Amazon Removes Direct Downloads of Kindle Books
Andrew Liszewski (Hacker News, Reddit):
Starting on February 26th, 2025, Amazon is removing a feature from its website allowing you to download purchased books to a computer and then copy them manually to a Kindle over USB. It’s a feature that a lot of Kindle users are probably not aware of, given books can be more easily sent to devices over Wi-Fi, but it’s especially useful for backing up purchases or converting them to other formats compatible with non-Kindle e-readers.
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It doesn’t happen frequently, but as Good e-Reader points out, Amazon has occasionally removed books from its online store and remotely deleted them from Kindles or edited titles and re-uploaded new copies to its e-readers.
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The feature is also the easiest way to convert books purchased from Amazon to other formats like EPUB that can be used on alternative devices such as a Kobo. Books downloaded through Amazon’s website are delivered in the older AZW3 format which allows DRM to be easily removed using various software tools.
This feature was designed for users who had connectivity on their computer, but not on their Kindle. But it’s also been the easiest pathway to get ebook files out of Amazon’s copy protection scheme so that they can be converted to play back on other devices.
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While I remain optimistic about the ability of scrappy underdogs to circumvent the copy protection regimes of big tech companies, the fact is that Amazon’s newer file format has been incredibly difficult to crack—hence the value of the USB downloading hole that Amazon’s about to close.
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I used the Amazon Kindle eBook Bulk Downloader by friend of the site Sam Davis.
David Sparks (Mac Power Users):
There is something about this that stinks to me. I pay for the books. I feel like I should be able to download them. I’ve bought hundreds of books from Amazon over the years and this push toward cloud-based model data control feels like crossing a line. Maybe this is a thing with me and I should have realized that I was only purchasing a “license” to read the books instead of “ownership” of the books all along.
Amazon recently changed the wording on their website when it comes to buying Kindle ebooks.
As the screenshot above shows, they now have a disclaimer under the buy now button that says, “By placing your order, you’re purchasing a license to the content and you agree to the Kindle Store Terms of Use”.
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I read somewhere about a new law that was passed in California where companies have to “conspicuously” disclose that customers are buying a license when it comes to digital media like ebooks, so that’s likely the reason why Amazon made the change.
Previously:
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I’m out; I switched to Kobo a while back, but still bought a few books on Amazon when the authors exclusively distributed there, but with this I’m done. I’ll contact those authors to urge them to find other distribution channels, but if not I guess I’m just not finishing those series. 🤷♂️
