Amazon confirms local data encryption gone on Fire tablets

NEW YORK (AP) — Amazon has confirmed it removed the ability to encrypt locally stored data on its Fire tablets, saying that customers weren't using the service.

The change comes as Apple squares off against the FBI over access to an encrypted iPhone. Apple says giving the government access would make all other iPhones more vulnerable to hacks.

But the encryption that Amazon has removed is somewhat different than the security involved in the Apple case. And Amazon made the change well before the brouhaha started.

Amazon made the switch when it introduced its new Fire OS 5 in September with new Fire tablets. But it was brought to light this week as older versions of the tablets get operating system updates.

Encryption helps protect user data by scrambling it and only allowing access with a password. Amazon removed device encryption, but communication between Fire devices and Amazon's cloud, as well as data stored within the cloud, is still encrypted.

"All Fire tablets' communication with Amazon's cloud meet our high standards for privacy and security including appropriate use of encryption," said Amazon spokeswoman Robin Handaly.

Some experts speculate the change could have been made to improve performance of the Fire tablet. But Amazon said it removed some features, including encryption, from Fire OS 5 that it found customers weren't using.