Amazon removed encryption from the latest version of Fire OS
Amazon has removed device encryption from Fire OS version 5. This means that devices such as the Fire Phone, Amazon Fire HD, and Kindle Fire tablets will no longer support device encryption, after being updated to Fire OS 5.
Amazon's decision to remove onboard encryption isn't new; Amazon actually dropped the feature from Fire OS 5 back in the fall. As The Verge points out, a member of Amazon's customer forum noticed the feature was disabled back in February.
Amazon Fire devices that shipped with Fire OS 5 did not ship with encryption support. Users with older devices that had encryption enabled can choose to stay on Fire OS 4 if they want the additional protection.
In a statement, Amazon told Mashable, "In the fall when we released Fire OS 5, we removed some enterprise features that we found customers weren't using." Amazon added that, "all Fire tablets' communication with Amazon's cloud meet our high standards for privacy and security including appropriate use of encryption."
Amazon is still encrypting the way it sends data from its devices to its servers, but the data on the devices themselves are no longer encrypted.
Still, it does seem strange that Amazon would remove device-side encryption, even if the feature was rarely used. The timing of this removal is not related to the ongoing encryption battle between Apple and the FBI — but the issues raised in that case do underscore why many tech watchers are upset about this change.
Nathan White from Access Now — an organization committed to defending digital rights — told Wired that, "Amazon's decision is backward — it not only moves away from default device encryption, where other manufacturers are headed, but removes all choice by the end user to decide to encrypt it after purchase."
And it is true that removing device encryption is ultimately not great for consumers. Now, from what Amazon was saying (and based on how long it took anyone to figure out support for the feature was dropped), it doesn't look like a lot of users were using it anyway. But that's not really the point.
Ultimately, as we see more manufacturers and operating systems moving toward encryption by default, seeing any company take the option away is a bad thing.
