Amazon Wimps Out. In Fear?

[about_average]

While Apple is fighting the FBI in court over encryption, Amazon quietly disabled the option to use encryption to protect data on its Android-powered devices.

The tech giant has recently deprecated support for device encryption on the latest version of Fire OS, Amazon’s custom Android operating system, which powers its tablets and phones. In the past, privacy-minded users could protect data stored inside their devices, such as their emails, by scrambling it with a password, which made it unreadable in case the device got lost or stolen. With this change, users who had encryption on in their Fire devices are left with two bad choices: either decline to install the update, leaving their devices with outdated software, or give up and keep their data unencrypted.

https://motherboard.vice.com/read/amazon-removes-device-encryption-fire-os-kindle-phones-and-tablets

 

[warrior queen]

Honestly, I'm not sure what the issue is.
The average Joe doesn't need encryption, and the ones that do (for whatever reason) can always access third-party encryption programs.
If a terrorist had shot up members of my family, I would damn well want the authorities to be able to read his phone or computer!

 

[about_average]

Honestly, I'm not sure what the issue is.
The average Joe doesn't need encryption, and the ones that do (for whatever reason) can always access third-party encryption programs.
If a terrorist had shot up members of my family, I would damn well want the authorities to be able to read his phone or computer!

You might feel that way, just like a lot of people believe that only people who do something wrong have any reason to worry about privacy.
But not everyone feels the same as you.

Husband of San Bernardino Shooting Victim Supports Apple in Legal Battle with FBI

He expressed frustration at learning that Apple did not want to comply with a court order requiring the company to build custom software to circumvent its encryption and security features on a San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone.
...
After learning more about the case, Kondoker said he is now in favor of Apple and agrees with the tech giant that “this software the government wants them to use will be used against millions of other innocent people.”

As for the average person not needing it, it's not really your decision who "needs" it and who doesn't. Probably a lot more people should be using it than do.

 

[nerfhearder]

Honestly, I'm not sure what the issue is.
The average Joe doesn't need encryption, and the ones that do (for whatever reason) can always access third-party encryption programs.
If a terrorist had shot up members of my family, I would damn well want the authorities to be able to read his phone or computer!

Why doesn't the average Joe need encryption? Everyone needs it, they just don't use it very often and anyone who sells OS's should have it built in. Very bad idea to not have it.
I don't use it on my phone because I don't keep my life on my phone but most people do. You bet your ass I got it on my laptop and tablet.