Any tips on how to make Kindle, Kobo more private would be appreciated as well.
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You can use most (if not all) of these devices totally offline and manually load books via software like Calibre (An open source ebook management suite)
Kobo’s are generally going to be better off regarding openness to file formats. One of my friends recently recommended PocketBook as well if you wanted to explore another option.
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I already use Calibre as I am a stingy student and Aeroplane mode to save battery. Nice to hear these habits are good for privacy indirectly.
Thanks for the PocketBook recommendation Henry!
Thanks for everything you do. Coming across your channel was a blessing!
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I prefer KOReader. You can install it on mobile devices and a lot of e-ink devices. I use it on my Kindle Touch (the original, hella old one) and it is not bad. Could be better but the benefits outweigh the disadvantages (mostly that you can’t use KOReader with Calibre, so you need to turn KOReader off when loading books and what not and some stability issues but I blame them on the device being very old).
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yes! doing the same.
wow! I just looked it up and it looks amazing. Will install 100%. Thanks!!
I have been happily using LibreraReader on my Android tablet for a few years now. I have been super happy with it, but I just might try KOReader. The features seem interesting, I would say. Thank you for the suggestion.
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Michael Bazzell goes at length about the Boox products in one of his podcasts, and I like products by Epubor for un-DRM’ing stuff (for the time being I use their Audible Converter to save my audiobooks since I stopped using Audible). I saw a post on Reddit about how Epubor is good for converting Kindle books to epub or mobi for use with any reader.
All these things I mention aren’t free, but I’ll probably own a Boox e-reader one day so I don’t have to carry tons of paperbacks when I travel, while not being tracked by Amazon. Sadly, many great e-books I want are only available via Amazon so I’d get them, download and convert, and offline transfer to another e-reader. If you never turn WiFi on your Kindle, it could be the same effect without having to remove DRM. However, who’s to say when an updated “AZW” format will require a certain update to your Kindle, which will then upload all activity that you’ve done on it.
LibreraReader seems like a cool option but development is kind of frozen right now, plus I don’t like reading on my phone.
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Great suggestions.
There are new updates somewhat regularly. There are both Google Play and F-Droid versions. For privacy, I suggest the F-Droid version which does not connect to the internet. The reason I recommended LibreraReader in the first place is that it is just a (in my opinion) great e-book reader application which, if you use the F-Droid version (read the description on F-Droid), is also conveniently offline (of course, then the syncing functions does not work). Therefore, private and secure (unless you want to talk about protecting your book locally on your device).
Fair enough. I read on my tablet with LibreraReader, but I can understand that using only your phone would not make for a comfortable reading experience.
Yeah, LibreraReader is super useful, I use it for the conflictive .cbr format, which I had problems finding an Open Source tool to read them and LibreraReader was the most useful reader I could find for those type of files.
Pocketbook.
- their os is based on linux
- requires no accounts
- supports all major book formats
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In case anyone is still checking out this thread – I got a used Boox nova not too long ago after listening to that Michael Bazzell podcast, and for me it’s been a great Kindle replacement. I didn’t activate google play services on it. But I read library books, so I downloaded my library’s app from the Aurora store, and I’ve been able to use that app even though I get warnings that say “this app won’t work without google play services enabled”. But it works just fine so far so 
I use a boox - and since it is android based - I just turn on the internet access long enough to email or download books I’ve converted using calibre… works very well!
My experience too!
Pocketbooks are really popular in my country (Poland), since Amazon and Kobo generally offer no Polish books in their stores. Note, older models used to have malfunctioning motherboards which required replacement but with the new models there seems to be no such issue.
Additionally, as mentioned by @Toaster, no account is needed, however, you can send books wirelessly thanks to Send-to-Pocketbook service (but I wouldn’t recommend it if you care about privacy).
Additionally, remember that you can’t access Kindle purchases on Pocketbooks because there is no dedicated app. So, these devices are great for those of you who wish to side load ebooks, buy them independently and don’t want to rely on Amazon, Kobo or Barnes and Noble services.
how does this compare to Calibre’s plugin?
I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews of the Boox, but… jeez, it’s expensive for a dedicated device that does one thing.
Granted, I have a (very, very old) tablet which I use for that purpose - when it dies then sure, the cost/benefit analysis for me shifts. Yes, my old tablet barely works, and hasn’t gotten security updates in approximately ten zillion millennia, but that’s why I exert extreme caution with it, and don’t put it anywhere remotely near anything even slightly sensitive. Don’t need top-tier security all the time as long as you’re mindful.
When it dies? Yeah, maybe I’ll look at something like a Boox. Depends on my financial situation at the time, my use case, etc. I do like the idea and aesthetics of e-ink!