If you’re a Kindle user, you have just over a week to download your e-books before Amazon removes the ability to download them directly to your computer. Starting February 26, 2025, Amazon will no longer allow you to download copies of your Kindle books for backup or other purposes. After that date, the only way to access your e-books will be through Amazon’s Wi-Fi-enabled devices or directly through the Amazon platform.
This change may seem minor to some, but it removes a feature that has been a useful backup option for Kindle users for over a decade. Many have relied on downloading their books to create backups, convert them for use on other e-readers, or simply keep a copy on hand in case of device failure or internet connectivity issues. It also offered peace of mind knowing that you had control over your own digital purchases.
This is not the first time Amazon has made significant changes to how users can interact with their purchased Kindle content. In the past, Amazon has removed books from its store, remotely deleted them from users’ Kindles, and even replaced books with updated or edited versions.
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One of the most notorious incidents occurred when Amazon remotely deleted copies of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm from users’ Kindles in 2009. At the time, Amazon claimed the books had been mistakenly published. More recently, in 2023, Roald Dahl books were controversially updated with “censored versions” without the consent of customers.
These actions serve as a stark reminder that digital ownership is a complicated concept—what consumers are often purchasing is not the actual content, but a license to access it. And licenses can be revoked at any time.
How to Download Your Kindle E-books Before the Change
If you want to download your Kindle books before February 26, 2025, here’s how:
- Log into Your Amazon Account: Visit the Amazon website and sign into your account.
- Access Your Content Library: Navigate to Accounts & Lists and select Content Library from the dropdown menu.
- Find Your E-books: In the library, you’ll see all the content you own, including e-books, music, and some videos. Look under the Books section to find your Kindle books.
- Download & Transfer: For each book you want to download, click on the More Actions menu, and select Download & Transfer via USB.
This process allows you to download a copy of your books that you can store on your computer. If you have a large library, this may take some time, but it could prove to be a valuable backup if you want to read your books on devices other than a Kindle in the future.
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If you own many Kindle books, this is your last chance to make a copy before Amazon restricts this feature. Downloading all of your books might take a while, but it will be well worth it if you ever want to read your purchases on a device other than a Kindle. Whether for backup, conversion to other e-reader formats, or simply for peace of mind, taking the time to download your library now is a step toward reclaiming some level of control over your digital purchases.