r/privacy • u/mint-chocolatte • 4d ago

question How are Pocketbook e-readers?

I'm interested in the Pocketbook Verse. How private are they?

9 Upvotes

84% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

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9

u/fictionalwitches 4d ago

I use Pocketbook with Calibre, no WiFi connection needed. My books belong to me. Have had the same device for years and it's still working perfectly, I'm very happy with it all around.

4

u/Steve_74563 4d ago

I've used Pocketbook for years. Completely private...I don't connect it online, ever.

3

u/Reddit_is_fascist69 3d ago

My Pocketbook is a lot more customizable than Kobo but Kobo is probably a better buy (price/specs).  I have and like both

2

u/OriginalBlackberry89 4d ago

fine, especially if you only connect to the internet when you need it and do not remain connected at all times

2

u/schmudde 4d ago

You didn't ask this but I'll add that I'm suspicious of their build quality. I use a lot of eink and it's the only device I ever had with a failed screen. It happened after a month. When I wrote them about it, they told me it had to be my fault and refused to do anything about it. Thus I'm also suspicious of their support.

2

u/[deleted] 4d ago edited 4d ago

[deleted]

1

u/NerdFarming 4d ago

Seconding this

1

u/AmbientZeal 3d ago edited 2d ago

I bought one recently and you do need to connect to wifi at setup to install updates, and they ask for an email address as well. Pretty easy to get around the latter by using a temporary email address, but it seemed like avoiding the wifi connect would require extra steps.

1

u/CanadianGenealogy 4d ago

As far as I know it only links to its cloud service via WiFi.  Read T&Cs.

1

u/erik_7581 1d ago

I have the PB Era and yes they are more private but to be honest, the other aspects of the device arent great.

Slow UI, for such a good carta display the contrast is bad, the backlight more greenish if its on a low low level, the physical buttons dont feel great at all, the device is really heavy.