# What risk is there sending a questionable .mobi file to my Kindle devices via 'Send To Kindle'? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 14, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636 "2014-11-14T19:09:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/1 "2014-11-14T19:09:44Z")
I am referring mostly about legality, but comments on malware risks aren’t unwelcome (but I doubt that’s a significant risk). Suppose I obtain a .mobi file, perhaps from a friend or the internet, that unbeknownst to me turns out to be an illegal copy of a copyrighted work. I obliviously use the “Send To Kindle” application I installed on my PC to send it my two Android device running the Kindle app. This is all linked to my Amazon account. Is there a chance that Amazon might detect this is an illegal copy? They have no idea, I suppose, that I might not have purchased in some other manner and converted it to .mobi (such programs exist, like Calibre). Has anybody every reported that Amazon informed them there was a book that violated copyright on their Kindle? ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2014, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/2 "2014-11-14T19:23:04Z")
I’ve never ran into any issues. I doubt Amazon would actually be able to see if you had illegally obtained work on your Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/3 "2014-11-15T03:27:06Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I am referring mostly about legality, but comments on malware risks aren’t unwelcome (but I doubt that’s a significant risk). > > Suppose I obtain a .mobi file, perhaps from a friend or the internet, that unbeknownst to me turns out to be an illegal copy of a copyrighted work. I obliviously use the “Send To Kindle” application I installed on my PC to send it my two Android device running the Kindle app. This is all linked to my Amazon account. > > Is there a chance that Amazon might detect this is an illegal copy? They have no idea, I suppose, that I might not have purchased in some other manner and converted it to .mobi (such programs exist, like Calibre). > > Has anybody every reported that Amazon informed them there was a book that violated copyright on their Kindle? I’ve never heard of this happening, although I recall some speculation about it on another message board. This scenario presumes two things: (1) that Amazon has the ability to snoop around inside a Kindle and find illegal copies, and (2) that they would actually give a shit. I’m guessing the answers are (1) maybe, and (2) no. Amazon got some blowback in 2009 when they [remotely deleted](http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/18/technology/companies/18amazon.html) editions of _1984_ and _Animal Farm_ from Kindles (they were sold, through Amazon, by a company that did not have the rights to them). Given how embarrassing this was for Amazon, I suspect they don’t want to get into policing the contents of Kindles. One other thing: if you have “Personal Document Archiving” turned on, Amazon stores a copy of anything you send through the “Send to Kindle” feature. Conceivably it would be easier for them to detect illegal copies of ebooks when they’re stored on Amazon’s own servers. But, again, this assumes that they’d actually want to do that or care. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/4 "2014-11-15T03:31:02Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > This scenario presumes two things: (1) that Amazon has the ability to snoop around inside a Kindle and find illegal copies, and (2) that they would actually give a shit. I’m guessing the answers are (1) maybe, and (2) no. I presume that when one uses the “Send To Kindle” PC application as described in the OP, they would see the illegal copy as they transfer it to the Kindle device/app. Plus, your place in the book is synced between devices, so that must go through Amazon servers as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/5 "2014-11-15T04:12:49Z")
With my Nook, I can transfer files on my computer to my Nook via a cord going between the 2 devices. Can you do that with a Kindle? Why bother transferring it via Amazon’s servers? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/6 "2014-11-15T04:17:47Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > With my Nook, I can transfer files on my computer to my Nook via a cord going between the 2 devices. Can you do that with a Kindle? Why bother transferring it via Amazon’s servers? I don’t have Wi Fi so that’s what I do. Easy-peasy. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/7 "2014-11-15T04:23:13Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > With my Nook, I can transfer files on my computer to my Nook via a cord going between the 2 devices. Can you do that with a Kindle? Why bother transferring it via Amazon’s servers? One reason I use the Amazon service is that it’s a very convenient way of encoding something for Amazon format. Takes less time than firing up Calibre. Plus it saves the file to my Amazon account so that I can easily download it via my tablet or phone if I want. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/8 "2014-11-15T04:32:49Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > With my Nook, I can transfer files on my computer to my Nook via a cord going between the 2 devices. Can you do that with a Kindle? Why bother transferring it via Amazon’s servers? Because I keep my Kindle in a different room and I’m too lazy to go get it when I can just email the file. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/9 "2014-11-15T05:39:12Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > I presume that when one uses the “Send To Kindle” PC application as described in the OP, they would see the illegal copy as they transfer it to the Kindle device/app. That’s a good point; theoretically they could do that. Although I still can’t imagine why they’d want to engage in that kind of quasi-police monitoring. > [@Revtim](#): > > Plus, your place in the book is synced between devices, so that must go through Amazon servers as well. The “your place in the book” information is stored in a tiny XML file, separately from the book. IIRC, the only metadata in the file is the document title. Not a lot to go on if you’re looking for piracy. ---
**Author:** ![Projammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/projammer/32/559_2.png) [@Projammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Projammer)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-risk-is-there-sending-a-questionable-mobi-file-to-my-kindle-devices-via-send-to-kindle/704636/10 "2014-11-15T20:50:55Z")
There is also the matter of how they would know it’s an illegal copy. Unless they are the sole venue for the book in question, they won’t have any way to prove that you didn’t purchase it from another vendor. It is likely that eBooks distributed through Amazon have an Amazon ID embedded in them so they would know that the file you transferred wasn’t purchased by or gifted to you.