Adobe is spying on users via e-book application

Adobe would track the reading behavior of users through its e-reader application Digital Editions 4, claims the site The Digital Reader. In addition, the collected data would be forwarded unencrypted to Adobe servers.

Nate Hoffelder of The Digital Reader says that using the network tool Wireshark, IP traffic to Adobe servers was intercepted that contains privacy-sensitive data from his e-reader application Digital Editions 4. For example, the epub reader sends data about which e-books have been opened and which page the reader has left. Metadata about the e-book collection is also collected and forwarded to the IP address 192.150.16.235, owned by Adobe. In addition, the e-reader application also scans the contents of the hard disk for the presence of e-books.

In addition to collecting user data, Hoffelder points out that Digital Editions 4 also does not use any encryption when forwarding the privacy-sensitive data. This allows the data to be easily intercepted by a third party.

Hoffelder says he has asked Adobe for a response, but the software company has so far declined to answer his questions. He also claims that Adobe, with its passion for collecting personal data, not only violates American privacy legislation, but also the often stricter European privacy laws. According to Hoffelder, e-book users should avoid Adobe’s Digital Editions software for the time being.