Amazon is altering how its Kindle DRM works, however just for these titles

I like Amazon’s lineup of Kindle e-readers, however one factor that frustrates me, and plenty of others as effectively, is how locked down its software program expertise is in comparison with different e-readers in the marketplace, like Kobo.

Over the previous 12 months, Amazon has solely made issues extra sophisticated. In February, it removed the ability for customers to “Obtain and Switch by way of USB,” making it even tougher for folks to again up the Kindle e-books they’ve bought. Moreover, with a latest Kindle software program replace, it has applied a fair stricter DRM (Digital Rights Administration) system for all its Kindle e-books, making it tougher for folks to make use of e-book administration instruments like Calibre.

Now, in a shocking twist, Amazon is definitely loosening up its DRM coverage, however just for choose titles, and on the writer’s discretion. In a latest blog post, Amazon introduced that authors utilizing its self-publishing platform, Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), will have the ability to supply DRM-free books for obtain in EPUB or PDF format.

“Beginning January 20, 2026, Amazon will make it simpler for readers to take pleasure in content material they’ve bought from the Kindle retailer throughout a wider vary of gadgets and functions by permitting new titles printed with out Digital Rights Administration (DRM) to be downloaded in EPUB or PDF format,” Amazon posted on the KDP Forum.

This would possibly not have an effect on very many titles

Solely new titles marked DRM-free can be affected, until the writer modifications it

For Kindle customers who wish to obtain an e-book they’ve bought that is DRM-free as a PDF or EPUB file, after which put it on one other system, like their PC or Kobo, this can absolutely come as excellent news.

Nonetheless, the variety of titles this can truly affect will probably be very small. First, this can solely have an effect on books that Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) authors have marked as DMR-free on or after December 9, 2025. This implies DMR-free titles printed earlier than that date will not be out there to obtain as an EPUB or PDF until the writer updates them manually within the KDP portal. Second, the overwhelming majority of books on the Kindle retailer are protected by DMR, and can proceed to be, so you continue to will not have the ability to obtain them in different codecs even in the event you’ve bought them.

There’s additionally an opportunity that this transformation will lead some authors to cease providing their books as DRM-free, particularly if they do not need them downloadable as PDFs. That is the case for one writer, Leslie Anne Perry, who talked about on the Kindle Direct Publishing Forum that this can trigger them to rethink making their books DRM-free (by way of TechCrunch).

“Beforehand I’ve not enabled DRM on my e-books. My pondering was that I needed of us to have the ability to obtain them to different gadgets inside their very own family,” Anne Perry defined. “Nonetheless, I believe I’ll allow it on any future e-books. I am undecided I need folks to have the ability to obtain them as a PDFs.”

Total, it is fully as much as KDP authors whether or not they need their books to be DRM-free. Beginning subsequent 12 months, books made DRM-free after December 9, 2025, may also be downloaded in EPUB or PDF format by purchasers. Some authors will probably embrace this, whereas others could also be extra cautious. In consequence, the variety of DRM-free titles out there to obtain as EPUB or PDF will in all probability be small at first, although it might develop if extra authors decide in over the approaching 12 months and past.