old gets on and spends $500 on toys from Amazon that you only find out about when the boxes pile up at your front door two days later. And if you want Amazon to stop trying to sell you more stuff, the only way to be absolutely sure all your data is deleted is to delete your Amazon account completely. Good luck with that!
Privacy
Can it snoop on me?
Camera
Device: Yes
App: N/A
Microphone
Device: Yes
App: N/A
Tracks Location
Device: Yes
App: N/A
What is required to sign up?
Yes
Phone
No
Third party account
No
What data does it collect?
Personal
Name, email, phone number, address
Biometric
Voice
Social
How does it use this data?
How can you control your data?
What is the company’s known track record for protecting users’ data?
In October, 2020, Amazon fired an employee for leaking customer email addresses to an unnamed third party. In November, 2018, Amazon suffered a data breach that caused customer names and email addresses to be disclosed on its webpage.
Can this product be used offline?
User friendly privacy information?
Links to privacy information
Security
Does this product meet our Minimum Security Standards?
Encryption
Uses encryption in transit and at rest.
Strong password
Security updates
Manages vulnerabilities
Amazon has a bug bounty program, which means that anyone who finds a security issue and discloses it responsibly may get paid. https://hackerone.com/amazonvrp Security researchers can report a vulnerability here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201909140
Privacy policy
Artificial Intelligence
Does the product use AI?
Does the AI use your personal data to make decisions about you?
Does the company allow users to see how the AI works?
Amazon Alexa utilizes AI and natural language understanding (NLU) to understand what people are saying and to respond to requests. More information can be found at the Alexa FAQ and the Amazon Science webpage: https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201602230 https://www.amazon.science/tag/alexa
